Walking Holy Week’s Road

A Prayer

Loving God,

 Lead me step by step

 On this Holy Week road

 And form Your will and way

 In answer to the weariness

 And worry of the world

 So easily residing in my soul.

Let the same sustaining spirit

 You poured into Christ Jesus

 Be poured ever anew into me 

 Answering every resistance

 Begging me to distraction

 From Your gracious gift

 Of a life fully alive

 Despite twists and turns

 Formed by the world 

 And also by me.

Yes, Love,

 Walk me into this week

 In reverent, holy wonder

 Revealing Your mysteries 

 Easily overlooked or ignored

 In rush to lesser things

 Urging a numbness 

 Of heart and mind and soul.

Moment by moment 

 Hour by hour

 Day by day

 Etch Your Holy story

 Anew in my heart and mind

 Answering every sorrow

 And anguish of the world

 With just enough light

 To lead me on Your path

 Toward a rising unimaginable

 Except by You who forms

 The impossible into the probable.

Let this motion of You 

 Renew not only me

 But Your whole creation 

 Whom You love into life

 That Your wholeness and fullness

 May emerge ever anew

 In the least likely of places

 In the most difficult circumstances

 Using people often overlooked 

 By the powers and principalities

 Of a world practiced in resistance 

 To Your Holy motion 

 Of resurrection renewal.

O Love, 

 Walk me into this week

 Transforming every cross

 Of the world’s making 

 From death into Life

 Giving rise to something Holy

 Beautiful, loving and good

 That Your joy may finally 

 Find its way into the heart

 Of your very human family.

Yes, Love,

 Sustain me on this walk

 Down Your Holy Week road

 Forming my little love

 With Your large Love

 Into some sacred cross 

 Of Your Holy intersection.

-April 2023, DMLH

Clergy Retreat

Register Today!!

Dates:  April 17th (5 pm) - April 19th (11 am)

Cost: $125.00

Scholarships are available by contacting Rev. Dave Long-Higgins

at dave@heartlanducc.org.

Sometimes the move through Lent, Holy Week, and Easter can leave clergy feeling strangely weary or depleted. Could it be that the gift of altered time and intentional gentle practices might ignite a resurrection readiness for God to grant a new grace and energy? We believe the answer is "yes"! 

We invite you to join us for a time away with others to rest, share stories, engage in some practices of spiritual renewal and reflection, and just "be in the presence" of each other and God. It will be a time of as much as little as you want or need. Your leaders will be Rev. Rhonda Hainer, Rev. Kelly Brill, Rev. Steve Geitgey, Ms. Jackie Dean, and Rev. Dave Long-Higgins. We hope you will join us!

Click on the video below to meet the directors of the July 5th - 8th Grands and Family Camp, Kathy Smith & Revs. Janis and Joel Montgomery!

All Experience Levels Welcome! Training will be provided!

Registration will open May 15th!

Who? Volunteers across the Heartland Conference

What? Gather to participate in a “Help Build Hope” house build

When? August 25 (Cut Team of 25) & 26 (Build Team of 120)

Where? Camp Templed Hills, Bellville, Ohio

Why? Sponsored by our Disaster Response Team partnering with CrossRoads Missions and Habitat for Humanity. This house will then be trucked to a TBD destination in Ohio, WV, or Kentucky. 

How? Help Build Hope will provide a structure that enables individuals with varying skill levels to have a fulfilling time of service through team building.

So? Place this on your calendar and watch for registration information in then Heartland Conference Fast Five & email blasts. Disasters have no timeline or agenda…they just continue. So…come help with this project and Make a Difference! 

The Heartland Conference Disaster Network is engaging as a supporting partner with other ecumenical bodies in response to the train disaster in East Palestine, Ohio. Donations in support of this effort may be made by click on the image above or by mailing check written to The Heartland Conference to PO Box 1230, Worthington, Ohio 43085. Please put East Palestine Relief on the memo line. Your generosity will support local long-term recovery efforts and make available spiritual and emotional support services.

LAST CHANCE TO REGISTER!!!

Registration closes April 5th!

What is Lantern Fellowship? 

Planned in the spring and fall each year by women of the Heartland Conference of the United Church of Christ, Lantern Fellowship is a time when women of all generations come together to enjoy faith, fun, and friends. Our oasis of Templed Hills is tucked into the peaceful beauty of wooded hills and trails where the spirit can find renewal. The planning team hopes you will invite a few friends and loved ones to share in the wonderful experience of the Lantern Fellow-ship.

Spring 2023 Program:

Living a Resurrection Life: The ancients of Christianity noticed that our lives are filled with little dyings and risings that precede our final dying and rising in Christ. This was not just a philosophical observation, but a lived reality. So too, in our own time, we are invited by God to discover the work of Love to redeem and heal and give rise to life out of the deaths that visit us in various ways and forms. Together we will explore the power of God's resurrection love at work in our experiences by allowing prayer, pictures, ponderings, and presence to permeate our stories and our gathering. Especially in this time of weariness where the weight of the world feels heavy, we will explore the ways in which God is at work lightening the burden we so often try to carry on our own. We hope you will join us for a weekend of uplift and encouragement.

This year jackets are included to celebrate our 95th anniversary.

Click here for size information. They will be hunter green.

Join the First Ever UCC Earth Day Summit!

This online event will take place on Saturday, April 22nd at 11 am ET. The theme is “What’s Possible?: Earth Day Stories of Hope.” This two and a half hour summit will feature a keynote from the Rev. Jim Antal, a panel of inspiring speakers, the presentation of the Dollie Burwell Prophetic Action Award, and a video showcasing the uplifting story of Mayflower UCC in Minneapolis. Even if you cannot make the event at its scheduled time, still sign-up, and we will send you a link to a recording of it.

May is Strengthen The Church Month!

The Strengthen the Church (STC) Offering reflects the shared commitment of people across the United Church of Christ to cooperatively build up the UCC. The Heartland Conference and the National setting equally share the gifts given by members and friends through their local congregations. 

Your generosity to Strengthen the Church (STC) provides the funds that allow The Heartland Conference to Support the development our Ministry Networks and support our General Synod Delegates.

In the National setting funds raised support leadership development, new churches, youth ministry, and innovation in existing congregations.  By your generosity to this offering, you build up the Body of Christ.