COMMAntary
Equipping a courageous Church alive with Christ’s transforming love
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From the Transitional Conference Minister
– Rev. David B. Lindsey
Trigger warning: this letter contains references to violent and shocking events.
Minnesota Conference and friends,
I had planned to write to you this week about the changing of the seasons in the Conference, as we enter a season of deepening reflection in the midst of this transition time. I had wanted to encourage you to register for the opportunities for reflection that the Conference is offering this fall, from clergy retreats to Covenant Days. I had laid out a letter about how the search committee for the settled Conference Minister will be at these events asking for your insights and input as they prepare the Conference profile.
That really was the plan. And then the news broke yesterday: four people dead in a school shooting in Winder, Georgia, with several more injured and hospitalized. In almost any other country, this would have been a shocking, unforeseeable, and unimaginable event. In the United States, it was a Wednesday.
Every time a school shooting like this happens, we as a nation bury more children and innocent adults. Those who survive such shootings have to deal with physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual injuries and trauma. Outrage flares up; thoughts and prayers go up; yet this just keeps happening. And while each mass shooting is unique in its particular context and devastation, we seem stuck in a loop that keeps cycling back to a variation of the same tragic story over and over again.
For many of us in the Minnesota Conference, this upcoming Sunday is Rally/Homecoming Sunday. Your congregation(s) may have been planning any number of fun and meaningful activities for this upcoming weekend. For some of us, faith formation for children and youth kicks back into high gear this Sunday, including blessings of teachers and children for the start of the school year. For others, attendance increases after people return to the habit of church attendance on Sundays rather than being at the lake each weekend. Even if those things are not the case, you still have children, parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts, and people who care about the wellbeing of young people who will be worshiping with you this weekend.
So how in the world do we gather together after yet another horrifying tragedy in America? Do we address the school shooting straight away before the children’s sermon, knowing that even young children are now commonly aware of these things and need to process them? Do we wait until any children and youth may have gone on their way to Sunday School, trusting that adults may feel more free to reflect and lament openly if they know impressionable children aren’t listening? Do we avoid the topic altogether to give people a respite from the news?
I’m not sure there’s any one-size-fits-all answer to how best to gather. UCC congregations vary greatly – by size, demography, location, political makeup, and more. As leaders and regular attenders in your congregations, you know better than we in the Conference Office do about the needs of your particular community. That said, if you’re looking for resources to help your congregation this Sunday (or even sooner), here are some options to consider:
I really hate that this is where we are as a nation. I confess that even though I have worked on this issue, I haven’t done nearly as much as I wish I had. Maybe none of us have. But while we may not be able to complete this work on our own, neither are we free to abandon it. So let’s keep equipping and empowering each other with resources – prayerful, political, artistic, linguistic, and more – until every child can go to school in peace.
Sincerely,
David
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The Damascus Project Offers a Host of Fall Opportunities
Fall Leadership Matters: Bob Smietana, September 17
We welcome award-winning religious journalist Bob Smietana, author of Reorganized Religion: The Reshaping of the American Church and Why It Matters. His book uses a wealth of data to illustrate the changing landscape of American religion and the value religious congregations have in their communities. REGISTER
Reading Paul, New Testament class, begins September 19
Taught by the Rev. Michael Jones, associate conference minister of the Wisconsin Conference UCC, the course is open to curious lay learners, members in discernment, those seeking ministerial authorization, and clergy who want to renew their appreciation of Paul’s correspondence. REGISTER
Online Confirmation Course
Made possible by our Lilly Endowment Thriving Congregations Grant, Living Faith: Confirming your Beliefs and Walking in Community will run from September through May. The course invites young people and an accompanying mentor into a learning community and is especially designed for congregations without a pastor or leader to teach confirmation, or those churches with just one or two young people of Confirmation age. REGISTER
Exploring Implicit Bias for Authorized Ministers and Members-in-Discernment
This course, designed by the Wisconsin and Minnesota Conferences UCC, fulfills that anti-racism and DEI training requirement for authorized ministers in our conferences. REGISTER
CHECK OUT additional opportunities coming up later in the fall.
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Clergy Retreat is October 22-24
Dunrovin Retreat Center
Dates: October 22-24, arrive 5 pm Tuesday & depart 11:30 am Thursday
Cost: $225 (scholarship support is available)
REGISTER
We are excited to gather again this fall for our Clergy Retreat. This year we are blessed to have Rev. Dr. Sarah Lund, Minister for Disabilities and Mental Health Justice with the national setting of the UCC, as our retreat facilitator. We are also delighted to welcome back Sara Thomsen as our musician throughout the retreat, leading us through our time of “Reimagining Our Connection to Self and Spirit.” Please make plans to join with Conference staff and a community of colleagues for this time of renewal and reconnection. LEARN MORE
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Celebrating with First UCC Little Falls
First United Church in Little Falls celebrates its 50th anniversary September 15! Regular Sunday worship at 9:30 am is followed by a Special Anniversary Program, luncheon, and games.
The Conference wishes this congregation a wonderful, spirit-filled celebration!
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Creativity and Connection in a Time of Change: A Courage & Renewal Retreat & Cohort for Authorized Minister
"One of the most calming and powerful actions you can do to intervene in a stormy world is to stand up and show your soul. Soul on deck shines like gold in dark times.” (Clarissa Pinkola Estes)
As you look to 2025 you might be wondering how to cultivate creativity, community and love that has the power to sustain you. The task of leadership – in a variety of ministry contexts – calls on us to be grounded, connective and sturdy.
You are invited to join a cohort experience (January–June) with others seeking to be courageous and open hearted in this important time. Through a series of two on-site retreats (January/June) and monthly online peer calls, participants will be invited to reconnect with how their inner life of spirit and their public life of ministry grow together.
This experience is for all authorized clergy: congregational pastors, chaplains, and leaders in alternative settings. While sponsored by the Minnesota Conference United Church of Christ, the series is open to authorized clergy of any denomination and in any region of the country. LEARN MORE
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How You Carry It: Grief Retreat
October 28–30
Dunrovin Retreat Center
Grief is inevitable in our lives in response to losses small, medium, or large. We live grief saturated lives that destabilize and shatter our sense of identity over and over. Grief has many faces. The pandemic laid bare our personal grief, our grief regarding political and institutional history and decline, our grief around continuing racial injustice, our grief prompted by economic insecurity, and our grief in the face of mounting evidence of climate change and extinction. This is by no means an exhaustive list of how grief visits our life journeys.
Grief is the great equalizer, in every life, breaking down and breaking open what was. Enfolded in the deep and wise ways of the earth, we will spend gentle days together exploring the breadth and depth of how we might carry our grief while open to its potential gifts and growth. Rev. Dr. Martha Brunnell is our facilitator. LEARN MORE
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Covenant Days are Back!
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Saturday in Hutchinson is postponed until spring
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Saturday, October 5: Hazel Park Congregational UCC, St. Paul. REGISTER
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Saturday, November 23: Peace UCC, Duluth
Covenant Days are an opportunity for sibling churches and Conference staff to join together for fellowship, worship, and support. All Covenant Days will run from 9:30 am to 3 pm.
This year our conversation will focus on our Conference transition and preparing for our next Conference Minister. In the morning, we will spend time celebrating our history with stories of where our churches come from and our own memories of the Minnesota Conference. In the afternoon we will focus on our hopes for the future as we together envision what comes next!
This is your opportunity to share your vision about where we will go in the coming years. Members of the Search Committee, Conference staff, and Board of Directors will also be present to be in conversation and to hear your hopes and memories.
If you have any questions please reach out to Kelly Gallagher (kellyg@uccmn.org) or Kevin Brown (kevinb@uccmn.org).
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Suicide Prevention Offered for Rural Ministry
The Minnesota Department of Agriculture is launching a four-week training to teach rural faith leaders how to recognize and engage with someone who is having suicidal thoughts, connect that person to help, and support family and community members who have been affected by suicide. REGISTER
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Embodied Antiracism Clergy Practice Group - Fall 2024
REGISTER
Intro Day: Thursday, October 3, 9:30 am–4:30 pm
Weekly Sessions: The following 9 Thursdays, 10 am–noon (skipping Thanksgiving)
Closing Session: December 12, from 9am-1pm.
This group is for white clergy from the Twin Cities area who are seeking to more faithfully embody racial justice values and cultivate loving accountability with other clergy. Facilitated embodied antiracism work includes exploration of the embodied roots of our white patterns, space to practice somatic/body-based practices, and opportunities to share vulnerably with each other towards more honest and accountable relationships.
While we will welcome folks to join as an individual, we strongly encourage you to join with at least one other pastor with whom you are in relationship. Previous cohort members reiterated that the impact is greater when learning and practicing with peers who you share life/ministry with, especially as it amplifies the possibility for impact in your context.
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Beloved Community: Sharing the Stories of All God’s People
October 13-15 | Dunrovin Retreat Center
Faith formation leaders are invited to spend two days and nights at beautiful Dunrovin Retreat Center sharing stories, deepening friendships, and developing tools of radical hospitality. Small-group plenaries, led by Rev. Dr. Jia Starr Brown, Dr. Kelly Sherman-Conroy, and Joe Davis, will ground us in the essential welcome of dismantling racism through story sharing and the arts. Beloved singer/songwriter Sara Thomsen will lead us in music and prayer, and two break-out workshops.
Six additional break-out workshops - led by local peers! - will expand our awareness through:
- Ministry with Neurodiverse Children & Training for Youth & Adults
- Creating Gender Inclusive Ministries
- Gender, Sexuality, & Body-Affirming Curricula for All Ages
- Being an Antiracist Youth Ministry Leader
- Building Disabilities Ministries with Children, Youth, and Families
- Mental Health-Aware / OR / Trauma-Informed CYF Ministries (TBD)
REGISTER
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Don't Miss a Unique Opportunity with Living Waters Cooperative
September 16-18
LEARN MORE
These days, many of us find ourselves wondering about the future of the church. We invite you to join us as we reflect, experiment, dream, and challenge the boundaries that have often created obstacles in pursuing a Gospel-centered life in community. Scholarships available (when you register select “Financial Assistance Requested”). The Minnesota Conference can also help subsidize churches and church members. Reach out to Kelly Gallagher (kellyg@uccmn.org) with questions.
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Registration is Open for the 2024-2025 ACTION Cohort
Although the average BIPOC household discusses race 6-18 times each day, the standard anti-racism training requirements in organizations are limited to an average of 4 hours each year. That only allows time to scratch the same, annual, narrow surface - over and over and over again.
This is the RACISM of anti-racism education. Effective anti-racism education creates movement - not stagnancy. Are you ready to MOVE?
The ACTION Project is a three-year program designed to reflect the critical intersections of learning, accountability, and praxis that are necessary for racial justice. Utilizing non-traditional frameworks, participants learn from the authority, wisdom, and experiences of BIPOC educators. LEARN MORE & REGISTER
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Be an Overcoming Racism Satellite Site on November 8
Every year the Facilitating Racial Equity Collaborative holds a November conference with keynote speakers focused on advancing racial justice. In its 16th year, Minnesota Council of Churches (MCC) Co-Directors of Racial Justice Rev. Pamela Ngunjiri and Rev. Jim Bear Jacobs will offer the morning keynote on “Reparations in Action.” The MCC is in the midst of a 10-year focus on truth and reparations.
While the conference is held at Metro State, you don’t need to drive to Saint Paul to attend. You can host a satellite site! Satellite sites livestream the morning conference and invite in local resources for afternoon presentation and conversation. In exchange for the morning content and co-promotion, satellite sites agree to use Overcoming Racism materials, develop an afternoon workshops, and provide a post-conference summary.
Satellite sites are already planned in Wright County, Rochester, Bemidji, Marshall and Moorhead but we hope to add more. If your congregation is in Duluth, Winona, Mankato, Grand Rapids, Faribault, or anywhere else and you’re ready to help overcome racism, email us at info@overcomingracism.org.
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Rev. Richard Eick is an ordained UCC clergy with standing in the Minnesota Conference. He passed away on August 19th, 2024 at the age of 81. Read his obituary.
You are invited to the installation service celebrating Corinne Freedman Ellis covenant relationship with Peace UCC in Duluth on Sunday, September 15, at 4:00 pm. Attend in person at Peace UCC, 1111 N. 11th Ave E, Duluth, or via Zoom.
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Upcoming Conference Events | |
More Resources & Opportunities | |
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Send story ideas, insights and more to communications@uccmn.org. COMMAntary is published on Wednesdays; submissions are due the Monday prior to publication at noon.
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The Conference website offers a wealth of resources related to faith formation, racial justice, and more.
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This newsletter is brought to you by generous contribution to Our Church's Wider Mission.
The Minnesota Conference United Church of Christ (UCC) equips a courageous Church alive with Christ’s transforming love. Through advice, support, and resources, we strengthen the 126 congregations throughout the state to do the redemptive work of God in the world.
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