April 2021 National Health Observances include National Minority Health Month, and World Health Day, timely topics in the context of the coronavirus pandemic racial ...
I am honored to serve as your new Minister for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for the Southern New England Conference. In this role, I am charged with leading our ...
Recently, I began volunteering to give COVID-19 vaccinations at a drive-through mass vaccination site in Connecticut. Currently my job consists of writing and teaching ...
Rev. Marilyn Kendrix shares her farewell thoughts as she finishes her time serving as Bridge Conference Minister of the Southern New England Conference.
Rev. Don Remick share his thoughts as the year and his time serving as Bridge Conference Minister come to a close.
Christmas is the season for joy, right? Maybe, maybe not. For many it is the season for depression and stress. Expectations of happy family get togethers even in the ...
From the CDC: "Community- and faith-based organizations, employers, healthcare systems and providers, public health agencies, policy makers, and others all have a part in...
Holidays are usually a busy, joyous time to celebrate. Our religious and secular traditions provoke memories of years past spent with family and friends. Every year there...
Longest Night services bring the opportunity of pastoral care to those experiencing loss, grief and pain even in the joyous time of Advent and the coming of Christ. This...
Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island are among 40 states that have reported an increase in overdose deaths during 2020 as compared to 2019. The pandemic is ...
Grateful for this sheltered place With light in every window Saying, "Welcome, welcome, share this feast Come in away from sorrow" ~ from the Thanksgiving Song, by Mary ...
Historically, a church’s budget should have served at least three purposes: 1) provide financial guidance for the upcoming year; 2) place a limit on spending; and 3) be a...
From an address given by Rev. Kelly Gallagher for the Oct. 18 event 400 Years: Truth & Healing for the Next Seven Generations I stand in what is called today ...
Over the past months, I have written to you about the importance of advance healthcare directives and end-of-life care planning. These critical conversations with our ...
Oh God, how we long for a traditional holiday table where many extended family and friends have gathered in the glowing warmth of a feast and holiday decorations. We ...
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 ...
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 ...
Last April, I wrote a blog titled Mental Health and Suicide Resources discussing the unique circumstances of the pandemic such as isolation, loss of a job, uncertainty ...
by Jonathan Guest and David Cleaver-Bartholomew For many churches these are challenging and stressful times. Church members are concerned about worship, programs, and ...
All human beings experience feeling “blue” or “down in the dumps” sometimes. It may come as a surprise, but clergy are human too! It can be hard to admit that one might ...
People are getting out more as local restrictions ease allowing restaurants, businesses and schools to open with specific guidelines to reduce the threat of coronavirus ...
This interview captures the reality of the experience of COVID-19 and the theological reflection required to make sense of the world in the pandemic. The Rev. Karen ...
Faith Community Nurses, clergy and lay ministers of health are trusted by the people of the congregation and community. The foundation of our faith encourages caring for ...
How can clergy juggle family caregiving and the stress of serving their flock during a pandemic, racial injustice, hurricanes, and the divisive political climate? Even ...
As part of the CARES Act that became law earlier this year, the government provided a new universal charitable tax deduction. The deduction allows taxpayers to deduct up ...
One aspect of stewardship that struck me afresh the other day is that biblically speaking, stewardship is not presented as optional for us. In Genesis 1.27-28 we are told...
Rev. Kent Siladi offers some final thoughts before his departure.
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“Dear children, let us love not with words or tongue but with actions and in truth” ~ 1 John 3:18 The novel coronavirus pandemic has caused uncertainty, fear, and loss ...
The importance of conversation with loved ones surrounding one’s end of life choices for ...
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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 ...
At its core, stewardship is countercultural. It raises up God’s vision and economy for the world, an economy of abundance that tilts toward “the poor, the widow, the ...
Hurricane season 2020 has begun; amidst the coronavirus pandemic and racial injustice we ...
I avoided reading detailed accounts about it. I decided long ago that I won’t watch the videos. I couldn’t take one more painful thing in the midst of this pandemic; I ...
As a faith community nurse I can relate to pastoral concerns around providing spiritual care during the pandemic. We are used to being with a person or family during ...
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by Lisa Chandler, First Church of Glastonbury (CT) Covid has changed everything. It shocks the senses when we realize that our normal routines and expectations are no ...
As we all focus on trying to prevent the spread of COVID 19, caring for our general health and well-being is sometimes neglected. Mental health concerns, chronic disease ...
Experts are learning more every day about the novel coronavirus. There are two issues to be aware of that impact parents and children in particular. While it was once ...
The story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10.25-37) is one that many of us have heard at least a dozen times. But I wonder how many have heard it through the lens of ...
Last weekend, I discovered two writings that intrigued and excited me. They did so because they reveal generosity as a point where our scientific and religious worlds ...
Last week, the Bridge Conference Ministers extended their recommendation to suspend in person worship through the month of May. By now, after being safe at home for ...
Hour, by hour, day by day, week by week, month by month… how long will it take for life to return to some kind of normal or new normal? The federal, regional, and local ...
This period of no public worship has forced a great many of our churches to dip their toe in the water of online digital worship, and their experiences have ranged from ...
Everyone in the world is experiencing the COVID 19 pandemic to varying degrees depending on your geography, but we all are undeniably experiencing change, uncertainty, ...
Experts are speaking out in favor of a public advisory to wear protective face coverings when in public. They emphasize maintaining physical distancing, keeping our hands...
I was on a webinar last week hosted by ACLU Connecticut and the Smart Justice Team, and since then there has been the first positive COVID-19 test of an adult ...
As I sit reading the Sunday paper’s special sections on the third Saturday of the coronavirus shelter-in-place order, I can’t help but think about discipleship in this ...
I frequently hear people express their strong desire for us to transition out of this pandemic and return to basically what life was before it struck. They just want to ...
by Margaret Bullitt-Jonas and Leah D. Schade, co-editors of the book Rooted and Rising: Voices of Courage in a Time of Climate Crisis Earth Day 2020 comes at a ...
Are you feeling scared, sad, disappointed, concerned you may become ill with COVID-19? Are you watching the news or scouring websites to find out how many new cases have...
As the Coronavirus and its effects on people’s livelihoods has become more severe, I have been struggling with the question of how we can talk about giving to the One ...
“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and ...
“The local church exists to make disciples of Jesus” says our mission statement. Simon Peter, “Do you love me?” And of course, Peter responds, “Yes, Lord, you know that I...
News reports are filled with reports about the spread of illness and death due to the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-n CoV). As I listen, I cannot help but see the ...
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...
"There is an easy, sometimes playful energy of collegiality among us that can escalate into laughter or occasionally bring forth a tear. "— Rev. Chuck Ericson
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
The meeting began with the passing around of a relic- a button from the Poor Peoples Campaign march in 1968. Fingers grasped the round blue button with the picture of ...
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 ...
When Frederick Douglass was asked to speak about the “celebration of America’s independence” he delivered: “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?”
To see 40,000 people gathered in Boston to counter-protest 30 or 40 Neo-Nazis and White Supremacists was remarkable. Even if some of our political leaders refused to call...
"In Ecclesiastes we are famously reminded that there is a time for everything." —Cecile Gilson
In the midst of Sunday's sermon at the Church of the Redeemer, UCC in New Haven, CT I heard my pastor (Rev. Dr. Shelly Stackhouse) preach about the Gospel of John text ...
Autophagy is a biological process in which certain elements within a living cell attack and destroy other materials within the cell... The early days of Lent are an ...
I sang these words at worship this Sunday in a hymn called “Gather us In”:
As the long Church Season of Epiphany comes to a close, we begin the Season of Lent this Wednesday evening, March 1st.