COMMAntary
Equipping a courageous Church alive with Christ’s transforming love
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You Are a Story: Women's Fall Retreat
September 13–15, Camp Onomia
Martha Brunell, facilitator
REGISTER
“Who am I?” is a frequent question in our hearts, in our wondering, and in the words we speak. The unfolding story of who we are develops and is reshaped every day.
On this weekend retreat we will consider our stories as they are part of the larger story of the earth and the cosmos we belong to. We will playfully explore our connections, our interbeing, and our mutuality. This hands-on and feet-on event will feature practices of SoulCollage® and Forest Therapy walks. Inside and outside we will explore, be surprised, and make new discoveries. Our earth-related time together will be expressive and embodied. You are invited to bring your whole self to this storied time.
LEARN MORE
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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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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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Living Faith: Confirming Your Beliefs and Walking in Community
The Damascus Project is pleased to offer "Living Faith: Confirming Your Beliefs and Walking in Community," an online confirmation curriculum for youths in eighth grade and up in the Wisconsin and Minnesota Conferences of the United Church of Christ. This program is designed especially for congregations with just one or two young people of confirmation age and for churches that don’t have a resident pastor or lay leader available to teach confirmation. Financial support is provided by a five-year Thriving Congregations Grant from Lilly Endowment.
LEARN MORE & REGISTER
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Covenant Days are Back!
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Saturday, September 7: New Journey UCC, Hutchinson; REGISTER
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Saturday, October 5: Hazel Park Congregational UCC, St. Paul
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Saturday, November 23: Peace UCC, Duluth
We will gather around the Conference this fall for Covenant Days. This is 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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New Schedule for COMMAntary
Beginning today, Thursday, August 22, COMMAntary will be published on Thursdays (instead of Wednesdays) to better accommodate staff workload. The deadline for content submission is the Tuesday before the Thursday publication date. Send story ideas, insights and more to communications@uccmn.org.
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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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The Committee on Ministry will host an Ecclesiastical Council for Adam Thompson on
Sunday, Aug 25, at 3:00 pm at Meetinghouse Church in Edina and via this Zoom link. This is an opportunity for our member churches to participate in the Conference’s discernment for our candidates for ordination. Please consider joining in this important process. We must have a quorum for this candidate to move forward in their process. Read Adam's ordination paper and learn more about him.
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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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