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UCC friends in the Plains,
Your Conference Ministers have invited my wife, Linda, and me to join you for a weekend at Placerville Camp near Rapid City, South Dakota, November 6–8. We represent Faithful and Welcoming Churches (FWC) of the UCC, a network of ECOTs—Evangelical, Conservative, Orthodox, or Traditional pastors, churches, and laity.
This gathering will be a “first” in the UCC. We have previously held events for UCC ECOTs and facilitated conversations among them, but this is the first such gathering initiated by Conference staff. Tony Clark, Roberto Ochoa, and Erin Gilmore are among a growing number of UCC Conference and Association leaders who are reaching out intentionally to their ECOT pastors and churches. They are communicating something important: when we say “everyone’s welcome” in the UCC, we really do mean everyone—including those whose theological, cultural, or political perspectives may differ from the denomination’s more progressive voices.
Our UCC General Minister and President, Karen Georgia Thompson, has also initiated a series of conversations called “A Tent of Our Own Making.” She has emphasized that the UCC’s theological diversity is not simply part of our past or an ideal we hope someday to achieve. It is “already here.” The question is how we live faithfully together within that diversity.
That is part of what we hope to explore at Placerville.
The goal of the retreat is to identify, support, and build relationships among ECOTs in the Plains states. We’d like to get to know you, hear your experiences and concerns, and learn what it is like for you to live out your faith and ministry within the UCC. Linda and I will also share some of what we have learned as we have navigated the dual identity of being both UCC and ECOT for almost fifty years. Together, we can talk about strategies, perspectives, and relationships that might help all of us.
We want this to be a conversation, not simply a presentation. We want to listen as much as we talk. Whether or not you are ECOT or plan to join us at Placerville, if you have questions, concerns, or suggestions about how we might best use our time together, please email me at RDBobT@gmail.com.
Bob Thompson, President
Faithful and Welcoming Churches
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