Assessing and Reimagining Ministries of the Conference

At the Conference board of directors meeting in January 2024, Conference staff presented plans to assess and reimagine faith formation and outdoor ministries during 2024.

As we continue to live into a pandemic-informed reality and as our local congregations discern how to foster faithful, vibrant, and relevant ministries within their changing communities, the Conference needs to assess how faith formation and outdoor ministries can better nurture, equip, and support local congregations, their leaders and members for this new and unfolding season.

A vitally important part of the assessment and reimagination project will be hearing from individuals all around the Conference. Whether you have participated in multiple Conference events or gatherings or have never engaged with the Conference, we need to hear from you! There are multiple ways for you to join the conversation:

Survey – In early April, look for an invitation to participate in an online survey. The survey provides individuals an opportunity to assess the Conference’s current faith formation and outdoor ministry opportunities and to share ideas about future possibilities.

Listening Sessions – Beginning in April, the assessment team will invite local congregations to host a listening session. These sessions will be an opportunity for a group of people from one or more congregations to come together for a facilitated conversation about their congregation’s ministry and how the Conference’s faith formation and outdoor ministry can help strengthen, equip, and resource

Individual Interviews – If you would prefer to connect individually with a member of the assessment team, please email the team at Faith.Formation@uccmn.org.

Rev. Kevin Brown, Associate Conference Minister, and Rev. Sheri Nelson, Outdoor Ministry Director, are delighted to be working with a wonderful team of volunteers to help coordinate the assessment process. The team of eight members represents diverse perspectives and come from all around the Conference – Alexandria, Anoka, Duluth, Edina, Staples, Robbinsdale, and St. Paul. An outside consultant is serving as project manager and supporting the work of the team.

The Conference has long supported innovative, robust, and relevant ministry and leadership development through faith formation and outdoor ministries. The Conference has resources to continue to support these ministry areas through the Ashley Endowment, which supports faith formation for children and youth (and the adults who nurture the spiritual lives of those children) and the Pilgrim Point Legacy Fund, which supports outdoor ministry and other ministry priorities. Our hope is that this assessment will add to this legacy of innovation and experimentation for these essential ministries.



You Belong! Join the Spring 2024 Conference Youth Event

April 19-21, Camp Onomia $175

MN Conference youth will spend a weekend exploring “belonging.” Together we’ll reflect on how we as people and we as the church can extend our welcome to others and to ourselves through discussion, worship, play, time in nature, music, and art.

Our facilitator, Rev. Claire M. Klein, is a life-long church camp enthusiast. She has led birding retreats, women’s weekends, and family camp experiences through the Minnesota Conference and at Moon Beach Camp in Wisconsin. LEARN MORE

Living into the Electrification Resolution

Recently, a group of individuals from around the MN and WI Conferences came together to discuss how to live into the Electrification Resolution that was approved during the Annual Meeting in 2022. Lay leaders and clergy, led by Rev. Dwight Wagenius (Mayflower UCC), who was the lead writer of the proposal, have created the MN/WI Electrification Task Force.



This Task Force is working on gathering resources around sustainability, lowering costs, and how to save for future energy efficient/sustainable appliances and heating sources. The goal is to assist individuals and congregations with useful information at every level of the Earthwise/Creation Care journey.

If you are interested to learn more and/or join this MN/WI Electrification Task Force, please contact Rev. Sheri Nelson, Director of Outdoor Ministry, at sherin@uccmn.org

READ AND SHARE THE ELECTRIFICATION RESOLUTION

Conference to Vote on Proposal for New Committee to Dismantle White Supremacy

At the March 2 Minnesota Conference UCC Board of Directors meeting, a proposal for a new Committee to Dismantle White Supremacy was accepted and moved forward for Conference vote at the Annual Meeting in June. There will be a Zoom hearing on Tuesday, June 4, about these changes.

Motion: The Board moves to forward the following amendment to the Bylaws of the Minnesota Conference United Church of Christ to the membership for vote at the 2024 annual meeting. 

Bylaw change: Committee to Dismantle White Supremacy – This committee will be a catalyst for dismantling the culture of white supremacy in the Minnesota Conference and for imagining a new and more life-giving way of being church.

READ MORE ABOUT THE PROPOSED BYLAW CHANGE

Opportunities for Chaplains to Gather

UCC Military Chaplains, Wednesday, March 27 at 3:00pm CT

UCC military Chaplains meet bi-monthly via Zoom with Rev. Stephen Boyd. These meetings are informative and a wonderful opportunity to our chaplains closer together. Please let the military chaplains in your Associations and Conferences know about these gatherings and invite them to contact Stephen Boyd at boyds@ucc.org for the meeting link.

UCC VA Chaplains, Tuesday, April 2, 3:00pm CT

UCC VA Chaplains are beginning to meet bi-monthly via Zoom with Rev. Stephen Boyd. We are hoping that these meetings to be informative and a meaningful opportunity to our chaplains in these roles to grow closer. Please let the VA chaplains in your Associations and Conferences know about these gatherings and invite them to contact Rev. Stephen Boyd at boyds@ucc.org for the meeting link.

Conference to Offer Interim Ministry Network Training Course

The MN Conference UCC has arranged to hold an in-person Interim Ministry Network training course that will result in full Interim Ministry Network certification. This course will take place at the MN Council of Churches building at 122 W Franklin Ave over three full days: Monday, 6/10/24 through Wednesday 6/12/24.

After completing this three full day course, students will receive Interim Ministry Training (IMN) certification. The course will be taught by the Rev. Chris Hart, a UCC minister and will be subsidized and thus cost significantly less than the usual IMN training. Limited spots will be available. More details to come. Talk to Cindy Mueller, cindym@uccmn.org, if you have any questions. 

Authorized Ministers: Please Complete Your Annual Information Review

You can access the 2024 Annual Information Review form through this link! Help us keep your information up to date!

Partner News & Events

UCCMA National Conference 2024

Conference 2024, the national biennial gathering of the United Church of Christ Musicians Association (UCCMA), will take place July 10-13 at the First Congregational Church of Greenwich, CT. Designed for church musicians, choral and handbell choir members and worship leaders, the three-day event includes workshops, plenary sessions, worship services, evening entertainment and networking opportunities.

The stellar roster of presenters includes:

·      Tom Shelton, associate professor in choral activities at Westminster Choir College

·      Nathanial Gumbs, concert organist and director of chapel music at Yale

·      Ellen Dickinson, director of bell programs at Yale

·      Braxton Shelley, associate professor of music, sacred music and divinity at Yale

·      Janet Yieh, concert organist and specialist in women composers

LEARN MORE

Joys & Concerns

The Committee on Ministry invites you to an Ecclesiastical Council for Elizabeth O’Sullivan Saturday, March 23, at 2:00 pm. Delegates and guests are invited to join in person at First UCC in Northfield and via Zoom. This is an opportunity for our member churches to participate in the Conference’s discernment for our candidates for ordination. We must have a quorum for this candidate to move forward in this process. Reach out to See Chang, COM administrative assistant, COMadmin@uccmn.org, with questions or for more info. Read Elizabeth's ordination paper here, and learn more about Elizabeth here.

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