Volume 22, No. 13 | April 24, 2025

COMMAntary

Equipping a courageous Church alive with Christ’s transforming love

Grateful for the Work of the Committee on Ministry

The Committee on Ministry (COM) exists to provide support for all authorized ordained and licensed clergy of the Minnesota Conference. From those who are just beginning a course of study to our wonderful cadre of folks retired from active ministry, COM offers services of resource, guidance, and encouragement.

Much of the work of COM is divided among three busy subcommittees:

Discernment and Preparation for Authorized Ministry (DPAM) walks alongside those who feel called to ordination by providing regular check-in and one on one advisors to our MID’s (Members in Discernment). DPAM uses an assessment tool to guide our MID’s through the sometimes arduous journey towards ordination.
Standing for Authorized Ministry (SAM) welcomes new clergy into the conference through a transfer process, works with our licensed ministers and keeps record of accountability for all authorized clergy to be current on AIR forms and boundary and anti-racism training.
The Covenant subcommittee offers Vocational Support Consultations periodically so clergy can feel seen and heard by the Conference. Covenant also organizes and holds the process for Situational Support Consultations, a tool now more frequently used to have mediated conversations between congregations and clergy to find a positive resolution.

Rather than list all of COM’s responsibilities (there are many more duties not named above), the intention of this article is to acknowledge the important ministry of COM. In a non-hierarchal church system, COM is a group of dedicated lay persons and clergy committed to representing the MN Conference of the UCC during important clergy and church milestones: ecclesiastical councils, ordinations, installations, church anniversaries, farewell services.

In the past year I was a COM representative at two ordinations and an installation and it was pure joy to stand with others to honor these significant moments in support of a new colleague while also providing witness as an extension of the UCC, symbolizing the spiritual tie that binds and the significance of strong Conference support. This important duty is an example of the ways those affiliated with the UCC stand with each other during substantial times in the life of the congregation. COM members act as ambassadors for the Minnesota Conference. Similarly, COM is the judicatory group around the difficult but necessary process of fitness review - a detailed, confidential procedure engaged when there is an alleged breach in clergy conduct.

COM members take these sacred responsibilities seriously, dedicated to offering care in situations of joy and sorrow. The UCC’s Manual on Ministry states in its introduction “in the work of authorization and oversight, Committees on Ministry discern collectively the wisdom of the Spirit, the call of Christ, and the mission of God, on behalf of the United Church of Christ”. The Committee on Ministry is accountable to the Board of Directors of the Minnesota Conference and we are guided in our work by Associate Conference Minister Kelly Gallagher.

I have always enjoyed the Revised Common Lectionary’s focus on the book of Acts during the Easter Season, reminding us of the joys and challenges faced as followers of Jesus sought community after the resurrection experience. As leaders of these new communities began to emerge, living into their gifts and callings, support came from the Divine and from one another. The Committee on Ministry exists to empower, equip and aid those called to lead our congregations now, adding an additional layer of support and assistance during a most complicated time in our world and our churches.

—Rev. Beth Hoffman Copenhaver Chair, Committee on Ministry

COMMAntary Schedule

COMMAntary is published every other week on Thursday afternoons. Submissions are due the Tuesday prior to the publication date at noon. Upcoming editions are May 8 and 22.

Conference News & Events

A Silent Retreat (Almost): An Opportunity for Rest and Healing

May 2–4 | Camp Onomia REGISTER

Be with others in deep, soul-filling discussion and silence, away from technology and surrounded by ancestral trees and living water. Poetry and Scripture will be woven into times of silence and respite. Limited to 25 adult participants. Cost: $200.

First Congregational UCC, Wadena to Hold Ending Service

The First Congregational United Church of Christ in Wadena will celebrate 145 years with an ending service on May 18 at 10 am and will include a time for sharing memories at 11a.m. The Rev. Bob Griggs will lead the worship service. The church is unable to continue Sunday service due to declining attendance and financial issues. If you plan to attend, please send an email to Firstwadenaucc@gmail.com or contact office manager Tonia at 218-371-7134.

The Damascus Project Offers Implicit Bias Trainings

Registration is still open for two upcoming Damascus Project implicit bias trainings which meet UCC standing requirements for members in discernment and authorized ministers who need to fulfill mandated training.

Exploring Implicit Bias, facilitated by Anna Stamborski and Rev. Dr. Jia Starr Brown, Mondays April 28, May 5 and May 19, 10 am–noon central time via Zoom and the Damascus Project Network. REGISTER

Bias and Belonging: An Implicit Bias Training for BIPOC Identified Authorized Ministers and MiDs, a course designed for BIPOC identified authorized ministers and members in discernment to complete their anti-bias training in a cohort environment with other BIPOC colleagues. Facilitated by Rev. Lex Cade White, ordained UCC minister and board-certified chaplain who works in a hospice setting and serves as the Wisconsin representative and continuing education chair for the Association of Professional Chaplains. Wednesdays May 7, 14, and 21 from 7:00-9:00 pm CST via the Damascus Project Learning Network and Zoom. REGISTER

Summer and Fall Learning Opportunities with The Damascus Project

Registration is open for another season of learning with the Damascus Project Regional Theological Education Program of the Minnesota and Wisconsin Conferences, United Church of Christ. Whether you are a lay person seeing theological enrichment, a lay leader seeking training, a member in discernment seeking coursework, or a clergy person seeking to fulfill standing requirements or gain training in transitional and interim ministry, we’re offering something for you.

Over the summer, take advantage of stewardship webinars taught by Rev. Andrew Warner, President of the Wisconsin Conference Foundation.
The Damascus Project Director Rev. Stephanie Perdew, PhD will reprise her course We are Still Here: Native American History and the UCC in late summer 2025. This course meets UCC standing requirements for anti-racism training for authorized ministers in the Minnesota Conference UCC.
Come fall, recurring courses include UCC Polity and History, and our Sunday by Sunday Preaching and Worship Leadership course appropriate for members in discernment, supply preachers, or lay leaders who need to be able to preach or lead worship in their congregations.
This fall also brings the second course in our theology sequence: Christology/ Christ-Talk, taught by Dr. Trish Zimmerman of St. Olaf College, a member of First UCC, Northfield, Minnesota. Whether you’re taking the course as part of the sequence or simply want to spend a few weeks deepening your thinking about Jesus, you are welcome to register!
New this year is an intriguing new leadership course, Prophets Prophecy Then and Now, which combines insights into the Hebrew Prophets taught by professor emerita Rev. Carolyn Pressler, PhD of United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities, with insights into prophetic ministry in the public square, taught by Rev. Dr. Alika Galloway, pastor of Liberty Community Church in North Minneapolis, an intergenerational African American congregation of the Presbyterian Church USA.
Those seeking training in transitional and interim ministry will want to attend an in-person training offered by the Interim Ministry Network at Daycholah Center in October!

LEARN MORE ABOUT ALL OF THE DAMASCUS PROJECT OFFERINGS

LEARN MORE & REGISTER

Strengthen the Church Offering is June 8 – Pentecost Sunday

A quick quiz question - what percent of the Strengthen the Church Offering stays in the Minnesota Conference? (see answer at the end of article)

Strengthen the Church Offering (STC) is one of four national offerings received by local churches and contributed to by individuals. It is unique in character among the four offerings because a portion of the offering remains in the Conference where the local church is located. Received on Pentecost and celebrating the life of the Spirit still moving in our ministries, the funds raised support leadership development, new churches, youth ministry, and innovation in existing congregations.

Churches can order materials to promote the offering HERE or if you wish to donate directly, you can give HERE. There is also a wonderful video that describes all four special offerings and their purposes which you can find HERE. Thank you in advance for your generosity to Strengthen the Church!

Quiz answer: 50% of the Strengthen the Church Offering remains in Minnesota. In 2024 those STC funds supported the leadership development activities of the Committee on Ministry, the gathering of the Conference at Annual Meeting and developing generosity resources through the Development Committee.

Partner News & Events

Climate Scientist and Evangelical Christian to Keynote UCC Earth Summit

The Jim Antal Keynote for this year’s UCC Earth Summit will be delivered by Katharine Hayhoe, one of the world’s leading climate scientists. Through television appearances on PBS and Showtime as well as her widely viewed TED Talks, Hayhoe has reached a broad audience with a compelling perspective on science, climate, and faith. The summit will additionally feature a panel of grassroots leaders in the struggle against environmental racism in North Texas. This two and a half hour online summit will begin at 2 pm ET on April 26. REGISTER

Mental Health: A Family Affair with Rev. Dr. Sarah Griffith Lund