Weekly E-News Spring Edition | |  | | |
1) Message from the Conference
2) Latest News
3) Around the Conference
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4) Prayer Concerns
5) Save the Date & Cont. Ed Resources
6) VTCUCC Classifieds
| | DEADLINE for E-Kit News must be received by Tuesday of each week. Please send any and all information please email: admin@vermontucc.org | | Message from the Conference | | |
Dear Beloved Community in the Vermont Conference,
Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today
Luke 19:5 (NRSV)
I’ve been thinking about the gift, responsibility and management of time and about its spirituality.
Time is a funny thing that seems to have a life of its own: no time, out of time, make time, too much time, time on my hands, spend time. Time can seem either too much or too little. Time can be regimental or flexible. Time can seem like a friend or enemy.
One thing I know for sure is that spending time on another person and on one’s relationship with God is often transformational. In Luke’s gospel, we read about a tax collector named Zacchaeus who cheated his own people as a way of enriching himself. One day, he learned that Jesus was to pass nearby and he was so excited he climbed a tree to get a better view. Jesus stopped and invited himself to Zacchaeus’ house and in the time they spent together, Zacchaeus found himself committing to restore what he had stolen and more so. Jesus spending time with Zacchaeus changed him in a profound way.
Investing our time in relationships with God, our loved ones, our church community and even those who are different from us or at odds with us is the only way to truly build bridges that can change us and change the other as well. Yes, it costs us something, especially when we think of time as a limited or scarce resource. And yet, is time not a precious gift and an essential resource for growing into the people God has created us to be and growing the world into God’s vision of the Beloved Community?
God bless you as we live in this ordinary, extraordinary time.
Lynn
| | The 35th General Synod 2025: Catch Up on All the Inspiring Moments by clicking here: GS35 SPECIAL EDITION | | Rainbow Steps - the New Red Carpet? | | | | |
A few weeks ago, College Street Congregational Church members Laura Labrie and Scott Mackey freshened up our front steps with a beautiful coat of rainbow paint. This past Sunday, a weekend visitor to Burlington from California, saw the steps as she was wandering around town (how can you miss them?) and decided right then and there to come worship with us! Could Rainbow Steps be the new Red Carpet of welcome to our churches?"
| | Step right in. All are welcome! | | |
Resolution of Compensating Black Musicians/Lyricists by way of Support of Black Music
In case you hadn’t heard, at this year’s Annual Meeting of the Vermont Conference, we passed a Resolution to encourage congregations to donate funds to organizations that promote or benefit the previously unrecognized Black composers of spirituals and other music. This resolution passed unanimously and its implementation is being facilitated by the Justice & Witness Ministries Committee.
The Jeff Church, UCC, will be setting aside $10 every time we sing or play the music of a Negro spiritual, or music/lyrics created by Black musicians and lyricists. As a small church, it will be a while before we have an amount worthy of sending to a cause or organization that fits the resolution passed at our Annual Meeting in May. As a member of Justice & Witness Ministries of the VTCUCC, I am reaching out to learn if there are congregations who would like to pool their monies collected based upon the mission of the Resolution to donate to a particular group, organization, or cause recommended by the JWM team on an annual basis? Pooling our money will result in an amount that can truly benefit the chosen recipient for that year. Please email me at revsallyjeffucc@gmail.com with your interest and ideas. Thanks!
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Protests continue in Los Angeles, California against ICE’s mass detention and deportation of our immigrant neighbors. In response, the President recently sent the National Guard and active-duty Marines to Los Angeles in violation of current law and without consulting local or state officials. Meanwhile mass deportations by ICE are causing chaos and pain for immigrant families and communities across the country. But President Trump’s detention and deportation campaign is expensive, and the administration is running out of money. The Senate is now preparing to vote on the budget reconciliation bill, otherwise known as the “One Big Evil Bill” to fund the President’s immoral immigration program.
This budget reconciliation bill increases funding for immigration enforcement by $168 billion dollars, according to the Congressional Budget Office, which will help ICE deport 1 million people per year. This is more than a 143% increase in immigration enforcement funding and will be taken directly from necessary programs such as Medicaid and SNAP. This bill will cut Medicaid funding by $864 billion in 10 years and $300 billion dollars from SNAP in nine years.
The bill’s cuts for Medicaid and SNAP will strip immigrants of necessary resources. The bill excludes legal immigrants fleeing persecution, such as refugees and asylum seekers, from the Medicaid and SNAP programs, and disqualifies American citizen children in mixed status families from receiving the Child Tax Credit. This will lead to 1.4 million legal immigrants losing health insurance, 250,000 legal immigrants losing access to SNAP, and 2 million families losing access to $2500 in federal tax forgiveness
As a faith community that welcomes, affirms, and supports all people regardless of where they come from, we cannot support a bill that funds this indiscriminate attack on immigrant communities. Healthcare, food, and clean water are fundamental rights for all people in America, which should not be stripped from anyone regardless of their citizenship status. Let us join together to oppose this bill which will bring so much suffering and pain to immigrant, refugees, and asylum seekers across the country.
“He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing.” - Deuteronomy 10:18
Tell your members of Congress today to vote NO on the current budget reconciliation bill. and support the safety of immigrant communities.
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Support for Philippine Human Rights Overwhelmingly Passes at Synod
The Resolution of Witness sailed through the plenary of General Synod 35 on July 14.
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July 31 @ 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
In a world marked by fragmentation and fear, young people of faith are not retreating—they are rising. They are drawing on sacred teachings to respond with courage, creativity, and compassion, becoming bridge-builders in divided societies.
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Aug 7, 2025 | 3:30pm - 4:30pm
The affordability of meeting our basic human needs is beyond comfortable reach for more people than ever. Wages, salaries, and worker protections are suppressed. How can churches help meet the needs within their congregations, their communities, and our country?
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AROUND THE CONFERENCE
(Please let us know what your Congregation is up to by sending an email to VermontConference@gmail.com .
You may just see yourself or someone you love in the eKit or our Facebook page!)
| | UCC Everywhere website builder: Are you using it? | | | |
In Search of
Are there other UCC churches in Vermont currently using the UCC Everywhere website development program? If so, please reach out to Liz Sykas at Bethany.Rental.Coord@gmail.com.
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DARIUS JONATHAN
Dear Friends:
Darius' kidneys are failing. He's not had to go on dialysis yet, but we expect he will soon. He is on a list for a kidney from a deceased donor, but donation of a live kidney is a much better option. The National Kidney Foundation makes it possible even if it not a direct match through an exchange program. Please take the time to read the website and pass it along if you can. Post it on social media, do whatever is necessary to get the word out there. And we thank you.
Blessings be with you,
Carrie Bail
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YAMAHA PIANO
Julia Spinler in our Conference is looking to give away her late husband's Yamaha baby grand piano to an individual or church who would truly appreciate and care for it. If you are interested, please be in touch with her at juliaspinler5@gmail.com.
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The Vermont based teen world music ensemble, Village Harmony, will return to the Champlain Islands Saturday, July 26 for a 4 p.m. concert at the Congregational Church of South Hero UCC, 24 South Street, South Hero. The concert by 22 talented teen singers and their 4 adult leaders will include music from South Africa, Bulgaria, the nation of Georgia, as well as Renaissance choral works and American shape-note songs. Admission is by sliding scale donation at the door. Find additional information about Village Harmony and their upcoming tour at villageharmony.org. For information about the South Hero concert, contact Mark Kennedy: maylskenn@yahoo.com; 802-318-0916.
Village Harmony, a non-profit umbrella organization based in Vermont, promotes the study and performance of ethnic singing traditions from around the world. For more than thirty years they have organized teen ensembles each summer in New England and ensembles for mixed-age and adult singers in numerous foreign countries. Each Village Harmony ensemble develops its own unique sound with a different team of leaders. All share common traits: a powerful, natural, unrestrained vocal sound; a remarkable variety of vocal styles and timbres appropriate to the ethnic and traditional music; and a visible, vibrant community among the singers and audience as they share in a joyful celebration of music.
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Greater Bennington Community Services (GBCS), is co-sponsoring a free no-ID required medical, dental and vision clinic with Remote Area Medical (RAM) on Saturday, August 9 & Sunday, August 10 at the Mt. Anthony Union Middle School on East Rd in Bennington, VT.
The clinic opens at 6a.m. each day and is first-come, first served. Parking lot opens at 11:59pm on Friday night and will remain open through the end of the clinic on Sunday.
Services include general exams, reproductive health/women's health exams in the medical area; cleanings, fillings, extractions and x-rays in the dental area; and eye exams, prescriptions and glasses made on site in the vision area. All services are free.
If anyone is interested in volunteering, the volunteer registration is open until August 1. We are always looking for more nurses and folks who can help with general support - like parking lot duty, registration and serving food.
Thanks for helping to spread the word!
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From Pastor Chris Heintz: Hello My Friend,
If you’ve been waiting for a good day to donate to my Empire State Ride to End Cancer, Today is THE Day. Our sponsors Timberbuilt and Port X Logistics are sponsoring a $50,000 fundraising match.
Gifts up to $150 will be matched dollar for dollar.
Gifts over $150 will still receive a $150 match.
I’m already 2/3 on the way to reach my goal of $20,000 for the cutting edge research at the Roswell Park Cancer Institute, and a contribution TODAY would go DOUBLE toward that goal. Make a secure online donation using the QR code or Donate link below!
We all know someone who has had cancer. This is your opportunity to help find cures and breakthrough treatments for something that affects us all.
Please give today! And spread the word.
I ride so that others might live!
Chris Heintz
This Summer I'm riding 550 miles to End Cancer!
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Greetings VT Conference!
It was such a pleasure to meet you all at your Annual Meeting at the beginning of May and spend the weekend worshiping, square dancing, learning, and connecting with you! Thank you so much for the warm welcome and for allowing me to share about Horton Center, the Outdoor Ministries site of the NH UCC Conference.
Camp registration is OPEN! There are spots still available in our camp sessions and retreat sessions - so don't wait! Check out the full summer and fall schedule here: And be sure to reach out to me if you have any questions!
Counselors are NEEDED! Are you looking for a way to make a difference? Are you seeking a place to retreat to for a week at a time where you will have fun, explore your faith, lead, be transformed, and feel renewed? Come to camp as a volunteer counselor! The amazing magic of camp is not possible without people like YOU! Email me for more information about the role and our needs this summer: TPare@nhcucc.org
Scholarships are Available! Scholarships are available through local churches and the NH and VT conferences. We hope that no one will miss out on the transformative ministry of camp due to financial reasons, so please feel free to fill out an application today!
I'd love to see you on the mountain this summer! (I promise we'll have more delicious fudgy brownies there!).
Shalom,
Tivvi Pare
(she/her/hers)
Horton Center Executive Director
NHCUCC Christian Edu. Specialist
603-545-9660
| | VERMONT PRIDE SCHEDULE 2025 | | |
Please keep family, friends and the larger community in your prayers at the sudden loss of the
Ven. J. Stannard Baker. Stan was a Cathedral Deacon at St. Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral in
Burlington and an Arch Deacon of the Episcopal Diocese of Vermont. He was a gifted
psychotherapist. Stan and his husband, Peter Harrigan, were part of the original six plaintiffs in
Vermont’s historic civil unions law in 2000. May he rest in peace and rise in glory.
Our dear friend and colleague Carrie Bail's husband, Darius Jonathan, is in urgent need of a kidney transplant. You can make an incredible difference by considering becoming a living donor or by simply sharing his story. Please visit nkr.org/XAX634 to learn more about Darius and how you can help save a life. Let's spread the word and help him find his match! #KidneyTransplant #LivingDonor #HelpDarius #MedicalFundraiser #ShareToSave
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Save the Date & Cont. Ed Resources
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Ministry21 Update
We’re excited to share more about our upcoming Ministry21 classes for Fall and Spring!
Fall 2025:
UCC Faith and Theology in the Public Square: Where Jesus the Healer Meets Jesus the
Revolutionary, taught by the Rev. Gail Kinney. Classes will be held in person from at West Lebanon NH UCC church from, and will meet September 6, October 4, November 1, and December 6 from 9am-4pm.
Spring 2026:
Pastoral Care and Pastoral Ethics, taught by the Rev. Jonathan Hauze. Classes will meet at the Norwich Congregational UCC on January 24, February 28, March 21, and April 18 from 9am-4pm.
Meeting People Where They Are: Theology, Context, and Ministry Beyond the Church, taught by the Rev. Dr. Gayle Murphy. Dates haven’t been finalized, but they will not conflict with the other course; classes will be held in Meriden, NH at the UCC church there.
***Registration is now OPEN*** for not only Fall 2025 but also for Spring 2026. That’s right; you could potentially sign up for ALL THREE CLASSES! Yahoo!
Here’s where you’ll find the registration forms (through the NH Conference website): https://www.nhcucc.org/ministry21 … and here’s our Facebook page, if you haven’t “liked” us there: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1BhdZ4HMvt/.
We’re so excited about these three courses that we’re developing, and we hope to see many of you there, beginning in September!
Warmly, and on behalf of Stacey, too,
Susie
Ministry21 is a collaboration of the Vermont and New Hampshire Conferences, and is partially funded through the generosity of the Brown Endowment of United Church Funds.
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Event Details:
The 7 Deadly Sins of Church Communication (and How to Avoid Them)
August 13th @ 12 PM
Led by Rev. Walt Hampton, J.D.
Event Page: https://www.faithmesh.io/event-details/the-7-deadly-sins-of-church-communication-and-how-to-avoid-them
Early Bird pricing: $50 (Only a limited number of early bird tickets available)
General Admission: $80
Strong communication is the heartbeat of a thriving ministry. In this one-hour virtual workshop, Rev. Walt Hampton, J.D., will guide pastors, staff, and lay leaders through practical strategies for communicating clearly, aligning your team, and casting an inspiring vision.
Meet the Speaker:
Rev. Walt Hampton is a seasoned executive coach, leadership trainer, and bestselling author. As the CEO of Summit Success International, he’s worked globally with organizations on emotional intelligence, conflict resolution, and organizational development. A Cornell Law School grad, longtime managing partner, and ordained Franciscan friar, Walt brings deep wisdom and real-world insight to church leadership.
About FaithMesh.io
At FaithMesh.io, our mission is simple yet powerful: to empower progressive churches to thrive in the modern age. We believe every church, regardless of size or resources, deserves the tools and knowledge to spread the gospel effectively.
Our resources are carefully curated from ministry leaders, industry experts, and professionals with hands-on experience in church operations, online strategy, and community building. The majority of these resources—such as articles, videos, and templates—are offered completely free of charge to help as many churches as possible grow their reach and impact.
We also produce original content through collaborations with contributors, ensuring that every piece is relevant, practical, and valuable for your ministry.
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Home About Us Programs For Authorizing Bodies Contact Us Donate
Are you considering studying more about the Bible or working toward the Bible Studies Certificate? A good overview of the Bible, What is the Bible? (Dickinson/MBS), begins September 17.
The 3-course Bible Studies Certificate guides the learner to deepen their knowledge and current scholarship of the Old and New Testaments, while also giving the learner opportunities to create and teach curriculum in their own faith community.
· Old Testament Hermeneutics 08/6/2025 - 9/23/2025
· New Testament Hermeneutics 10/8/2025 - 11/18/2025
· Approved Elective Course with Bible Study Project
Go to the PATHWAYS website (pathwaystheological.org) to learn more and to apply for these and other courses.
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Old Testament Hermeneutics, a Level 2 6-week course begins on August 6, 2025.
In this course, participants will explore the Hebrew Bible using historical critical methods and other tools of Biblical interpretation. Participants will learn the interpretive tool of Midrash (sanctified imagination) and apply Biblical insight to 21st century issues.
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Introduction to Spiritual Health (Pastoral Care) begins August 1.
Through personal reflection and exploration of current pastoral care paradigms, this 6-week course offers training to
- identify and apply best practices in empathetic listening
- understand models of pastoral care assessment
- create a pastoral care plan based on spiritual assessment tools
- articulate how to provide pastoral care effectively in diverse cultural settings.
The course outcome project will give you an opportunity to apply what you have learned within your own faith community or practice context.
Spiritual Care of Self and Others begins on August 6, 2025
In this course, participants have an opportunity to explore their understanding of self as members of a Christian community and to develop skills to teach and support others about specific aspects of the Christian tradition that support self-care. The course blends contemporary personality psychology with traditional practices of prayer, the contemplative reading of scripture, and spiritual direction to engage an integrated understanding of self, to support one’s own self-care, and to provide skills for use in the local church.
The next UCC History and Polity course begins August 6, 2025.
PATHWAYS Early Fall Course Schedule
Old Testament Hermeneutics 8/6/2025
UCC History and Polity 8/6/2025
Spiritual Care of Self and Others 8/6/2025
Variety of Beliefs within Christianity Today 8/6/2025
Preaching for Special Occasions 8/20/2025
Understanding the Bible as a Progressive Christian 8/20/2025
What is the Bible? (Dickinson/MBS) 9/17/2025
Professional Boundaries and Ministerial Self-Care 9/17/2025
SAVE THE DATE: Saturday, September 13, 2025, 7:00p.m.
Come celebrate with us! PATHWAYS Theological's Benefit Concert sponsored by Lena’s Place Coffee House in the beautiful Central Congregational UCC sanctuary in Atlanta. Enjoy great local musicians (Maureen & Matthew Shelton, and Mockingbird’s Wing) and delicious refreshments. Watch for more information including how to attend online.
Go to the PATHWAYS website (pathwaystheological.org) to learn more and to apply for this and other courses.
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CERTIFICATE OF FOUNDATIONAL THEOLOGY
Offered every year, this 8-course certificate gives a well-rounded preparatory education in the basics: Bible, theology, ethics, faith formation, ecumenism/interfaith comprehension, and pastoral care. Three of the eight courses are required. The courses do not need to be taken in order so you may begin when you’re ready, during any of PATHWAYS’ six terms.
Go to the PATHWAYS website (pathwaystheological.org) to learn more and to apply for this certificate and other courses.
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Welcome, Farewell, and Blessings
Pastoral Transitions
| | Congratulations to Rev. Ava Bilton who was ordained and installed on July 12th! | | |
Mission and faith identity support:
Applicants should demonstrate full support of the mission, values, and faith orientation of the First Congregational Church of Essex Junction, UCC and the United Church of Christ as a welcoming, historic, and progressive Christian faith community. The applicant will unreservedly support the church’s identity as an Open and Affirming (i.e. LGBTQ+ affirming) congregation. For more details regarding the position, please visit our website: https://www.fccej.org/v5/who-we-are/work-with-us/ FCCEJ is an open and affirming church, serving all in the spirit of Christ.
Please send resume and cover letter to: welcome@fccej.org
| | FOR MORE CONFERENCE EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES | | | | |
Join the Movement toward Racial Justice
The United Church of Christ invites you to participate in the Join the Movement Campaign, a three-year initiative that recognizes local churches’ works towards racial justice. Together, we can advocate for all people to live without acts of violence or structures and systems that harm God’s human creation.
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Global Ministries is a joint witness in mission between the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and the United Church of Christ. Join us in our mission to receive and share the Good News of Jesus Christ by joining with global and local partners to work for justice, reconciliation and peace
Become a Global Mission Church!
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Thank You for Your Support!
Our Churches Wider Mission Basic Support, Association Dues, and
Friends of the Vermont Conference make this communication possible.
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