Blogs

12/28/2020 - Farewell Reflections

By: Donald Remick - Conference staff

Rev. Don Remick share his thoughts as the year and his time serving as Bridge Conference Minister come to a close.

12/22/2020 - The Birth of Love: A Christmas Message

By: Marilyn Kendrix Donald Remick - Christmas

A message from Bridge Conference Ministers Rev. Marilyn Kendrix and Rev. Don Remick

11/12/2020 - Covid Update: Is your Church in the High Risk Zone?

By: Donald Remick

Friends, This past week has had records set in the current Covid surge. We keep seeing new records across our region and across the country in terms of daily new cases, ...

11/12/2020 - The Survey Says...

By: Donald Remick

The survey says: Last month we sent a survey our to all of our churches. We were checking in on what you were doing, what you needed, what was helpful and what you were ...

11/11/2020 - On Christ the Solid Rock I Stand, All Other Ground is Sinking Sand

By: Marilyn Kendrix Donald Remick

My hope is built on the love of God and the ever-present reality of the Holy Spirit working in our lives.

10/28/2020 - Covid Survey Results, Continued

By: Donald Remick - Conference staff

Word cloud created from most frequently encountered words from the survey. The larger the word appears, the more often it occurred. We received nearly 300 ...

10/28/2020 - Election Exhaustion / Election Resilience

By: Donald Remick - Conference staff

1 John 2: 15 “Do not love the world or the things in the world. The love of the Father is not in those who love the world; 16 for all that is in the world—the desire of ...

10/21/2020 - Election 2020: A Lot of Folks Are Nervous

By: Donald Remick - Justice and Witness

Its on every news channel. It is all over Facebook, Twitter and Instagram . It pops up on your cell phone notifications. It is an election year unlike any other. ...

10/21/2020 - What Churches Are Doing Now During the Pandemic

By: Donald Remick

This October our Conference sent out a survey to all of our Conference’s churches. We asked about many aspects of church life from worship to fellowship to ...

09/29/2020 - Our Faith, Our Vote

By: Donald Remick

There was a time when leadership was chosen by casting lots. Our scripture tells stories of this. But in our time that decision is up to us. But it is no less an act ...

09/25/2020 - Pastor Appreciation Day - October 12, 2020

By: Donald Remick

“Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching“ 1 Timothy 5:17 (NRSV) Each year a day is ...

09/21/2020 - Covid, Heating, Ventilation and New MA Regulations: Winter is Coming

By: Donald Remick

Friends, There is that fall chill in the air. It is the change of seasons. And with it comes new decisions we face in our church life. The current state of this ...

07/22/2020 - Phasing Forward into the Fall

By: Donald Remick

When the pandemic first began your Bridge Conference ministers recommended the suspension of In Person inside worship for two weeks. As the COVID-19 pandemic spread, ...

07/07/2020 - Goo

By: Donald Remick

I was raised on the butterfly metaphor. From kids’ books to Easter symbols. I’ve preached it. I watched it unfold in grade school terrariums. And I’ve used it as ...

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07/02/2020 - COVID-19: Where Have We Been and Where Are We Going?

By: Donald Remick - Conference staff

In the winter of 2020, the Southern New England Conference of the UCC was just beginning as a new legal and ecclesial entity. It was in this moment that news of a new ...

06/24/2020 - Council of Conference Ministers Launch Webinar Series

By: Donald Remick

This is an extraordinary time. The COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly reshaped how we live, move and have our being in the world. And we are still learning, adapting ...

06/10/2020 - I Don’t Want To Do This Anymore!?

By: Donald Remick

I don’t want to do this anymore!? In the last several weeks I’ve heard this phrase several times. Sometimes it comes directly from individual clergy. More often is ...

05/30/2020 - Pay Attention. And Act

By: Donald Remick - Justice and Witness

Friends, During our weekly Bridge Conference Minister ZOOM last Thursday I offered some words related to the killing of George Floyd. Several folks asked that I make ...

05/15/2020 - For the Long Haul

By: Donald Remick

We are over 8 weeks into our pandemic requirements to Stay Home and Stay Safe. There is an often-used phrase: this is a marathon not a sprint. However, you have been ...

05/04/2020 - PHASING FORWARD: NOW What Do We Do?

By: Donald Remick

What will phasing into worship and life as a community of faith be like for you? One more time: take a deep breath. Let it go. Notice where God is present to you in ...

04/19/2020 - It's Hump Day

By: Donald Remick

It is that midpoint in the week when folks are…let’s just say it…crabby.

Photo by Bruno van der Kraan on Unsplash

04/13/2020 - It's "RESURRECTION"

By: Donald Remick

This past week, on Maundy Thursday I had an interesting conversation with Rev. Ken Orth, my spiritual director. He gave me a phrase that echoed with an interesting ...

04/07/2020 - Holy Week: The Same, and Different

By: Donald Remick - Holy Week

HOLY WEEK It will be the same. It will be different. This week in our sacred story we encounter the whole range of human emotion. The events of Holy Week are powerful ...

03/30/2020 - It is to Grieve

By: Donald Remick

Grief is complicated enough. It is even more difficult during this pandemic when we can’t say goodbye.

03/29/2020 - What’s Next in the Pandemic: Phases of Disaster

By: Donald Remick - Disaster Relief

In this moment, we will either confirm that we are irrelevant or we will demonstrate that we are essential.

03/25/2020 - Communication: Messaging and Media in this phase of Pandemic

By: Donald Remick - Disaster Relief

As we are Staying Home and Staying Safe we are discovering new ways of being church. And we are discovering again the most essential elements of being the Body of ...

03/22/2020 - Stay Safe. Stay Home

By: Donald Remick

As of this morning, four states have issued a Stay Safe, Stay Home instruction. Some call it Shelter In Place. It is the more stringent guidelines to reduce the spread ...

03/20/2020 - What Do I Do About Pastoral Care?

By: Donald Remick

What do I do about pastoral care during a time of pandemic? What do I do about wedding and funerals? These are challenging questions in a challenging time. One of ...

03/13/2020 - That Hard Place

By: Donald Remick

That Hard Place I don’t like pain. I read a situation, analyze all the trajectories and options and work overtime to figure out how to get through things without causing...

03/10/2020 - What To Do For Church

By: Donald Remick

Friends, Are you wondering what to do for church? This week the Governors of all three Southern New England states have declared a state of emergency related to the ...

03/02/2020 - Church and the Coronavirus

By: Donald Remick

It's been a busy week since we sent out a blog (below) on the Coronavirus (COVID-19). In that time we have received a lot of resources and guidance. We’ve seen the impact...

02/20/2020 - Explorers in Uncharted Territory

By: Donald Remick

It goes by many names: Uncharted Territory, Wilderness Wanderings, Liminal Space. None of them evoke feelings of fun and frolic. We don’t like uncertainty. We long for ...

01/14/2020 - Updates from Puerto Rico, Australia and others

By: Donald Remick - Disaster Relief

We have seen the news of ongoing disaster challenges around the globe. And folks have been wondering how to respond. We received an update from our UCC National ...

12/10/2019 - I Have Work To Do. So Do You

By: Donald Remick - Conference staff Justice and Witness

Early in November, the Conference Ministers gathered in Birmingham for our fall meeting. But it was more than a meeting. We had been encouraged to read articles and books...

10/28/2019 - Three Things I Wish Every Church and Pastor Knew About Being Prepared

By: Donald Remick - Disaster Relief

Friends, every fall emergency services focuses on disaster preparedness and fire prevention. For years I have spent part of my ministry in the field of Disaster ...

03/20/2019 - Together As One: Catching a Breath and Watching the Winds Blow

By: Donald Remick - Together, As One

In the midst of this season of Lent there is a calling to pause, listen and watch for the movement of the Spirit and breathe deeply the presence of God. In those ...

02/20/2019 - Many Voices One Mission: Liminal Space – The Road is Made by Walking

By: Donald Remick - Church Innovation Conference programming Many Voices, One Mission Together, As One

"One of the fundamental lessons of that road is liminal space. It is learning how to become comfortable with having more questions than answers." —Rev. Don Remick

12/19/2018 - A Pastoral Christmas Letter to Our Conference

By: Donald Remick

Friends, I wish you darkness. Watch people, tell us of the night. This is such an interesting time of year. At least, here in New England. The days shorten. The ...

11/21/2018 - California Wildfires

By: Donald Remick - Disaster Relief

Wildfires have become a regular plague for the people of California. The year began with sweeping fires in January. More lives and homes were lost in July. And now the...

10/04/2018 - "This used to be a man's world."

By: Donald Remick - Justice and Witness

I was standing at the check-in counter for a routine medical appointment a couple years ago when I heard those words. They came from an older gentleman standing at the ...

10/03/2018 - Many Voices One Mission: More Frequent, More Intense

By: Donald Remick - Church Innovation Conference programming Many Voices, One Mission Together, As One

"And churches stay on the ground, involved in helping people find their way into a new normal, long after the news crews have moved on to the next disaster or lead ...

09/28/2018 - Where will your Church be 10 Years from Now?

By: Donald Remick

The Body of Christ is eternal. It is alive and well across the globe. And for the institutional church, the road ahead may look substantially different from the road ...

09/18/2018 - Resilience

By: Donald Remick - Disaster Relief

This month is Disaster Preparedness month. You will find another great resource here: Disaster Resiliency (PDF) written by Judy O'Donnell. And we have seen that ...

09/11/2018 - Disaster preparation: here it comes -- again

By: Donald Remick - Disaster Relief

Friends, It has been a year since hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria. And, as I write this, hurricane Florence is bearing down on the mid Atlantic coast with 2 more ...

07/25/2018 - Innovate!

By: Donald Remick - Conference programming

Einstein is quoted as saying: “No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it.” It is one of my favorite quotes. (And though there is ...

07/17/2018 - When Tragedy Strikes, Churches Respond

By: Donald Remick - Disaster Relief

Friends, As I write this, the local news this morning is leading with a story of a police officer killed in the line of duty in Weymouth this past weekend. Officer ...

07/02/2018 - At Such a Time as This

By: Donald Remick - Conference staff

Friends, On July 1st I stepped into a new role as your Transitional Interim Conference Minister. It was only one day after many of you had participated in rallies that ...

04/11/2018 - Many Voices, One Mission: The Saints Among Us

By: Donald Remick - Church Innovation Conference programming Many Voices, One Mission

"For them, preserving and maintaining the church is not an end in itself. And it never has been."— Rev. Don Remick

03/28/2018 - Faith Awakenings: Prayer in Motion

By: Donald Remick - Conference staff

Not all prayer happens in sitting positions There are traditions that focus on stillness in motion. If you have ever paced to contemplate or resolve and problem you ...

03/27/2018 - FEMA and Financial Aid for Churches in Federally Declared Disaster Zones

By: Donald Remick - Disaster Relief

Recently, our federal government extended the assistance from FEMA to houses of worship in federally declared disaster zones. FEMA typically comes in to these disaster ...

03/05/2018 - And There Came the Sound of a Rushing Wind

By: Donald Remick - Disaster Relief

This past weekend a winter storm ('Riley' by name) exploded into a hurricane force Nor'Easter. Wind recordings topped out at nearly 100 MPH in some areas. That wind ...

02/28/2018 - Faith Awakenings: The Spiritual Practice of Meditation

By: Donald Remick - Making Disciples

One in a series of blogs on spiritual practices. Meditation takes many forms with many names.

02/21/2018 - Faith Awakenings: Spiritual practices that go deeply inward and take us deeply outward

By: Donald Remick - Making Disciples

One in a series of blogs on spiritual practices. In the coming months I am hoping we can ...

01/30/2018 - Safe and Secure

By: Donald Remick - Conference staff Disaster Relief

Psychologists will tell us that one of the most basic drivers of human behavior is the need to find safety and stability. And churches are perceived as sanctuaries ...

01/05/2018 - FEMA Expands Public Assistance Eligibility to Include Houses of Worship

By: Donald Remick - Disaster Relief

Friends, A new policy has been adopted by FEMA that relates to houses of worship. Formerly, when a disaster was declared for a region the federal resources through FEMA ...

11/07/2017 - Thanks for the Buckets!

By: Donald Remick - Disaster Relief

The last few months have been an overwhelming time of natural disasters. Several severe storms struck the gulf and east coast with hurricanes at their highest level. ...

10/17/2017 - Can Flames Compete with Tweets?

By: Donald Remick - Conference staff Disaster Relief

Overwhelm: It seems to be a common word these days. News is full of stories that tap deeply into our compassion and concern. But they are so full of emotion that it ...

10/03/2017 - Shaken

By: Donald Remick - Disaster Relief

I am shaken. There are times when words are not adequate. There are times when emotions run so deep and painful that any attempt to express them with words could unleash ...

09/29/2017 - What on Earth is Happening?

By: Donald Remick - Disaster Relief Environment

The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it, the world, and those who live in it ~ Psalm 24:1 Hurricane Harvey produced a level of rainfall and flooding that "hasn’t ...

09/20/2017 - Hurricane Update: Do You Have Ice?

By: Donald Remick - Disaster Relief

Slowly, camera crews have gotten into the islands following the devastation of Irma. There were damaged (and many unlivable) homes and debris everywhere. And the power, ...

09/12/2017 - Where will Jose Go?

By: Donald Remick - Disaster Relief

At this point it seems unlikely that it will make landfall. BUT, there is a worst case scenario that it could strengthen and then make landfall in New England.

09/11/2017 - Disaster Update: How to be Helpful

By: Donald Remick - Disaster Relief

Psalm 57:1 “Be gracious to me, O God, be gracious to me, For my soul takes refuge in You; And in the shadow of Your wings I will take refuge Until destruction passes by.”...

09/05/2017 - What's Next for Survivors of Harvey

By: Donald Remick - Disaster Relief

In the spring of 2010, eastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island were hit by two storms. Each delivered over a foot of rain. We worked for over two years following those ...

08/30/2017 - Helping Out in the Aftermath of Hurricane Harvey

By: Donald Remick - Disaster Relief

The news reports continue to tell the story of unimaginable devastation following the flooding rains of the hurricane. The images move us at that deep place within our ...

04/26/2017 - Growing Your Communication and Conflict Resiliency Capacity

By: Donald Remick - Church Innovation

Friends, We are frequently getting requests about resources for individuals and churches around skills to help transform conflict into health choices, conversations and...

03/08/2017 - Tornado Season Starts Early

By: Donald Remick - Disaster Relief

Tornado season started much earlier than usual and we already set a Massachusetts record for the first tornado in February. Weather forecasters herald this as the ...

02/27/2017 - Contributions Being Accepted for Conway Church Damaged by Tornado

By: Donald Remick - Disaster Relief

From the MACUCC Disaster Resource Team Friends, You may have heard and seen pictures of the damage from a tornado that touched down in the Conway region of our ...

12/09/2016 - Contact New Folks Near Your Church in Time for Christmas

By: Donald Remick - Church Innovation

Mission Insite has a way for you to economically acquire a list of folks who are new to your community.

10/05/2016 - Hurricane Matthew touches us all

By: Donald Remick - Disaster Relief

It’s been a while since we’ve seen a Category 5 hurricane. And unless you’ve been there you really can’t imagine what 150+ mile an hour winds can do. Haiti can tell ...

09/02/2016 - Hurricane Hermine strikes

By: Donald Remick - Disaster Relief

As we woke up this morning (Friday, September 2nd) Hurricane Hermine has come ashore it Florida and made its way across the state. It is hard to believe that this is the ...

08/16/2016 - UCC Disaster Response Depends on Wider Mission Giving

By: Donald Remick - Disaster Relief United Church Mission

Friends, A half dozen years ago New England had two back-to-back storms each of which dumped a foot of rain into our area. We became familiar with the work of helping ...

07/29/2016 - Preparing for Hurricane Season

By: Donald Remick - Disaster Relief

Friends, Each season of the year has its own possibilities for disasters. We are about to enter the peak of the hurricane season. While this is predicted to be normal ...

03/09/2015 - It's been a long winter... how is your church doing?

By: Donald Remick - Disaster Relief

A little over a week ago our Conference staff sent out an email to all our churches checking in on the impact of the winter. We had been hearing of some challenges with ...

01/08/2015 - Disaster Resource Training for Pastors

By: Donald Remick - Disaster Relief

Early in my last church ministry I began working with the town's fire department as chaplain. I quickly became involved in a county-wide team that provided Critical ...

10/14/2014 - Getting to Know You

By: Donald Remick - Church Innovation

In this current era of life and culture, one of the realizations is a return to an ancient concept of relationships. How do we get to know our neighbors? How do we ...

04/30/2014 - UCC Disaster Ministries' Response to Tornadoes

By: Donald Remick - Disaster Relief

UCC Disaster Ministries responds to recent tornadoes in the U.S.

03/27/2014 - Prayer for the Anniversary of the Marathon Bombing

By: Donald Remick - Disaster Relief

Friends, This Easter season marks the anniversary of the bombing at the finish line of the Boston Marathon. There will be many ways in which people and churches may be ...

02/26/2014 - Have a say in ministry tool development

By: Donald Remick

The UCC Ministry Devvelopment Council is asking for our help so that they can better fine tune their work and develop the resources our churches, clergy and laity need ...

02/06/2014 - Going Off the Grid: What do you do when the power fails?

By: Donald Remick - Disaster Relief

FEMA issues guide to preparing for power loss.

11/13/2013 - A new way of doing ministerial profiles to launch in 2014

By: Donald Remick

A new way of doing ministerial profiles will be launched early in 2014. Find out more.

07/03/2013 - Synod Reflections

By: Donald Remick - General Synod

Don Remick shares his reflections on the actions, sights and sounds of General Synod.

06/25/2013 - The White House is Calling

By: Donald Remick - Disaster Relief

White House, UCC release guides on local church disaster preparedness, emergency operations.

06/15/2013 - Ameni

By: Donald Remick

Don Remick's look at all that was packed into a little more than 24 hours at the 214th Annual Meeting of the Massachusetts Conference.

05/21/2013 - Responding to the Oklahoma tornadoes

By: Donald Remick - Disaster Relief

It would be hard to miss the images and stories of the impact of the tornado that swept through Moore, Oklahoma. They weigh heavy on hearts and souls. And those who have...

04/18/2013 - I Love to Tell the Story - 25 Times

By: Donald Remick - Disaster Relief

Over the years I have worked in disaster long term recovery and with critical incident stress response teams. In the training I have learned a rule of thumb from a couple...

04/16/2013 - Ministeries beyond the walls

By: Donald Remick

They are known as chaplains, spiritual companions, pastoral counselors, among other names. They are pastors beyond the walls.

01/10/2013 - Disaster Team gives tips for churches dealing with the 2013 influenza outbreak.

By: Donald Remick - Disaster Relief

Flu update for 2013.

12/04/2012 - Donations to Hispanic Ministries made by Jan. 31 to be matched

By: Donald Remick

A new legacy fund will double your gift to Hispanic Ministries made by Jan. 31.. Learn more!

11/05/2012 - Hurricane Sandy relief

By: Donald Remick

From donating blood to assembling a clean-up bucket, the Disaster Resource Team talks about ways you can help the victims of Hurricane Sandy.

10/31/2012 - Short- and long-term responses to Hurricane Sandy

By: Donald Remick

While we continue to offer support to our UCC churches and through them to our communities, our hearts go out to the other regions within the path of Sandy. In our ...

09/14/2012 - Participants wanted for New Church Start Prayer Network

By: Donald Remick

Did you know that we the Massachusetts Conference, UCC, have new church start congregations in Jamaica Plain, Mashpee, Lawrence, Lowell, Everett, Worcester, Southbridge, ...

09/12/2012 - God did not ask the whole world to go to church. God asked the church to go to the whole world.

By: Donald Remick

Christianity After Religion: Diana Butler Bass’s new book is captivating…in a disturbing ...

06/25/2012 - Where God was present during Annual Meeting

By: Donald Remick - Annual Meeting

During the Annual Meeting I encouraged folks to notice where God was present. At the end of the meeting, in our closing time of prayer and worship I offered my ‘found ...

05/18/2012 - Volunteers needed for disaster relief in Binghamton, NY

By: Donald Remick - Disaster Relief

Volunteer groups are needed in Binghamton, NY, to help with disaster relief due to severe flooding in September of 2011.

02/28/2012 - NURTURING? PROVOKING? CHURCH? VITALITY?

By: Donald Remick

All of us who have journeyed with the Church for any part of the last half century are keenly aware of change. We have watched the devolution of the institution while ...

07/19/2011 - What is the future of denominations?

By: Donald Remick

By Don Remick Associate Conference Minister The work of denominations is making a crucial shift.

07/06/2011 - A look back at Synod

By: Donald Remick

Much was accomplished in an experession of church that all should experience.