Mothering God
A Prayer
Mothering God,
  Love me anew into life
  Bearing the birth
  Of a new beginning
  I cannot yet see
  Nor fully understand
  Yet know I need.
 
Press into me a pulse
  Enlivening every deadness
  Shedding every fear
  Bearing necessary pain
  For new beginnings
  Required for this life
  You renew to rise.
 
Grant me grace
  O Mothering God
  To be born again
  And again and again
  Into your newness
  Offered as a gift
  Above all forms known
  Revealing mysteries
  Hinted by night’s turn
  Toward light of day.
Yes, Mothering God,
  Bear this of You
  Into the life of me
  And the waiting world
  Forming your resurrection
  Surprise at every turn
  Revealing Your promised joy
  Against all odds formed
  By the world’s calculus 
  Of chaos and crisis.
 
Grant me grace
  To entrust everything
  Past, present and future
  Into Your embrace of grace
  Able to make all things new
  By Your large labor of Love.
 
Yes, Mothering God,
  Birth in me a new beginning
  As often as it takes
  As long as it takes
  For this little life to mirror
  Your Love ever more clearly
  Into the life of this world
  You love as Your very own.

-DMLH, April 2022
The Heartland Conference is delighted to offer scholarship support to emerging leaders who are seeking authorization for ministry in the United Church of Christ. Application for available scholarships are open! Apply by clicking on the image above.
Do you know some youth who are interested in summer camp and wonder what it is all about? Bring them to Explore Camp Day in May to “test it out” before summer camp.

Explore Camp Day, May 21, 10am to 3pm
$10 per person, lunch included

Come spend that day at camp exploring a taste of everything camp has to offer. We’ll have games, songs, hikes, crafts, worship, camp lunch, and more! This event is intended for children of all ages accompanied by a parent/guardian, or a local congregational leader following congregational supervision policies that minimally assure that adults and minor children are never 1-1 unless they are parent/child.

Warriors’ Journey Home 
Listen – Speak – Heal

An Invitation to a Local Church 
Veteran Ministry
Healing the Invisible Wounds of War

Join the Zoom Call on
May 11th, at 7:00 pm
Is your congregation hearing a ‘call’ to serve the soul-wounded veterans of your community? Often the question is asked, “What can churches do to welcome a veteran home, and not become overly nationalistic?” Veterans will confess “Coming home has been the most difficult part of my deployment (service), I don’t fit in or belong anywhere.” There is a way churches can be faithfully responsive to these questions and engage a ministry of healing. 
You are invited to a First Conversation about Engaging a Ministry with Veterans on May 11, 2022, from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm via zoom. You will be invited to learn about this specialized ministry and the possibilities of forming a conference-wide network connecting with others who feel a call to this ministry. This evening will be presented by The Rev. David Long-Higgins, Conference Minister of the Heartland Conference, and The Rev. Dr. John M. Schluep (Retired), Founder & CEO of Warriors’ Journey Home Ministry, Inc.   
Mental Health Sunday is May 15, 2022!
Would you love to attend this year’s Festival of Homiletics (FoH)
being held in Denver but are unable to make that trip? 

We are excited to provide a local alternative at Camp Christian 
to participate virtually, but as a group in person through 
May 16th - May 20th.
Many have asked if there is a way in addition to our prayers that we may be of aid to those who are suffering in Ukraine. The answer to that question is “yes”! The Heartland Conference S.A.R.A. partnership will serve as a conduit for aid to partners in Ukraine who are suffering as a result of the war. Daily, our partners are bringing food and water relief to displaced Ukrainians in Transcarpathia. Those wishing to make a donation via this channel may do so by clicking below. Please know that your gifts of any size make a difference in this critical time.