THE WEEKLY NEWS
April 16, 2024 | Volume 16 No. 14
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Resolutions for the 2024 Annual Meeting | |
The Board of Directors invites you to submit your resolutions to be considered for inclusion in the agenda for the 2024 Annual Meeting. Resolutions should be sent to Conference Minister Gordon Rankin (grankin@nhcucc.org) and follow the linked guidelines.
Read the resolution guidelines here...
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Lay Preaching Class - Rescheduled | |
Did you miss the lay preaching class at Prepared to Serve? Presenter The Rev. Dr. Deborah Roof will give an encore presentation at First Parish in East Derry on Saturday, April 20, from 9 to 12.
All are welcome to join us for this morning of preaching for the layperson. Please plan to arrive early so that we have a full three hours together. Email pastordeborah@fpc-ucc.org to reserve your spot! We are located at 47 East Derry Road, East Derry.
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Church Administrative Professionals Gathering | |
Wednesday, April 24th, 10am – 2:00 pm at NH Conference, 140 Sheep Davis Rd, Pembroke.
The Local Church Support Ministry (LCSM) is hosting an event for church administrative professionals.
- Learn about Local Church Support Ministry and how they are assisting our churches.
- Meet other church admin professionals.
- Chat with staff and learn how each of them assists our churches, our pastors, and you!
- Network with other pros about great ways to tackle tasks and organize information.
- Allow the LCSM and NHCUCC to celebrate you, your work, and your ministry to our local congregations.
To register, please contact Susanne McCarron via email, smccarron@nhcucc.org.
This event is free of charge to participants. Boxed Lunch will be included (more details to come). Churches are encouraged to compensate their professionals for this workday.
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Calling All Clergy!
Register for Clergy Day of Replenishment and Renewal Now
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All clergy of the New Hampshire Conference are invited to “Come to the River” for a day away from work to restore, connect, and explore. Many clergy are experiencing tremendous depletion, fatigue, and weariness these days. The Clergy Support Ministry recognizes this weariness and offers this respite day.
We invite you to join us on Tuesday, April 30th, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Congregational Church of Hooksett. The day begins at 8:30 a.m. with a light breakfast and will end with lunch.
If you cannot attend in person, we are offering a Zoom Retreat option on Wednesday, May 1st, from 12:30 to 2 p.m.
The Rev. Steve Miller will lead the retreats and offer an enriching time of spiritual exploration involving voice and movement, silence and rest, and community connection.
The cost for the retreat (whether in person or on Zoom) is $20.
You can register and learn more about the day and schedule here: https://nhcucc.regfox.com/clergy-day-2024
The registration deadline is Thursday, April 25th. Come away and rest for a while!
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Guns to Gardens
Join the NH Guns to Gardens Forging Demonstration and Celebration!
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Join Guns to Gardens for a day of reflection and inspiration on Saturday, May 4th at Wesley United Methodist Church in Concord, as they transform unwanted firearms collected at Guns to Gardens events into garden tools. Their live hands-on forging demonstration event includes a celebration; silent auction and raffle of Guns to Gardens tools, wooden bowls, and jewelry; creative community art collage with dismantled gun bits; and fellowship with fellow gun violence prevention advocates and supporters as they raise awareness and funds for their Guns to Gardens program.
RSVP for tickets here. Free event, RSVP required.
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Thaddeus Sieverding Well Wishes | |
Friends, as Thaddeus Sieverding approaches his final days working on the Conference staff, we would invite you to express your appreciation and say your goodbyes. Please feel free to send him messages at tsieverding@nhcucc.org or to send cards to the Conference Office (140 Sheep Davis Road, Pembroke, NH, 03275).
Peace, Gordon
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New Website Pictures
We need your help!
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We are redesigning our website and want to represent as many of our churches as possible. Pictures speak a thousand words, so we want your help gathering pictures of our churches. If you have high-quality images of your church building, interior, or happenings, send them our way! To submit photographs, email tsieverding@nhcucc.org.
Some things to keep in mind:
- We need high-quality images (Unfortunately, we can't accept pixilated, grainy, or blurry pictures)
- We need express permission from the photographer
- If you have pictures of people, we need written consent from anyone seen in the picture. (Here is a photo release form you can use)
We are collecting pictures till the end of April. We would love to see your church represented on our new website!
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The Association Restructuring Task Force
Wants to Listen to You
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Please join us for a Listening Session about the possible Association restructuring plans. We need your feedback, concerns, and hopes. There will be 5 Zoom sessions at different times of the day and week. We hope that one of them will be convenient for you.
Please use the following Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84904679136
Wednesday, April 24 7:00 pm
Saturday, April 27 10:00 am
Sunday, April 28 7:00 pm
Tuesday, May 14 7:00 pm
Thursday, May 16 1:00 pm
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UCC Earth Summit
Featuring Bill McKibben and Award Winning Activists
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The UCC's second annual Earth Summit will feature celebrated author and activist Bill McKibben delivering the Jim Antal Keynote Lecture with the title, "Energy from Heaven or Energy from Hell?" Additionally, the following panel of award-winning activists will speak about the multi-national struggle against the pollution of Formosa Plastics, one of the world's largest plastics producers. Both Sharon Lavigne and Diane Wilson have won the Goldman Prize which is often referred to as the “green” Nobel Prize. They will be joined on the panel by Nancy Bui from the International Monitor Formosa Alliance and Justice for Formosa Victims. The two-and-a-half-hour summit will also feature the announcement of the Dollie Burwell Prophetic Action Award winner, a celebration of the UCC's newest Creation Justice Churches, and a video showcasing the environmental ministries of our host congregation, The Church of Christ at Dartmouth College. Even if you cannot make the event on April 20th at 1 pm ET, still sign-up, and a recording will be sent to you. Register now!
Please feel welcome to join us in-person at the Church of Christ at Dartmouth College. No registration is required for in-person attendance.
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Pride on the Mountain
New 2024 Camp Season!
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This summer Horton Center will be introducing Pride on the Mountain, HC’s first camp for LGBTQ+ youth and allies! It is a half-week camp from Sunday August 4th through Wednesday August 7th. This camp is being developed with help from our sibling camp in Maine (Pilgrim Lodge), who have successfully run a Pride week since 2017.
The goal of this half week is to create a safe, loving, and open community where everyone has the space to discover and be their authentic selves. At Pride on the Mountain, pronouns are honored, names respected, exploration welcome, and identity celebrated! Our counselors are from a range of backgrounds and are prepared to share their experiences and facilitate age-appropriate dialogue around gender, sexuality, spirituality and how those all intertwine. Read the rest of the deans' letter and the FAQ page here!
Check out the Horton Center summer camp schedule here: www.hortoncenter.org/summer-sessions
Thinking about taking your church up for a retreat at Horton Center? Email Tivvi for more information!
Wilderness First Aid Certification course at Horton Center: www.hortoncenter.org/wfa
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Applications for New Office Administrator
Now Open
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The New Hampshire Conference seeks candidates to serve as our Office Administrator. The Office Administrator is the primary host and hospitality provider for events held at the Conference Office, maintains the Conference directory database and calendar, completes bank deposits, provides administrative support for the Conference Annual Meeting and Prepared to Serve events, arrange for periodic bulk mailings, and many other administrative tasks to support the mission and ministry of the Conference. A position description is available upon request.
The Office Administrator position is a 37 ½ hours a week, non-exempt position. Salary information available on request. Full benefits (health and dental insurance, pension, etc.) are provided.
Interested candidates should submit a resume (with references to contact) to the Reverend Gordon Rankin, Conference Minister, at grankin@nhcucc.org.
The New Hampshire Conference is a Racial Justice, Just Peace, Open and Affirming Conference of the United Church of Christ.
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UPCOMING CONFERENCE EVENTS | |
| The NHCUCC Women's Fellowship Spring Program on Cultural Diversity in New Hampshire.
Plymouth Congregational Church | April 20 9:30 - 3:30
Save the Date | | |
PRAYERS FOR THE ASSOCIATION RESTRUCTURE | |
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We invite you to continue praying with us this week. May we be led by a Spirit of cooperation and collaboration. May our churches add their voices to our discernment process. May they participate in the upcoming listening sessions. May they claim their fears and allow God’s grace to hold them in their fear.
Being congregational means that every Child of God participates in creating our future together. The seeds of a few souls, is prayerfully shared with the many; and then those souls gracefully tweak and turn over these new ideas, redefining and reimagining God’s dream for God’s church in New Hampshire. Together we create a field of glory where all are served and all are led. In God’s name and with God’s blessing. Let us continue to pray.
-The Association Capacity Task Force
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The Third Congregational Church of Alstead, the United Church of Acworth, and the United Church of Winchester. We know that loss and grief are not one day events but continue to effect individuals and communities over time. And so we pray for churches who are grieving the death of their pastors, that they might feel God’s presence with them, and the support and care of the communities around them. | |
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The Rockingham Association will hold a Service of Ordination for Debbie Gline Allen on Sunday, April 28th at 3:00 p.m. at the First Parish Congregational Church UCC in East Derry.
The Rev. Dr. Dana Mann has announced her resignation as Pastor and Teacher of the Federated Church of Marlborough. Rev. Mann’s last Sunday in Marlborough will be May 19th.
The Rev. Dr. Dana Mann has been called as Transitional Pastor of the First Parish Church, Congregational, UCC in Dover. Rev. Mann will begin her ministry on June 2nd.
The Carroll-Strafford Association will hold their Spring Meeting on Sunday, April 21, at 3 pm at the Lee Church Congregational, UCC. At 4 pm the Rev. Cat Allard will be Installed as Pastor and Teacher of the Lee Church Congregational, UCC.
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Sunday Schedule: April 21, 2024 | | |
The Conference Minister will preach at New Rye Union Congregational Church where the Rev. Raymond Godin serves as pastor and teacher. In the afternoon Rev. Rankin will attend the Carroll-Strafford spring meeting and Installation of Reverend Catherine Allard as pastor and teacher of the Lee Congregational Church. | | | |
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Monday - Friday | 8:00 am - 4:30 pm | |
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The Weekly News is published to promote the mission and ministry of the New Hampshire Conference of the United Church of Christ.
These announcements are intended to be brief, timely, and of a general interest to our Conference readers. Supportive links are provided whenever they are available. We encourage you to forward these materials to others in your church using the link below and to share them in your bulletins and local church newsletters.
Send your items to Communications@nhcucc.org. The deadline for submitting items for the next issue is Thursday at 12:00 PM.
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