In his annual Friends of the Conference appeal letter, Conference Minister The Rev. Kent Siladi wrote that the values that are drawing the Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island conferences together are worthy of support.  Donations can be made at: www.ctucc.org/donate

Siladi's letter is below:
 

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Dear Colleagues:

I am writing to invite you to join me in making a gift to this year’s “Friends of the Conference” appeal.  Our witness as members of the United Church of Christ is an important one at this moment in time. 

As you probably know this past June at a joint Annual Meeting of the Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island Conferences the delegates voted overwhelmingly to empower the respective Boards of Directors to bring a proposal to form a new Conference of the United Church of Christ to the June 2018 joint Annual Meeting.  The “Together as One” planning team has been working diligently on that proposal and its first self-defined task was to write a statement defining the “why” of this new proposal for ministry and mission.  We believe these values deserve your support in this year’s financial appeal.            

• We understand the local church exists to make disciples of Jesus and we welcome all people unconditionally to share in this calling.
• We commit to making God’s love and justice real by loving our neighbors, children, and all of creation through our collective work, such as seeking racial, economic, environmental and LGBTQ justice.
• We believe God calls us to bring new life as agents of change and so we embrace and encourage adaptive and transformative leadership wherever the body of Christ is gathered.
• We encourage local congregations and varied ministry settings, inspired and guided by the Holy Spirit, to form covenant partnerships with all who work for the common good in their local communities and through the world.

The four statements outline our shared values. These values undergird our ministry and God’s call to us to make the Connecticut Conference a more just, a more loving, a more compassionate gathering of God’s faithful people.  We continue to believe that together we can make an impact and a difference in a world in need of our values.  We continue to work towards God’s vision of shalom.  We continue to give thanks that we are called into covenantal relationships with one another and that our impact is strengthened when we work together.

As we dream and discern about God’s Spirit moving us to new partnerships and relationships with our Conference neighbors I invite your support.  Your gift to the Friends of the Conference is one way you can help us continue our witness as disciples of Christ.  Thank you for prayerfully considering making a gift this year.  We give thanks to God for the ties that bind us together, as one.
 
Faithfully,
 
Rev. Kent J. Siladi
Conference Minister