The Southern New England Conference is encouraging churches to participate in the Strengthen the Church offering on or around May 28 to support the Center for Transformational Leadership, Faith Formation Ministries, and Outdoor Ministries, including the Silver Lake Camp & Retreat Center.

This offering is one of the United Church of Christ's four special offerings. 80 percent of what is received will go toward Conference programming, and the other 20% will be used to support ministries in the national setting.

In a letter sent to churches last week about the offering, Executive Conference Minister the Rev. Darrell Goodwin and Director of Stewardship Rev. Dr. David Cleaver-Bartholomew wrote:
 

"Please know that your generosity supports programs which have lasting impact ... The Center for Transformational Leadership has designed a process to shepherd our congregations seeking transformation to discern a path toward a sustainable future. ADAPT (Assess, Discern, Align, Plan, and Transform) is currently running in its pilot stage and will receive new applications in the 2023-2024 program year. 
 
"Your Faith Formation team is working to support and equip leaders for changing times, and our Outdoor Ministry programs are giving children and youth the opportunity to experience God in nature and create beloved community."

 They went on to say: "As we continue to emerge from a time of unprecedented challenge and change, the need to strengthen our churches for the sake of the world is greater than ever. The Southern New England Conference is responding to your expressed needs for reliable, innovative resources that assist you to do the prophetic, relevant, and transformative work that we are called to do - in our churches, our communities, and our world. Your gift to Strengthen the Church makes this possible."
 
Churches that make their Proportional Giving to Our Church’s Wider Mission contributions and who also participate in all four special offerings (Strengthen the Church, One Great Hour of Sharing, Neighbors In Need, and the Christmas Fund) are recognized as “5 for 5” churches.  
 
More information about the Strengthen the Church offering, and a downloadable flyer, are available at: www.sneucc.org/strengthen-the-church.