"It's All About Relationships": Covenant Days are October 5 & November 23

Rev. Sara Morse from Hazel Park Congregational UCC offers all the info you need to know to attend the October Covenant Day!

Covenant Days are an opportunity for sibling churches and Conference staff to join together for fellowship, worship, and support. Covenant Days will run from 9:30 am to 3 pm.

• Saturday, October 5: Hazel Park Congregational UCC, St. Paul. REGISTER
• Saturday, November 23: Peace UCC, Duluth

Our conversation will focus on our Conference transition and preparing for our next Conference Minister. In the morning, we will spend time celebrating our history with stories of where our churches come from and our own memories of the Minnesota Conference. In the afternoon we will focus on our hopes for the future as we together envision what comes next!

This is your opportunity to share your vision about where we will go in the coming years. Members of the Search Committee, Conference staff, and Board of Directors will also be present to be in conversation and to hear your hopes and memories.

If you have any questions please reach out to Kelly Gallagher (kellyg@uccmn.org) or Kevin Brown (kevinb@uccmn.org).

An Amazing Women's Retreat

Twenty participants from six congregations across Minnesota attended the annual Women's Retreat earlier this month at Camp Onomia. Our facilitator, Rev. Dr. Martha Brunell, used Soul Collage and Forest Therapy to help shape our stories and reconnect our being with the sacredness of life. Rev. Claire Klein joined us as well, bringing fun and inspiring music for us to sing together.

Here are a few comments from participants:

I loved Martha and her quotes and lessons and exercises. Being at the camp and learning deeper ways of being with nature was beautiful and centering." — Ann H.

“I loved the Retreat. The setting was beautiful, the content was meaningful, and the community was wonderful. The music was a highlight.” —Susan S.

Mark your calendars for next year’s Women’s Retreat, September 13-14 at Camp Onomia!

Join a Multifaith Gathering

Come together with Minnesota's diverse faith communities on November 14 to discuss how we can work together for justice and healing in our state. LEARN MORE

Generosity Officer Position Available at the Conference

Our temporary Generosity Officer Keren Lowell will wrap up her service with the Conference at the end of September. Thanks to Keren for her hard work and dedication! We are now accepting applicants for the permanent position of Generosity Officer (25 hours per week) to lead our fundraising efforts in collaboration with the Conference Minister and the Development Committee. If you know someone who loves the UCC and would be a good fit for the position, please send resumes to Transitional Conference Minister David Lindsey at davidl@uccmn.org.

Unique OWLs Course Launches in Early 2025

Four weekends in 2025: January 24-26, February 21-23, March 21-23, and April 11-13

REGISTER HERE!

We are excited to offer this unique course specifically designed to engage people of faith to examine how sexuality education and ministry intersect, and to explore the Our Whole Lives/Sexuality and Our Faith lifespan curricula. At the end of this unique experience, participants will be poised to facilitate Our Whole Lives at any level. This course is evaluative and experiential in nature and will include four weekends in early 2025 as well as zoom meetings in between the weekend learning times. Participants must be available for all sessions. The course is facilitated by Rev. Amy Johnson and Rev. T. Michael Rock.

How You Carry It: Grief Retreat

October 28–30 Dunrovin Retreat Center

REGISTER

Grief is inevitable in our lives in response to losses small, medium, or large. We live grief saturated lives that destabilize and shatter our sense of identity over and over. Grief has many faces. The pandemic laid bare our personal grief, our grief regarding political and institutional history and decline. We will spend gentle days together exploring the breadth and depth of how we might carry our grief while open to its potential gifts and growth. Rev. Dr. Martha Brunnell is our facilitator.

Clergy Retreat is October 22-24



Dunrovin Retreat Center

Dates: October 22-24, arrive 5 pm Tuesday & depart 11:30 am Thursday

Cost: $225 (scholarship support is available)

REGISTER

We are blessed to have Rev. Dr. Sarah Lund, Minister for Disabilities and Mental Health Justice with the national setting of the UCC, as our retreat facilitator. We are also delighted to welcome back Sara Thomsen as our musician throughout the retreat. Please make plans to join with Conference staff and a community of colleagues for this time of renewal and reconnection.

Courage and Renewal Retreat 2025

You are invited to join a cohort experience (January–June) with others seeking to be courageous and open hearted in this important time. Through a series of two on-site retreats (January/June) and monthly online peer calls, participants will be invited to reconnect with how their inner life of spirit and their public life of ministry grow together.

This experience is for all authorized clergy: congregational pastors, chaplains, and leaders in alternative settings. While sponsored by the Minnesota Conference United Church of Christ, the series is open to authorized clergy of any denomination and in any region of the country. LEARN MORE & REGISTER

Partner News & Events

Embodied Antiracism Clergy Practice Group - Fall 2024

REGISTER

Intro Day: Thursday, October 3, 9:30 am–4:30 pm

Weekly Sessions: The following 9 Thursdays, 10 am–noon (skipping Thanksgiving)

Closing Session: December 12, from 9am-1pm.

This group is for white clergy from the Twin Cities area who are seeking to more faithfully embody racial justice values and cultivate loving accountability with other clergy. Facilitated embodied antiracism work includes exploration of the embodied roots of our white patterns, space to practice somatic/body-based practices, and opportunities to share vulnerably with each other towards more honest and accountable relationships.

While we will welcome folks to join as an individual, we strongly encourage you to join with at least one other pastor with whom you are in relationship. Previous cohort members reiterated that the impact is greater when learning and practicing with peers who you share life/ministry with, especially as it amplifies the possibility for impact in your context.

Chapel Hills UCC Accepting Applications for Grants

Chapel Hills is now accepting applications for 2024 Enduring Fund Grants. For nearly 20 years, the Enduring Fund has played an important role in furthering Chapel Hills' mission of "living and serving in the light of God's love." 

Grants can vary in amount and range from a few hundred dollars to several thousand. While there is no specific requirement on what the grant can be used for, special consideration will be given to well-defined projects that support children/youth, strengthen communities, or address food/housing insecurity. DOWNLOAD THE APPLICATION

Applications are due no later than 11:59 pm October 31, 2024, via email at chapelhillsucc@gmail.com, or by mail (must be postmarked by October 31, 2024) addressed to: Enduring Fund Committee, Chapel Hills UCC, 6512 Vernon Ave S, Edina, MN 55436-1823.

Beloved Community: Sharing the Stories of All God’s People

October 13-15 | Dunrovin Retreat Center

Faith formation leaders are invited to spend two days and nights at beautiful Dunrovin Retreat Center sharing stories, deepening friendships, and developing tools of radical hospitality. Small-group plenaries, led by Rev. Dr. Jia Starr Brown, Dr. Kelly Sherman-Conroy, and Joe Davis, will ground us in the essential welcome of dismantling racism through story sharing and the arts. Beloved singer/songwriter Sara Thomsen will lead us in music and prayer, and two break-out workshops.

Six additional break-out workshops - led by local peers! - will expand our awareness through:

• Ministry with Neurodiverse Children & Training for Youth & Adults
• Creating Gender Inclusive Ministries
• Gender, Sexuality, & Body-Affirming Curricula for All Ages
• Being an Antiracist Youth Ministry Leader
• Building Disabilities Ministries with Children, Youth, and Families
• Mental Health-Aware / OR / Trauma-Informed CYF Ministries (TBD)

REGISTER

Joys & Concerns

The Committee on Ministry will host an Ecclesiastical Council for Schanan Harris on

Sunday, October 13, at 3 pm at First Congregational Church of Minnesota, UCC and via Zoom. This is an opportunity for our member churches to participate in the Conference’s discernment for our candidates for ordination. Please consider joining in this important process. We must have a quorum for this candidate to move forward in their process. Read Schanan Harris’ ordination paper and learn more about Schanan here.

Upcoming Conference Events

• October 5: Covenant Day, Hazel Park Congregational UCC, St. Paul
• October 11-13: Fall Conference Youth Event
• October 22-24: Fall Clergy Retreat
• October 28-30: How You Carry It: Grief Retreat
• November 23: Covenant Day, Peace UCC, Duluth

• Check out the employment opportunities portion of our website for all open positions.
• Send story ideas, insights and more to communications@uccmn.org. COMMAntary is published on Thursdays; submissions are due the Tuesday prior to publication at noon.
• The Conference website offers a wealth of resources related to faith formation, racial justice, and more.

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