Criteria include:

• Age 29 or younger at the time of pilgrimage due to the restrictions from the Taizé Community
• Involvement at a MN Conference UCC congregation in faith formation or youth ministry, either as staff or a volunteer
• Provide a letter of recommendation from the minister where you are involved in faith formation and/or youth ministry
• Completion of the application

Date: April 3-14, 2014 

Cost: $750 (includes flights, transportation, registration) 

Registration: There are 25 spaces available with a rolling application through November 1, 2013. Applications will be reviewed by members of the Faith Formation Team. 

Download the application to apply or for more information.

If you have any questions or want more information, please contact Wade Zick at wadez@uccmn.org. 

Social Media, Websites  

and Technology for Congregations

The tools of technology both fascinate and frustrate many of us. This fall VRV presents four webinars to help congregational leaders to better use these tools to promote and communicate your congregation and its story.

You may register for the webinars separately, but we encourage you to sign up for the whole package (and you get a price break!). Those who complete all four seminars will qualify for a short-term CoachShare group with Bruce Reyes-Chow, one of the foremost authorities on social media and internet use in the church.

Each webinar is $9.99. If you register for all four, you get four webinars for the price of three at $29.97.

Register here!

Once you register with the Conference, we will send you information on connecting to the Center for Progressive Renewal for the webinars. If you are unable to participate on the day and time listed, not to worry. Each webinar will be archived and you can listen to it at your convenience. The advantage to being on the live webinar is you can ask questions, but you can still get the information, whether you are on live or not.

Here are the details:  

Webinar #1 Social Media: The Biggest Pulpit of Today, Part 1

October 17, 2013 - 12:00pm CDT  

Facebook and Twitter are the biggest pulpits of today. It's not just about reaching kids or Millennials (though you will!), but about everyone. This webinar will introduce you to a model of curatorial leadership take your social media use from point A all the way to point Awesome. 

Take-aways:

• Understand the big picture change happening in the world for organizations in a networked world
• Learn a new theoretical/theological framework for digital clergy leadership 
• Get a wide-angle view of the possibilities for how you might incarnate your new role online

Webinar #2 Social Media: The Biggest Pulpit of Today, Part 2

October 29, 2013 - 1:00pm CDT 

Now that you understand the big picture of how to lead using social media as a pulpit, it's time to practice. We'll walk through creating your online clergy profile and curating your church's content for the biggest impact. 

Take-aways:

• Quick review of the big picture changes mandated for church by a networked world
• Create your clergy online profile
• Learn to curate your sermons, prayers, music and social justice actions so they win Facebook and Twitter

Presenter for Webinars #1 and 2: Ashley Harness is a communications strategist with almost a decade of experience in non-profit media work. Currently, Ashley works with the digital organizing team at Auburn Seminary and provides confidential media training and counsel to clergy seeking to use media as a pulpit of the 21st century. Previously at Fenton Communications, the largest public interest communications firm in the country, she consulted for a range of non-profit organizations across issue, from international human rights to electoral political campaigns to progressive religious groups. Some of her clients included MoveOn.org, Women for Women International, Rabbis for Human Rights, United Methodist Women and the One Nation project to diversify perceptions of American Muslims. Ashley received her Masters of Divinity at Union Theological Seminary in 2012 and her Bachelor of Arts at Brown University in 2005.

Webinar #3 Website Basics for Churches
November 7, 2013 - 7:00pm CST
Your website is truly the front door to your church. People will have visited your website before they visit your building. Learn the basics you need to have to make your church website attractive, informative and easily found.

Webinar #4 Live Streaming Worship Services for Churches
November 21, 2013 - 12:00pm CST
It used to be only mega-churches with million dollar budgets could live stream their worship services over the web. A lot has changed recently and this webinar is designed to show you inexpensive (even free) tools that will help you stream your worship services to the world.

Presenter for Webinars #3 and 4: Mike Mitchell has significant experience doing media & communication in the corporate world. Most recently he had founded Progressive Church Media which develops media resources for progressive, accepting and affirming congregations. An increasing number of progressive-minded churches are using video and multimedia to make their worship services more engaging and seeker-friendly.

Until now, the options for these churches to obtain high-quality video resources generally meant they had to purchase content from companies and organizations that do not necessarily share their theological views and beliefs. But Progressive Church Media is here to change that.

Each webinar is $9.99. If you register for all four, you get four webinars for the price of three at $29.97.

Register here!

__________________________ 

 

Taking Your Church to the Next Level:  

Where Do You Want to Go?

 

November 2, 2013, 9:00 am-3:00 pm

Registration at 8:30 am

United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities

Cost: $30.00 (includes lunch, breaks, all materials, and access to archived videos of all presentations)  

Teams of three or more from a congregation get to bring their pastor for free.

 

We often talk about taking your congregation to the next level and that is great. Of course, this assumes you know where your congregation is and where you want to go in terms of your life cycle. Come and explore the life cycle of a congregation and strategize how you move your congregation to a place of vitality for your congregation.

 

Presenters: Michael Piazza and Glenna Shepherd from the Center for Progressive Renewal

 

Rev. Michael Piazza currently serves as President of Hope for Peace & Justice and the Executive Director of Church Multiplication for the Center for Progressive Renewal. He is also the Senior Pastor at Virginia-Highland Church in Atlanta, Georgia.

 

Rev. Glenna Shepherd has served as senior minister of two congregations, as a church planter, music minister, interim minister, and as the equivalent of a conference minister for Metropolitan Community Churches, where she worked with congregations in Europe and Africa. Presently, she is Senior Minister of Decatur United Church of Christ in Decatur, Georgia.

Can't attend on November 2? You can still access the presentations by registering for the virtual participation option. Each of the presentations will be recorded and streamed over the internet. Your virtual participation registration will get you each presentation for the cost of $15.00. You will also be able to receive the handout materials electronically.

Register Here!

Secondly, show your support of immigration reform by attending a prayer vigil and rally to be held nationwide on October 5, 2013.  In Minneapolis a prayer vigil is set for that day at 12:30 at the Basilica of St. Mary's with a march to the Hennepin County Government Center to follow.

Another step that we on the MN Conference Immigration Team would strongly encourage is for your church or cluster of churches to invite the Immigration Team to share information about the UCC's resolutions on immigration, the Biblical mandate regarding immigrants, the nature of the bill being considered, the reasons that immigrants are here and what they add to our country. 

Contact Immigration Team Chair, Susie George at susiemg7@yahoo.com for more information or to set up date to meet with your congregation.

Make plans now to attend this national symposium for the United Church of Christ and its ecumenical partners. Initiated by General Minister and President, Geoffrey Black, Jazz for the Journey will explore the spirituality and artistry of jazz as an innovative foundation for worship renewal. Geared for pastors, church musicians, worship planners and jazz lovers, Jazz for the Journey, will provide a creative context for developing ideas, resources and liturgical tools to inspire, inform and empower congregations exploring imaginative possibilities for worship revitalization. 

Jazz for the Journey will include spirit-filled worship led by the Oikos Ensemble, keynote presentations, experiential workshops, dynamite musicians, cool jam sessions and a Friday night all-star Sacred Side of Jazz concert hosted by Leon Bibb, WEWS-TV newscaster and jazz aficionado. There will also be ample opportunity to build networks and share creative ideas with colleagues from around the country.

Additional information, a detailed schedule and registration can be found at www.ucc.org/jazzjourney.  

Pilgrim Point Camps & Retreats will be available weekdays this fall for clergy and church program staff to use for personal and small group retreats. There are 10 rooms in the Lodge for individuals/couples and a 3-room Boat House for small groups. 

• Cost - By donation ($0-20/night suggested donation to help offset utilities, maintenance & administrative costs)  
• Food - On your own (catering available by Luther Crest for groups and a kitchenette for individual use is in the Boat House)
• Space available starting Sunday, August 18 through October (Most weeks are open Sunday after 3pm through Friday at 11am)

Available for your use on site:

• Labyrinth
• Walking trails
• Wireless Internet
• Kayaks & canoes
• Coffee maker & hot water heater
• A couple bikes (better to bring own)

If you have questions about date availability or logistic issues please contact Zac at zacn@uccmn.org .

If you have site or program questions, please contact Gigi at ggmarie58@gmail.com.

at Riverview Theater Minneapolis

Documentary film screening part of a  

worldwide discussion on mining harms

On October 24, Minneapolis will join dozens of communities worldwide to screen Gold Fever, an "eye-opening and inspiring" documentary about the arrival of Goldcorp Inc to a remote Guatemalan village.

The screening, presented by G Project and co-hosted by the Minnesota Conference Justice and Witness Team, Mayflower UCC's Global Justice Advocacy Team, Witness for Peace, and many other organizations will take place at the Riverview Theater in Minneapolis at 7:00pm on October 24. Admission is $10, and the public is welcome. Following the screening of the film, Thom Haines, Executive Director at G Project, will host a discussion of the film.

"We believe that resource extraction is an underreported issue," said Haines. "By hosting a screening of Gold Fever as part of Global Screening Day we hope to shine a light on the harms to health, community and environment brought by transnational industrial mining and the connections to our own communities. As part of a global action, we hope to raise visibility of these issues here in Minnesota and show our support, alongside dozens of other communities worldwide. We are particularly standing in support of the Ecumenical Christian Council of Guatemala, our United Church of Christ partner who is actively engaged in mining resistance."

For trailer, screenings and more information: www.goldfevermovie.com 

Facebook: www.facebook.com/goldfevermovie.com  

Contact: Thom Haines thom.haines@comcast.net

Executive Director, G Project

Celtic Spirituality Pilgrimage of Ireland

Explore an ancient spiritual tradition that embodies care for creation, embraces differences, provides seeds of resistance to empires, and finds the sacred in all that is.

Led by Rev. Kiran Young Wimberly & Rev. Dr. Tim Johnson. $300 deposit due by November 24, 2013. For complete itinerary, description, cost and registration information go to www.CherokeeParkUnited.org. 

For questions or to have information mailed, contact Rev. Tim Johnson, pastor of Cherokee Park United Church, St. Paul at 651-227-4275 or cpuc@usfamily.net.