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Register early for Super Saturday to order your T-shirt!
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Register by Sept. 19th for the upcoming Super Saturday and you can order a Be The Church T-shirt for only $16.
These shirts, normally $18 plus shipping, are available in sizes small through 3XL. Sizes can only be guaranteed if ordered by Sept. 19th, and shirts must be picked up at Super Saturday.
Super Saturday, a full day of workshops and networking, will be held Oct. 15, 8:00 AM - 3:45 PM at Keefe Regional Technical High School in Framingham.
Learn More
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Clergy Communities of Practice Now Forming
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Would you and your ministry benefit from your participation with a group of trusted colleagues where you can worship together, check in around what's happening in your ministry setting and life, discuss the evolution of ministry and share resources?
If you can answer 'yes' to any of the above, consider joining a Clergy Community of Practice. The new program year is here and our Clergy Communities of Practice groups (CCOP) are beginning to meet. There are openings in several groups around the Conference for settled clergy, interims and extra-parochial ministers.
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Upcoming Conference events
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Sept. 23, 9:00 AM to 1:30 PM
First Church in Marlborough
Learn how to use the redesigned UCC Ministerial Profile. Led by Stephen Boyd of the national UCC staff.
Sept. 23 - 24
Edwards House Meeting Center, Framingham
Conflict and adversity touches each community of faith at one time or another-through financial challenges, leadership transitions, personal loss, difficult decisions and differences. With the right skills and perspectives, these tensions don't have to lead to destructive altercation in the life of a congregation, but can be opportunities for creativity and spiritual growth.
Sept. 24, 9:00 AM to 3:30 PM
Edwards House Meeting Center, Framingham
Join Stephen Boyd, Minster for Chaplains and Ministers in Specialized Settings of the Ministerial Excellence, Support and Authorization Team (MESA), in a gathering for Ministers in Specialized Settings.
- Sept. 24:
First Congregational Church of West Boylston
Last week to register!
Join us for a cup of coffee and conversa
tion
(9 AM - noon) that will help define your role as church treasurer (or assistant treasurer) and answer all those questions you might have.
Sept. 28, 6 - 9 PM
Edwards House Meeting Center, Framingham
Come to learn more about this year-long program to help churches come alive in the changing landscape of ministry.
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Sept. 29, 9 AM - 2 PM
Edwards House Meeting Center, Framingham, MA
Plan to join us for a day of learning from those who have "been there." Speakers to include The Rev. Dr. Nancy Taylor, Old South Church, Marathon bombings;
The Rev. Fred
Meade, North Falmouth Church, Hurricane Katrina; The
Rev. June Cooper, City Mission Society, Black Lives Matter;
The Rev. Matthew Crebbin, Newtown Congregational Church, Newtown school shootings.
Oct. 5, 11:00 AM - 2:00 PM
Edwards House Meeting Center, Framingham
A gathering for all clergy who have joined the Conference within the last year.
Oct. 6, 9:30 AM - 2:30 PM
Edwards House Meeting Center, Framingham
Learn about the new local church profile and its implications for those doing interim work.
Oct. 15. 8:00 AM - 3:45 PM
Keefe Regional Technical High School, Framingham, MA
A full day of workshops, forums, networking, a marketplace and worship featuring the Rev. Laura Everett, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Council of Churches, and Angie Thurston and Casper ter Kuile of Harvard Divinity School.
Oct. 22, Dec. 10, March 11, April 8; 10 AM
Edwards House Retreat Center, Framingham
An opportunity to network and share experiences with your MACUCC colleagues.
Nov. 5, 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM
Edwards House Meeting Center, Framingham
Conference facilitators will present this training, which seeks to create a common language around racism, to unmask racism in our lives and in society, and to encourage long-term engagement in racial justice ministry.
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Tending the Fire being held for new and seasoned clergy
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Tending the Fire
helps clergy "think systems" in their congregations and their personal lives. Each program includes three retreats that look at churches through the lens of systems theory.
The program for established clergy will be held in three different locations: Oct. 25-27, at Irons Homestead in Glocester, RI; Jan. 3-5 at Edwards House Retreat Center in Framingham, MA; and March 14-16 at Silver Lake Conference Center in Sharon, CT.
All the sessions for new clergy (persons ordained for three years or less) will be held at the St. Joseph Retreat Center in Milton, MA. They are: Nov. 9-11, Jan.18-20, and March 8-10.
Find out more and register online
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Every fall at its homecoming service, members of the Mattapoisett Congregational Church offer prayers and a monetary gift to the town's fire and police departments.
SPOTLIGHT: Bedford church makes A bold decision to donate all fair proceeds
Six villages now have safe drinking water
In an era of tight budgets and decreasing member-ship, Fall fairs are often important in helping to balance church budgets.
First Church of Christ, Congregational in Bedford
, is one of those churches that relies on fair proceeds - approximately $12,000 each year - to help in day-to-day operations.
So it was quite a bold decision to give all the proceeds away.
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The Rev. Mr. George D. Condon, Jr., 88, died in Sudbury, MA on July 19, 2016. He was a graduate of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, and Andover Newton Theological Seminary. He was ordained at Mittineague Congregational Church in West Springfield, MA where he served as an associate minister.
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The Rev. Mr. Leighton J. Foss, 77, died on Saturday, Aug. 13, in Winter Haven, Florida. The Rev. Foss was a 1965 Andover Newton Theological School graduate who dedicated his life to serving churches in New York, Maine and throughout Massachusetts before retiring to Florida in 2005.
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The Rev. Ms. Frieda Gillespie c
alled to First Parish Church of Berlin as Interim Pastor
Effective: Sept. 11, 2016
The Rev. Mr. Christopher A. Hart c
alled to Groveland Congregational Church, UCC as Interim Pastor
Effective: Sept 11, 2016
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The Rev. Dr. David A. Stryker c
alled to Second Congregational Church, Cohasset as Interim Pastor
Effective: Sept. 11, 2016
The Rev. Dr. Virginia H. Child c
alled to Congregational Church of Grafton, UCC as Interim Pastor
Effective: Sept. 9, 2016
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Providence Public Library, Providence, RI: Sept. 19, 2016
Harvard Divinity School, Boston, MA: Sept. 27, 2016
Both inside and outside the church, people in our region have a lot of issues with the Bible. This September, Rev. Anne Robertson, humanist author Tom Krattenmaker, and Fr. Warren Savage are traveling the region to help us talk about it. These events are free and open to the public. Bring a group from your church and help grow the conversation about the Bible.
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Oct. 7, 6:30 PM
Sanctuary UCC, Medford
Oct. 14, 7:30 PM
North Prospect Union UCC, Medford
The Congregational Church of Christ, Leominster
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