COMMAntary
Equipping a courageous Church alive with Christ’s transforming love
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First Annual UCC Earth Day Summit to be Held in Minneapolis at Mayflower Church | |
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"There is no greater power on Earth than Story." – Libba Bray
Saturday, April 22
Mayflower UCC, 106 E. Diamond Lake Road
The National Setting of the United Church of Christ is coordinating a First Annual Earth Day Summit with Mayflower UCC in Minneapolis and the MN Conference. Plan to attend all or part of a special day filled with inspiring stories of hope!
10:00 AM - 12:30 PM CST
National UCC Summit (virtual on Zoom) featuring renowned climate activist, theologian, and author Jim Antal as the keynote speaker and a panel of expert Minnesota organizers
REGISTER
Saturday 1:30 - 3:00 PM CST
A program held at Mayflower Church, both in person and live-streamed; 106 E. Diamond Lake Road, Minneapolis
Music, prayer, a call to Action and a Readers’ Theatre presentation “Hope From the Front Lines," personal stories of courage and hope from rural, small town and urban Minnesota. REGISTER
DOWNLOAD A PROMOTIONAL FLYER to share with your congregation, friends, neighbors, and colleagues!
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Healing MN Stories: Sacred Sites Tour April 29 to Explore Indigenous Experience in Minnesota
Minnesota Conference UCC members are invited to experience a sacred sites tour with Rev. Jim Bear Jacobs of the Minnesota Council of Churches (MCC) on Saturday, April 29th. The tour is part of the MCC’s “Healing MN Stories” program, an effort to create understanding and healing between Native American and non-Native people, particularly those in faith communities.
As the Healing Minnesota Stories webpage states: “We believe in the power of healing stories. Stories heal because they make invisible pain visible. The listener and storyteller are both healed by their acts. Churches and all faith communities can play a key role in promoting and experiencing healing by opening ourselves to our own history and listening to the stories of Native people. Through the sharing and retelling of old traumatic stories, we can create new positive ones.”
This opportunity is offered as part of the Conference’s commitment to racial justice and equity. All sites visited in the sacred sites tour are located in the Twin Cities, around the confluence of the Mississippi and Minnesota rivers, what the Dakota refer to as Bdote, or “meeting place of rivers”. Registration is required and limited to 30 people. Per person cost is $40; registration fees will be donated to the Healing Minnesota Stories program.
Registration and exact times will be available in next week’s COMMAntary.
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Celebrating a Wonderful Covenant Day
Our third Covenant Day was held last Saturday at Congregational Church (UCC) of Rochester. Eight congregations from that part of the state were represented!
We had a great day of strengthening our connections and nurturing the covenant between us. Some words attendees used to describe their experience at Covenant Day in our closing worship: inspiring, hopeful, faithful, grateful, community, love!
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Send Us Your Significant Anniversary Info!
We are gathering information for the Conference's Celebration Booklet. If you have a significant church anniversary, or ordination anniversary this year, please send your information to See Chang at comadmin@ucc.org.
For churches, please send a photo along with a brief history of the church. For clergy, please send a photo along with the Clergy Anniversary Questionnaire form.
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Calling All Annual Workshop Leaders
Workshops are always such a valuable part of our Annual Meeting. This year, all of our workshops will be in person at the College of St. Benedict during the Saturday afternoon time slot. If you are planning on sharing a workshop, please send in a form so that we can have share the information of what will be available. You can find the form for workshops as well as a wealth of other details and the registration link to attend on our Annual Meeting page.
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UCC Flag Available for Free
Former Prairie Community UCC, Lester Prairie, has a UCC Flag it wants to see go to another UCC congregation.
If you would like to have it, please email Pastor Al Fiene at al@alfiene.com and arrangements will be made to get it to you.
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FourTHursday to Focus on Trauma & Resilience
Thursday, March 23, 11:30 am (in person at United Theological Seminary) or noon (via Zoom)
REGISTER
Please join us for a conversation about “Trauma & Resilience” led by Amy McNicholas and Felicia Houston, both faith and mental health specialists with Advocate Health LCPC. LEARN MORE ABOUT AMY & FELICIA
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Linden Hills UCC & Edina Morningside Community Church Join Forces
Last Sunday, the Conference celebrated the merger of Linden Hills UCC and Edina Morningside Community Church (UCC) as they marked their merger into one church with a Spirit-filled worship service.
May this wonderful merged congregation continue to embody the “united and uniting” spirit of the United Church of Christ and share a witness of love, mercy, courage, and compassion with their community and world. And may God bless this union!
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Registration for our 2023 Adult & Intergenerational Retreats & Camps
Women's Retreat, September 8–10, Camp Onomia: LEARN MORE & REGISTER
Women's Wilderness Walk: From the Inside Out, September 22-24, Walking Space, Houston MN
LEARN MORE & REGISTER
2023 Queer Walk, September 29–Oct 1, Walking Space, Houston MN
LEARN MORE & REGISTER
2023 Faith Formation Leader Retreat, October 22-24, ARC Retreat Community
LEARN MORE & REGISTER
Bayport Day Camp, August 5, People's Park, Bayport
LEARN MORE & REGISTER
Mankato Day Camp, August 6, First Congregational UCC, Mankato
LEARN MORE & REGISTER
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The ordination service for Nathan Roberts has been rescheduled for Sunday, April 16, 2 pm at Edina Morningside Church UCC, 4201 Morningside Rd., Edina, MN 55416
We grieve the passing of Rev. Tara Bauer's father, Jerome Bauer, on March 22. Tara serves as an Air Force chaplain, currently stationed in Italy. The family welcomes prayers and is comforted that Jerome passed peacefully, returned to the God who created and loved him. Funeral arrangements are pending.
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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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