THE WEEKLY NEWS
March 5, 2024 | Volume 16 No. 8
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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 entirely online! The national office of the UCC has created several resources, listed below, to help guide you through the process. However, should you have any questions or need assistance working through this, please get in touch with Susanne McCarron, Search & Call Administrator, at smccarron@nhcucc.org or by phone at 603-715-9523.
Read all information here...
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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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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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Church World Service Thank You Letter
For Prepared to Serve Period Packs
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Hello everyone,
On behalf of Church World Service and the communities we serve, we want to thank the New Hampshire Conference of the United Church of Christ for supporting our Period Pack program at this year’s Prepared to Serve!
Thanks to your support, 700 Period Packs were assembled in less than 5 hours! These Kits will support those facing Period Poverty both here in New Hampshire and throughout the United States.
We know this project would never have happened without the support of the Conference staff especially Cindy Bradley and Thaddeus Sieverding, the financial support of congregations throughout the area, and everyone who visited us and helped prepare and assemble the Period Packs. Thank you so much for your love and support for our vulnerable neighbors!
Sincerely,
Adam Smedberg
Belinda Addae
Shannon Dombrowski
David Costellow
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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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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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NHCUCC's Second Annual Anti-Racism Lecture
With Guest Speaker Rev. Dr. Karen Georgia Thompson
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All are welcome! Come hear UCC General Minister and President Rev. Dr. Karen Georgia Thompson speak at Brookside Church in Manchester, NH, on Sunday, April 7th at 5 pm for the New Hampshire Conference's second Annual Anti-Racism Lecture.
Click here to register for free. *Please fill out one form for each person attending the event. This will help us know how many people to expect and make necessary arrangements.*
Watch the installation of Rev. Dr. Karen Georgia Thompson as the 10th UCC General Minister and President: https://www.ucc.org/gmp-installation/
Can't make it in person on the 7th? Let us know in the form that you won't be with us in person to receive the streaming link.
Invite a friend and we will see you there!
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Retreat Season at Horton Center | |
It's time to schedule your retreat at Horton Center! Get out those calendars, flip ahead a few months, and find the perfect time to get away with your group to build community, enjoy the beautiful setting, and unwind. Bring your church! Bring your club! Bring your team!
Here is the most up to date list of available weekends:
May 24-27
May 31-June 2
August 16-18
August 23-25
September 6-8
Contact Tivvi about weekday availabilities.
Haven't signed up for camp yet? Take a look at all the great camp offerings this summer season!
Interested in being a counselor? Fill out this form and plan to attend an info session to learn more about the opportunities!
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UPCOMING CONFERENCE EVENTS | |
| Cindy Bradley Retirement Party
Conference Office | Mar 6
Save the Date | | |
| The NHCUCC Women's Fellowship Spring Program on Cultural Diversity in New Hampshire.
Plymouth Congregational Church | April 20 9:30 - 3:30
Save the Date | | |
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WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH BLESSING FOR CLERGYWOMEN
By Rev. Victoria Wick
Blessed are the generations of brave women who dared to hope,
For it was women who were the last ones at the cross with Jesus, and it was women who first visited the tomb.
Blessed are the generations of faithful women who dared to resist,
For it was in the homes of women that Christianity first spread, back in the days when you still risked your life to follow in the way of Christ.
Blessed are the women who have been making our churches what they are since the very beginning.
Blessed are the martyrs, missionaries, and mystics. Blessed are the prophets, poets, and preachers.
Blessed are the church secretaries and women’s groups, who do the often invisible labor of making everything work.
Blessed are the first women we ever saw behind the pulpit or heard preach, who made us wonder what if.
Blessed are the ancestors who forged a way in the wilderness, so that we wouldn’t have to fight the same battles and clear the same paths they once did.
Blessed are the ancestors who prepared the ground before them, so that we wouldn’t have to plant our seeds of possibility in inhospitable soil.
Blessed are the descendants that will come after us, who will carry on the work we have yet to begin.
Blessed are the descendants we may never meet, who will create the worlds we haven’t yet dared to imagine.
Blessed are we, who have answered the call.
Blessed are we, who claim titles and platforms our foremothers only dreamed of.
Blessed are the clergywomen we are today,
Blessed are the clergywomen we don’t yet believe we’re capable of becoming.
Amen.
Rev. Victoria Wick is a pastor in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).
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On March 17, the Maranatha Indonesian UCC will be recognized for its 20th anniversary with a celebration at 1 pm at the Madbury Town Hall.
On Sunday, March 10, at 3 pm, 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 10, 2024 | |
The Conference Minister will be preaching at South Congregational Church, UCC, in Concord where the Reverend Jed Rardinserves as Pastor | |
The Associate Conference Minister will be preaching at the First Church Congregational, UCC in Rochester. In the afternoon, Rev. Marean will represent the NHCUCC at the Ecclesiastical Council for Traceymay Kalvaitis. | | |
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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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