Conference News for April 25

CONFERENCE NEWS

Moving Together in Spirit as a Conference

April 25 , 2024

CONFERENCE MINISTER'S CORNER

Rev. Dr. Tony Clark

Transitional Conference Minister

Dear Folks:

I am just back from the clergy retreat. There were 12 of us who gathered on the outskirts of Bozeman in a sprawling rented cabin. The last in-person retreat was before the pandemic, and this gathering was noticeably needed. In our time together, we cooked and ate together, played some games, worshiped together, told stories, and spent time wrestling with the theme of Restoration: Roots and Wings.

This clergy retreat was a form of self-care. Self-care is not a selfish act; it is an act of loving yourself as you love your neighbors. The act of being together and telling our stories formally as part of the programming and informally around the dinner table is a way to support one another in ministry. We learned the Hawaiian term ho’o ponopono, which is storytelling that makes right the relationships that have been damaged. As we told stories of our roots and traditions, we were heard and seen as only our colleagues could do, restoring our souls, and giving us some wings as we returned back to where we serve.

Ministry is a profession that can drain the energy out of the soul, and taking time away with other ministers can be a source of renewal, refreshment, restoration, and resilience. Many of the difficulties in ministry are related to the inherent emotional immediacy of the work: managing our own grief as we lead funerals for dear members, being in a profession that talks routinely about the demise of our employing organizations, facing the challenge of change when many members want everything to stay the same, and feeling both helpless and responsible for the vitality of our churches.

Led by members of the Church and Ministry Commission, this retreat is a tangible part of the mandate the Commission has to support clergy. Other ways the Church and Ministry Commission supports our authorized ministers include vocational support interviews every 3-5 years that we are catching up on this year, sponsoring boundary training (Sept 26 this year), and arranging communities of practice. My own personal commitment is to support clergy in their ministry in order to reduce burn-out, loss of clergy, and fitness reviews.

Thank you to all of our churches; your generosity toward Our Church’s Wider Mission helps our Conference provide these opportunities. Blessings to all of our ministers; may your soul find restoration in the roots of our faith, and may you soar on eagles wings as you serve Christ in your settings.

Peace, Pastor Tony

CALENDAR

April 25 - Board of Directors 6 pm

April 30 - Church & Ministry 3:30

May 1 - Cam Planning 5 pm

May 11 - Liturgy Day in Helena

CONFERENCE STAFF

Dr. Rev. Tony Clark

Transitional Conference Minister

Jennifer Penfield

Administrator & Registrar

Patty Martinson

Administrative Assistant

Liturgy Day is coming! Join us in Helena at Plymouth Church, from 10 am to 4 pm, as we share methods and resources for developing liturgy, and join in designing liturgy for use in our congregations. Let us know if you are coming, so we can have a count for lunch by emailing the office at ucc@mnwcucc.org.