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Chaplains: Being the Church... Together
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On a sunny, spring day in the middle of April, UCC chaplains gathered for lunch at the MN Conference office. Fifteen chaplains, along with Shari Prestemon and Rick Wagner, met to consider if regular gatherings would be of value for Minnesota Conference UCC chaplains. "Those who serve in chaplaincy settings across Minnesota provide an essential and powerful ministry to persons who are often in very vulnerable times of life," says Conference Minister Shari Prestemon. "Their presence and service among us is an enormous blessing." Chaplains in ministry settings often encounter unique ministry opportunities and challenges. The opportunity to gather and share resources, support, and to network was a welcome blessing. Going forward, times together will include these components as well as an educational topic for each meeting...
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Register Now for Workshops on New Ministerial Profile
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 Calling all authorized ministers, Members in Discernment, and interested mentors and advisors: The MN Conference and United Theological Seminary (UTS) invite you to attend all or part of this two-day event:
Get a survey of the nationwide terrain for ministry through UCC Ministry Opportunities and learn about the new Snapshot for all ministers, four UCC categories for terms of service, and the improved Ministerial Profile for those in Search and Call. Rev. Malcolm Himschoot, the UCC Minister for Ministerial Transitions, will lead these two workshop opportunities. To pre-register email Kathleen Remund at kremund@unitedseminary.edu.
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Annual Meeting 2015: Dismantling Racism and Creating Diversity
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- At last year's Annual Meeting the MN Conference committed itself to the faithful work of dismantling racism and creating diversity. As we prepare for the June 12-14, 2015 Annual Meeting, Rev. Dick Fylling, member of the Annual Meeting Planning Work Group, reflects on the ways in which racism can become internalized within those who are its most effected victims and the tragic loss that often accompanies this spiritual and societal illness of racism.
A Recipe for Tragedy
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| | Wounded Knee Museum in Pine Ridge Reservation |
In recent months, we have often seen or heard the words "BLACK LIVES MATTER!" While I wholly agree with that statement, I believe that black lives, white lives and all lives matter to God who loves, cares deeply and wants the best for all God's children. I was reminded of that fact in a poignant and painful article I read this past week written by a young high school English teacher who resides in the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in Oglala Lakota County in South Dakota. His name is Dominique Alan Fenton. The article was titled "Racism at Core of Native Teen Suicides in Pine Ridge". Mr. Fenton reports that, as of April 2, 2015, at least 11 children between the ages of 11 and 17 had committed suicide since December...
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Re-Traditioning our Church
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 Church on the Move:
Saturday, May 9
Pilgrim Point Camp, Alexandria, MN
Re-traditioning is to take those fundamental ways we do ministry, pay attention to their core intent and make them work in new contexts and new ways for today's church. Explore with us how leaders and churches are re-traditioning their ministries for the 21st Century.
Along with worship, lunch, and keynote presentation by Lori Alford and Kevin Brown there will be break-out sessions that explore:
- Re-traditioning Sunday School
- Re-traditioning Worship
- Re-traditioning Service & Mission
- Re-traditioning Membership
Deadline to Register: Monday, May 4th
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 Become a Faith Forming Five congregation by implementing all five areas each year!*
- Children & Youth Participate in Worship
- At Home Faith Practices
- Intergenerational Ministry
- Service & Mission Theological Reflection
- Lay & Clergy Leadership Development
Fill out the Implementation Form to tell us how your congregation is practicing all 5 points!
*Be recognized at the 2015 Annual Meeting by submitting your application by May 15.
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Congratulations to UTS Graduates!
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Congratulations to United Theological Seminary's Class of 2015 who celebrated commencement this past Sunday. We wish each of these UCC graduates all the blessings of ministry in whatever lies ahead:
Leah Benemerito (UCC - Philippines)
Deb Braun
Jacki Bremer
Patsy Herbert
Cathy Kolwey
Aaron Lauer
Malachi Maddox (awarded posthumously)
Mercy Monroe
You can see a full listing of the 2015 graduates here.
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How Accessible Is Your Church?
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 *Correction: There was a typo in Ray Daniel's email address in last week's edition of COMMAntary. It has been corrected below.
In preparation for the Annual Meeting on June 12-14th, your Justice and Witness Team would like updates on church's that have become accessible in the past year.
Click here for the accessibility criteria.
Please email the following information to rayldaniels@aol.com:
* church's name and location
* what the church did to make itself accessible
* how and when did you celebrate your accomplishments
* photos of the project or church so we can celebrate at the Annual Meeting.
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Notices
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- Clergy clusters in the coming week:
- Northwest Cluster: Tuesday, April 28, 10am
First Congregational UCC, Moorhead
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Upcoming Events
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- Minnesota Conference Events
- Fourth Thursday | April 23 from 11:30am - 1:30pm | "Change & Conflict" with Anita Bradshaw
- UCC Profiles Workshop | May 6 + 7 | Learn more here
- Church on the Move | Pilgrim Point Camp | May 9, 2015
- Minnesota Conference Youth & Faith Formation Events
- Spring Middle School Youth Event - "Why?", Pilgrim Point Camp, Alexandria, MN | May 15-17, 2015
- OWL Facilitator Training, Levels K-1/4-6/Adult/Young Adult, Pilgrim Point Camp, Alexandria, MN | May 29-31, 2015
- Pilgrim Point Camps & Retreat Events
- Environmental Justice Training | May 27-29, 2015
- OWL Facilitator Training, Levels K-1/4-6/Adult/Young Adult, Pilgrim Point Camp, Alexandria, MN | May 29-31, 2015
- Summer Youth Camp, Pilgrim Point Camp, Alexandria MN
- Wayzata Children & Youth Camps | June 6-July 8
- July Family Camp hosted by Union UCC in St Louis Park | July 12-17, 2015
- August Family Camp hosted by St Anthony Park UCC | August 2-7, 2015
- Save the Date: Quilting Work Weekend | May 29-31, 2015
- Save the Date: Youth Ministry Training | August 28-30, 2015
- Save the Date: Women's Retreat | September 25-27, 2015
- National UCC Events
- Unexpected Places! General Synod 30, Cleveland, OH, June 26-30, 2015
- National ONA Gathering,Cleveland, OH, June 24-25, 2015
- Widen the Welcome Conference hosted by UCC Mental Health Ministry + UCC Disabilities Ministry, Hartford, CT, Sept 24-26, 2015
- Regional Opportunities
- "Faithful Leadership in a Multifaith World" at United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities in New Brighton, on Thursday and Friday, May 14 & 15. Workshop topics include Bonhoeffer on leadership, black lives matter, the arts and interfaith dialogue, pastoral care or spiritual care?, and immigrant/religious communities in Minnesota. More info here.
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