THE WEEKLY NEWS
February 27, 2024 | Volume 16 No. 7
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You won't want to miss this event!
Legislative Advocacy Training with Planned Parenthood New Hampshire Action Fund
Tuesday, March 5, 2024 @ 9:00 AM-12:00 p.m. | Event Location to be Announced via RSVP
Across the country - and here in New Hampshire - we hear about threats against an individual's right to bodily autonomy, including abortion access and gender affirming health care. What can faith leaders and clergy do to oppose these attacks?
Join Planned Parenthood New Hampshire Action Fund for a 3-hour workshop specifically for faith leaders, both lay and clergy. During the workshop, we will cover what's happening nationally and in the NH State House, you'll hear first-hand experiences from clergy and faith leaders who have used their voices in these debates, and we'll cover the ins-and-outs of ways to get involved immediately.
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Applications for New Office Administrator
Now Open
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The New Hampshire Conference seeks candidates to serve as our Office Administrator. The Office Administrator is the primary host and hospitality provider for events held at the Conference Office, maintains the Conference directory database and calendar, completes bank deposits, provides administrative support for the Conference Annual Meeting and Prepared to Serve events, arrange for periodic bulk mailings, and many other administrative tasks to support the mission and ministry of the Conference. A position description is available upon request.
The Office Administrator position is a 37 ½ hours a week, non-exempt position. Salary information available on request. Full benefits (health and dental insurance, pension, etc.) are provided.
Interested candidates should submit a resume (with references to contact) to the Reverend Gordon Rankin, Conference Minister, at grankin@nhcucc.org.
The New Hampshire Conference is a Racial Justice, Just Peace, Open and Affirming Conference of the United Church of Christ.
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Don't Miss Our Celebration of Cindy Bradley
Save the Date! Wednesday, March 6 from 3pm-6pm
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Join us on March 6, from 3pm-6pm at the Conference Office, as we celebrate the retirement of our beloved Administrative Assistant, Cindy Bradley. After nine years of dedicated service to our Conference, Cindy will be retiring effective March 15, 2024.
If you are unable to make the March 6 date, we ask you consider writing her a letter thanking her for her many years of service! Please mail your letters to 140 Sheep Davis Road, Pembroke, NH 03275 c/o Thaddeus Sieverding.
We are collecting contributions for materials for a custom quilt. Durning the celebration everyone will be able to write a note and place their quilt square into a grid to end up creating one big quilt of heartfelt messages and appreciation. To donate please follow this link.
If you have any pictures of Cindy in her role as administrative assistant, please email them to tsieverding@nhcucc.org, so we can create a slide show representing her many years with us.
We look forward to seeing you at the celebration as we honor Cindy’s remarkable journey with us! Presentation of gifts will be at 5pm.
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A Letter From Your Conference President | |
Hello NH Conference! Your Board of Directors met on January 27, 2024, and here are some highlights of that meeting:
- First, some great news! Because of the efforts of so many, and the support of our Churches and Associations, the NH Conference ended 2023 in the black. The surplus of about $10K was shared equally with the national setting as is our policy. We will continue to be the best possible stewards of your generosity.
- We are in conversations with the Vermont Conference about establishing what we are tentatively calling the Ministry Preparation Center. Both our Conferences have a need for trained, qualified, and mentored authorized lay ministers to supplement the available ordained pastors, predominately in smaller, part time settings. Your Board affirmed this program and granted some ‘seed’ funding to get the program started. Stand by for more information in the months ahead.
Read the full update here...
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The "5th Stream" Study Book | |
Make a commitment this February to begin plans for a 2024 study of the book Afro-Christian Convention: The Fifth Stream of the United Church of Christ. Use the free PDF Study Guide found on the Pilgrim Press website https://www.thepilgrimpress.com/ to:
- Discover the origins of the Afro-Christian Convention in the 19th century,
- Explore the values that sustained Afro-Christian tradition throughout the 20th century, and
- Celebrate the legacy of Afro-Christians that widens and deepens our UCC commitments for ministry during the 21st century and beyond.
“To know the beliefs, movements, and events comprising [our] history is to begin to accept ownership and to be shaped by it. . . . In that process, insights are gained, perspectives brought into focus and visions renewed.”
The Shape of the United Church of Christ, Louis H. Gunnemann, 1977.
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Lenten Materials from Join the Movement | |
Engage in a weekly book study of The Risk of Being Woke throughout the season. Join the Movement will provide a Discussion Guide with facilitation hints, discussion questions, and session outlines to help guide you and your community. You could also use the questions for personal reflection in a journal or as seeds for mediations.
Download the Discussion Guide – Click here
Use their 40-Day Rising Up Journey – Woke Lent 2024 Calendar which includes daily reflections on the themes and quotes from the The Risk of Being Woke, ways to connect the Movement for Black Lives and Palestinian liberation, and spiritual practices and actions that help you build your capacity for racial justice activism and nourish your soul.
Click here to download the Woke Lent 2024 Calendar
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Anti-Racism Ministries Group Pot-Luch Lunch | |
The Anti-Racism Ministries Group (ARMg) of the NH Conference, United Church of Christ and the Racial Justice Team (RJT) at Northwood Congregational Church (NCC) invite all interested parties from your church family to a pot-luck lunch and discussion of the many ways we can be involved in the mission and ministry of promoting anti-racism in our churches and community. It will take place on Sunday, March 10, 2024 at 1 pm at the NCC, 881 1st NH Turnpike (aka route 4), Northwood, NH. It is next door to Coe-Brown Academy High School in Northwood.
The ARMg has been working on a menu of actions that individuals, small groups, and entire congregations can do to humbly increase relationships of people of European descent (white people) between people who are Black, Indigenous, or other Peoples of Color (BIPOC). We believe that as friendships and relationships between these races/ethnicities/cultures blossom, deepen, and prosper, that attitudes and beliefs about each other will change for the better. Knowledge and understanding will grow and as a result, racism will diminish.
Read more...
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National Setting Learning Opportunities | |
Thursday, March 14, 1:30 – 4:30pm ET, Retired Minister Boundary Training with Rev. Tara Barber
Maintaining healthy boundaries is challenging at any stage in ministry and it is particularly tender and difficult attending to boundaries as we transition out of our last call, and while in retirement. "A Sure Foundation", "The Ministerial Code" and Rev. Dr. Bruce Epperly's new book, "The Jubilee Years" along with case studies, will provide the content of this training. Rev. Tara Barber will offer this focused Boundary Awareness Training for those entering and living in retirement.
Thursday March 14, 4:00 - 5:30pm ET, Online Gathering for UCC Educational Chaplains
Join Rev. Anissa Glaser-Bacon, Minister for Ministers in Specialized Settings, for an open ended conversation about the present and future needs for Educational Clergy and Chaplains in the United Church of Christ. This meet-up is intended for those serving as chaplains in educational settings; participants are encouraged to register in advance.
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Wilderness First Aid Training at Horton Center |  | |
Horton Center is excited to host a SOLO Schools Wilderness First Aid course open to anyone interested in getting certified.
June 8th-9th, 2024
Lodging and meals are available as well as add-on certifications (CPR and Wilderness First Responder recertification).
We hope you'll join us!
What is Wilderness First Aid?
This training is perfect for outdoor enthusiasts or trip leaders interested in a basic level of training for short trips. Accidents happen. People get hurt, sick, or lost. The temperature drops, the wind picks up, and it starts to rain. Would you know what to do? Many backcountry emergencies are preventable, and even when bad things happen, sometimes the wrong care can make things worse.
By learning a few basic skills, you can make the difference between a good outcome and a bad one-and maybe even save a life.
Topics covered in the training include Response and Assessment:
- Musculoskeletal Injuries
- Environmental Emergencies
- Survival Skills
- Soft Tissue Injuries
- Medical Emergencies
How do I learn more and sign up?
Click HERE!
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UCC Yearbook Reporting Reminder | |
Time is running out! The reporting cycle for the UCC 2023 Yearbook & Directory will close on March 6, 2024 at midnight. The process for entering your church's 2023 data is done completely online! The national office of the UCC has created a number of resources, listed below, to help guide you through the process. However, should you have any questions or need assistance as you work through this, please contact Susanne McCarron, Search & Call Administrator, at smccarron@nhcucc.org or by phone at 603-715-9523.
Read all information here...
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UPCOMING CONFERENCE EVENTS | |
| Cindy Bradley Retirement Party
Conference Office | Mar 6
Save the Date | | |
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Give Us Grace – W. E. B. DuBois
Give us grace, O God, to dare to do the deed which we well know cries to be done. Let us not hesitate because of ease, or the words of [men’s ] mouths, or our own lives. Mighty causes are calling us – the freeing of women, the training of children, the putting down of hate and murder and poverty – all these and more. But they call with voices that mean work and sacrifice and death. Mercifully grant us, O God, the spirit of Esther, that we say: I will go unto the King and if I perish, I perish – Amen.
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On March 17 the Maranatha Indonesian UCC will be recognize their 20th anniversary with a celebration at 1pm at the Madbury Town Hall.
On Sunday, March 3rd, at 3pm the South Congregational Church of Newport, UCC will be installing Rev. Daniel Adam as their Pastor and Teacher.
On Sunday, March 10th, at 3pm members of the Southwest Association are invited to attend and support Traceymay Kalvaitis's ecclesiastical council at the Hancock Congregational Church.
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Sunday Schedule: March 3, 2024 | | |
The Associate Conference Minister will be representing the NHCUCC at the Installation Rev. Daniel Adam as Pastor and Teacher of the South Congregational Church, UCC in Newport. | | | |
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Monday - Friday | 8:00 am - 4:30 pm | |
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The Weekly News is published to promote the mission and ministry of the New Hampshire Conference of the United Church of Christ.
These announcements are intended to be brief, timely, and of a general interest to our Conference readers. Supportive links are provided whenever they are available. We encourage you to forward these materials to others in your church using the link below and to share them in your bulletins and local church newsletters.
Send your items to Communications@nhcucc.org. The deadline for submitting items for the next issue is Thursday at 12:00 PM.
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