12/17/2020 - Online Church Fair is...Bazaar
By: Kevin Williams - Christmas Church Growth and VitalityWhen you focus not on what a pandemic has taken away but what new opportunities it has created, magic can happen!
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News
11/13/2020 - Northeast Association gives away $50,000 in Ministry Catalyst Grants
By: Adam Isbitsky - Church Growth and VitalityThe Board of Directors of the Northeast Association of the Southern New England Conference announced a Ministry Catalyst Grant program to benefit its ...
07/01/2020 - SPOTLIGHT: Northampton Church Sees New Energy - and New Members - Online
By: Andrew Page - Church Growth and Vitality SpotlightTwo churches share experiences with online events and the energy they've seen as a result.
06/09/2020 - SPOTLIGHT - Afterschool Program Goes Online
By: Andrew Page - Church Growth and Vitality SpotlightPilgrim Congregational in Harwich Port Responds to Covid-19 With Online Children's Program
05/08/2020 - Rev. Timothy Haut: Celebrating 40 Years in Deep River
Church Growth and Vitality Church History and IdentityIn March, the Rev. Timothy Haut celebrated 40 years serving as pastor of the First Congregational Church of Deep River, Connecticut.
04/27/2020 - Small Church Makes Big Effort on RIP Medical Debt
By: Andrew Page - Church Growth and VitalityIn West Woodstock, Connecticut, a small village in the town of Woodstock in the northeast corner of the state is the equally small church, the Church of the Good Shepherd. Their pastor, The Rev. Alice O'Donovan, says the average attendance in worship is between 20-25 ...
04/15/2020 - Churches Modify Food Ministries During Covid-19 Lockdowns
By: Andrew Page - Church Growth and VitalityChurches have modified food ministries to adapt to physical distancing measures to keep recipients and volunteers safe.
03/30/2020 - Hope or Havoc: Churches Share Experiences with Covid-19 Changes
By: Andrew Page - Church Growth and VitalityChurches around the conference have shared their experience with the changes made in the Covid-19 shut down.
11/11/2019 - SPOTLIGHT - Interfaith Youth Learn About Their Similarities
By: Andrew Page - Church Growth and Vitality Faith Formation and Christian Education Justice and Witness SpotlightIn a time when lines drawn between groups of people get darker and more defined, Newtown Congregational Church is making efforts to break barriers and...
10/07/2019 - Open Table Communion Leads to More Open Worship
By: Andrew Page - Church Growth and VitalityFlagg Road United Church of Christ has been experimenting with a communion service that they call Open Table Communion. The result is a unique perspective at what it means to worship.
09/09/2019 - Hartford Church Unleashes Love on Community
By: Isaac Monts - Church Growth and VitalityStarted in Summer 2016 by Youth Directors Isaac Monts, Jodyann Gaynor, Ashlee Satchell, and Shauna Stennett, the Liberty Christian Center International, UCC Annual Community Fair was created with a vision to unleash love on the community.
07/17/2019 - Madison Offers Plastic Bag Buy-Back
Church Growth and Vitality EnvironmentMadison church offers to trade reusable bags for single-use plastic bags that can be re-purposed as sleeping mats.
06/13/2019 - Wilton Church Sees Increase In Confirmations
By: Andrew Page - Church Growth and Vitality Faith Formation and Christian Education"When we put church in the ecosystem of everything else that we do, it makes sense." — Lydia Gajdel
02/14/2019 - UCC Bridgeport Envisions Big Impact
By: Andrew Page - Church Growth and Vitality Church History and Identity“You hear the word incubate all over. We don’t need to incubate. We’re 324 years old. We need to accelerate.” - Rev. Sara Smith
11/20/2018 - Norfolk Church Collaborates To Improve Community
By: Andrew Page - Church Growth and Vitality"If it doesn’t work, it’s not a failure. It’s something we tried. — Rev. Erick Olsen
11/02/2018 - Middletown Celebrates Past With Commitment to Community and Future
Church Growth and Vitality Church History and IdentityIn a letter to the congregation at First Church in Middletown, Rev. Julia Burkey outlines the events celebrating the church’s 350th anniversary, the ...
10/25/2018 - Deeper Understandings Come from Worship Onboard Freedom Schooner Amistad
By: Andrew Page - Church Growth and Vitality Church History and Identity Justice and WitnessNorth Branford Congregational Church took a creative approach to worshipping beyond their walls. Members of the congregation traveled to New Haven to ...
10/17/2018 - East Hartford Church Strengthens Community Ties Through Its Parsonage
By: Andrew Page - Church Growth and Vitality StewardshipFirst Congregational Church of East Hartford take creative look at using its parsonage for building communities ties for new or beginning education ...
10/11/2018 - New London Church becomes 100th ONA Church in Conference
By: Andrew Page - Church Growth and Vitality Justice and WitnessOn July 1, First Congregational Church of New London, UCC became the 100th church in the Connecticut Conference to declare itself as Open and ...
09/11/2018 - North Branford Open Doors Cry "Welcome All"
By: Andrew Page - Church Growth and Vitality“So God’s doors are always open to you, which of course begs the question, are your doors open to God?” - Rev. Vance Taylor
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06/05/2018 - Conference Announces Bold New Initiative Awards
Annual Meeting Church Growth and VitalityEach year the Massachusetts Conference Church Development Council recognizes ministries that exemplify innovative and impactful ministries. Here are this year’s three recipients. WOVOS ~ Congregational Church of Brockton To change lives and create a better world. That ...
04/10/2018 - Multi-Church Youth Ministry Started in New Haven Area
By: Andrew Page - Church Growth and Vitality Faith Formation and Christian EducationFour UCC Churches are engaged in a interdependent project to create a new youth ministry program for the youth of their churches.
03/21/2018 - Thompson Congregational Renews Community Roots
By: Thomas Gregory Gray - Church Growth and Vitality Church History and Identity"Today, this church is called by the same God who formed it in 1735 to reach out in loving service to ALL their neighbors." — Rev. Greg Gray
01/17/2018 - Second Greenwich's Church Do-Over
By: Andrew Page - Church Growth and VitalityGREENWICH – At Second Congregational Church of Greenwich, a new evening worship is changing the way some people think of church, and some of those people have never set foot in the church.
12/20/2017 - Advent Around The Conference
By: Andrew Page - Church Growth and VitalityThe season of Advent is a busy time of year for a church. Many churches find their pews a bit more crowded in the weeks leading to Christmas. This year, churches around the Connecticut Conference will hold dozens of pageants, both modern and traditional, as well as ...
12/18/2017 - Clergy Play Promotes Innovative Thinking
By: Andrew Page - Church Growth and Vitality Conference programming"People expect us to solve problems. If you look at corporations that value innovation, they create innovation spaces.” - Rev. Susan Townsley
11/13/2017 - Young Adults Serve Simsbury Church and Community
By: Andrew Page - Church Growth and Vitality Faith Formation and Christian Education Justice and WitnessThe First Church of Christ in Simsbury has added three young adults to the church community this year to serve in their new Young Adult Service Community (YASC).
11/06/2017 - SPOTLIGHT: Church Shouldn't Be Static
By: Marlene Gasdia-Cochrane - Church Growth and Vitality SpotlightBridgewater Church Growth Attributed to Internal and External Changes
09/05/2017 - SPOTLIGHT: Getting the Millennial’s Perspective
Church Growth and Vitality SpotlightBraintree Church Youth Tries to Inspire Congregation with her Written Words
04/05/2017 - Congregations Join In Community-Wide Effort to Fight Homelessness
By: Andrew Page - Church Growth and Vitality Justice and Witness"The interfaith aspect of this program strengthens our interconnectedness with other congregations and empowers us to do more than we think we can."
03/04/2017 - Benefit Concert Raises Over $4K for Community Kitchens
By: Robert Kirk - Church Growth and VitalityThe First Congregational Church of Woodstock held a benefit concert on Saturday, February 25th for Community Kitchens of Northeastern Connecticut ...
02/08/2017 - Clergy Supporting Clergy
By: Andrew Page - Church Growth and VitalityFor most clergy, the role of church pastor is a solo gig. Of the 235 UCC churches in CT, just over 40 have associate pastors. Of course, any church may have plenty of willing members, lay leaders, and volunteers ready to take on all aspects of church life. Yet there is ...
01/11/2017 - Serving in the City
By: Deborah Kirk - Church Growth and Vitality Justice and WitnessCTUCC young adults gather to serve a meal at the Warburton Outreach with First Church of Christ, Congregational in Hartford.
11/10/2016 - Wilton Reading Buddies Make Intergenerational Connections
By: Andrew Page - Church Growth and VitalityWILTON – Wilton Congregational Church has found a creative way to reach young people in the community: read to them.
10/19/2016 - New Video: 2016 CTUCC Revival Highlights
Church Growth and Vitality Justice and WitnessThe Connecticut Conference released a new video featuring highlights from the 2016 CTUCC Revival.
10/17/2016 - 2016 CTUCC Revival Calls Us To Work
Church Growth and VitalityThe Second Annual CTUCC Revival was held at Dixwell Avenue Congregational Church on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, October 13-15. The three night gathering featured inspirational music and passionate sermons that called for renewal of the church through understanding ...
05/09/2016 - SPOTLIGHT UPDATE: Saturday Church at West Parish of Barnstable Going Strong
Church Growth and Vitality Faith Formation and Christian Education SpotlightSaturday worship attracts a new crowd at West Parish of Barnstable, UCC.
04/27/2016 - Wolcott Dinner Reaches Globally
Church Growth and VitalityNo missionary was present. No one from Nepal visited. Only people from the local community attended the Sparks Mission Dinner at Wolcott Congregational Church in Wolcott on April 24. But the scope and reach of the program will impact children more than 7,000 miles away.
04/19/2016 - Goshen Receives Green Houses of Worship Award
Church Growth and VitalityOn April 17, the Church of Christ Congregational of Goshen celebrated God's creation and their own efforts to create a healthy planet for future generations, efforts that have earned the church the Green Houses of Worship Award.
01/06/2016 - A Spirit of Collaboration in Middletown
By: Andrew Page - Church Growth and VitalitySome churches share a pastor. Some share a building. In Middletown, the pastors of First Church of Christ and South Congregational Church are sharing keys. In the recent installation service of the Rev. Thea Racelis of South Congregational, Racelis and the Rev. Julia ...
01/06/2016 - UCC Devon Welcomes Deaf Community
Church Growth and VitalityThe United Church of Christ in Devon has kept its doors open for all for over 100 years. Recently, a deaf woman who attended the church as a child returned to worship with us. She wants to attend the services of the church, but her communication is American Sign ...
06/13/2015 - Churches recognized for bold initiatives
Annual Meeting Church Growth and VitalityThe Church Development Council of the Massachusetts Conference presented two churches with "Bold Initiative Awards" at the 216th Annual Meeting this weekend.
05/13/2015 - Two videos from Ruben Duran's Super Saturday talk now online
Church Growth and Vitality Conference programming Super SaturdayAt Super Saturday on March 21, 2015, The Rev. Ruben Duran, Program Director for New Congregations for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, gave...
04/14/2015 - SPOTLIGHT: Power to the People
Church Growth and Vitality SpotlightThe Monterey United Church of Christ is a small church in a rural community in Berkshire County who thrives on being small. They have technically 12 members, but soon they will be taking in 11 more -- virtually doubling their membership in one fell swoop. How did they ...
03/18/2015 - Scholarships for NCLI in Boston announced
Church Growth and VitalityThe national setting of the United Church of Christ is making a limited number of $200 scholarships available towards registration for the National Church Leadership Institute (NCLI), being held in Boston and Newton Aug. 10 - 13. Scholarship are being given on a first ...
03/11/2015 - SPOTLIGHT: Promise Church Cooks Up A Way To Help the Recently Sheltered Stock Their New Homes
Church Growth and Vitality SpotlightIt is sometimes hard for a small congregation to see that they are making a difference, but his church start has already touched the lives of the ...
01/28/2015 - NCLI is coming to Boston
Church Growth and Vitality Conference programmingThe Massachusetts Conference will be co-sponsoring the 2015 National Church Leadership Institute (NCLI) with the Center for Progressive Renewal in the Boston area August 10 - 13, 2015.
09/16/2014 - SPOTLIGHT: The Phoenix Rises in Haverhill as a New Church Start
Church Growth and Vitality SpotlightWhen the members of First Congregational Church, UCC, of Haverhill sold their brick and mortar institution and set out on two different pathways, it ...
08/13/2014 - SPOTLIGHT: Summer Wrap Up: Amazing Works of Faith by Local Churches
Church Growth and Vitality Justice and Witness SpotlightThroughout the past year, many churches offered amazing works of faith, services, and ministries -- some never considered before -- all in an effort ...
07/29/2014 - SPOTLIGHT: Feeding the Community with Food and Spirit
Church Growth and Vitality SpotlightLenox Church Holds an Open Communion Meal