The Massachusetts Conference 2015 Annual Report, Treasure in Clay Jars, is now available. Printed copies were given to all Annual Meeting attendees, and multiple printed copies will be sent to church leaders later this summer. They can also be requested by contacting Karen Methot at methotk@macucc.org.

Or, download a copy here:

2015 Annual Report (PDF)
Size: 2.4 MB

The introduction:

Dear Friends of the Massachusetts Conference, UCC,
Whatever excellence you will find in these pages – and I hope you’ll agree there is plenty of it – all of it testifies to the “extraordinary power” that God is breathing into the ministry of our churches and other settings in the Massachusetts Conference.

The UCC was born in the belief that a crucial way for us to bear witness to God’s “extraordinary power” is to work to fulfill Jesus’ prayer “that they may all be one” (John 17:21 NRSV). As you will read, your Conference is moving to fulfill our distinctive calling in numerous ways:

•  Our MACUCC Board made history by meeting with the Boards of the Connecticut and Rhode Island Conferences.
• We joined with Rhode Island in the fall and Connecticut in the spring to host Super Saturday.
• For the first time in many decades, we celebrated a merger of Associations when the Andover and Essex Associations merged to become the Northeast Association.
• In August the Massachusetts Conference will co-sponsor the 2015 National Church Leadership Institute, which will bring together national and local leaders from many denominations, uniting to build a more just and generous future. (I urge you to participate in this extraordinary opportunity!)

Thirty years ago, driven by the calling to make God's love and justice real, the Massachusetts Conference Annual Meeting called upon all UCC churches to become Open and Affirming. The same spirit of courage and compassion is reflected in the many current initiatives you will read of in these pages.

You and I, and our churches, and the ministry to which we are called, are fragile treasure in clay jars. And at such a time as this, our calling is to make manifest God’s extraordinary power – which is needed now more than ever. Let us not be shy or reluctant. Let us join together in asking the question that has been the focus of your Conference staff this past year: “What would you do if you were brave and faithful?” And let us call upon that extraordinary power, recognizing that with God, all things are possible.

Faithfully,
Jim Antal
Minister and President