CONFERENCE NEWS

^{Moving Together in Spirit as a Conference / FEBRUARY 8, 2024}

CONFERENCE MINISTER'S CORNER

Rev. Dr. Tony Clark, Transitional Conference Minister

Dear friends:

We are in the phase of the church year between Christmas and Lent that we call Epiphany. This is a time when we celebrate and remember the revelations of Jesus as the King of the Jews to the Magi and Herrod, Jesus as the Christ at his baptism, Jesus as teacher to the Disciples, and Jesus as healer and miracle worker to the people. In the UCC, we believe that God’s revelations continue beyond when the Bible was codified, and we say that God is Still Speaking. This belief was foundational to Christianity as it arrived in what is now the US. In 1620, Rev. John Robinson charged the Puritans, who were leaving the Netherlands for England and eventually Massachusetts, with a sermon calling for them to follow Christ and live in covenant with one another. He famously said to those about to embark, “I am verily persuaded the Lord has more truth yet to break forth out of His holy word.” Certainly the migrating Puritans would experience God in manifold different ways in the Western Hemisphere than they did in Europe. 

To many, the epiphanies of Jesus were Good News, and to the powerful and rich, those epiphanies were challenging, heretical, and treasonous. Today, the radical welcome that Jesus preached, Paul’s “peace that passes understanding” that arrives without war and violence, and the covenant to live together and share all things in common as we read in the Book of Acts, are still challenging our ways of being together as Christians. We know the goodness within each of us, even as we recognize the failings and foibles in the sinfulness of all people. 

Liturgically, as we transition from Epiphany to Lent, we mark our own humanity with ashes as we recite the words from the 51st Psalm – purge me, cleanse me, wipe out and blot out my sins; you desire truth in my inward being, teach me wisdom. On Ash Wednesday, we say these words to name our reliance on God’s ongoing revelations, we mark ourselves as human yet faithful, and we begin the reflection on the divinity of Jesus that takes place through Lent. And the celebratory days before we reach Ash Wednesday–the days of Carnival and Mardi Gras– remind us of God’s blessings and goodness before we turn to the penitence of Lent. 

February always blends the secular passing of time with the sacred and eternal truths of both humanity and the Holy. In our secular world, February brings Groundhog’s Day, Valentine’s Day, Presidents’ Day, and this year Leap Day. We mark the halfway point through official winter (even though this year it feels like spring), we celebrate love, we memorialize our leaders, and we remember that our form of timekeeping based on the Earth’s revolution around the Sun is imperfect and requires some periodic adjustment. With Black History Month, we observe that minorities contribute more to our culture than we routinely recognize. Through this all, we say that God is Still Speaking, revealing the true reality of the world, teaching truth and wisdom, and pointing us onward. 

I invite you to reflect on God’s presence and epiphanies in our times, especially in the Montana-Northern Wyoming Conference. How is God Still Speaking? What is God still revealing? What truth has yet to break forth from God’s holy word? 

Blessings to each of you in these days prior to Lent. May you know God in the passing of time, in the love that surrounds you, in the work of our leaders, and in all who shape our culture. 

Peace,

Pastor Tony

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Camp Trailer Fundraiser

To support Outdoor Ministry and other Conference missions, we are asking folks to

consider participating in a special fundraising opportunity. Not having our own facility creates logistical issues for storage during the camps, for transporting programming needs, for storage during the off-season, and for portability of events around the Conference. We have come up with a solution, and we are asking folks around the Conference to help make it a reality. We are trying to find a 6 x 6 x 12 trailer to serve as our Conference on wheels.

Find a Suitable Trailer

Consider helping Outdoor Ministry locate a trailer that is available for $5000 or less

that we can equipped for our purpose. Contact Trudi Downer with details.

Donation Link:

https://www.aplos.com/aws/give/MNWC/trailer

Spare Change for Mission

Place a jar in your Church and ask folks to contribute loose change to the jar. If each of our 26 Churches could offer $200 for the mission, we can pay for a trailer for use at all Conference events and be on our way to having a visible reminder of the important ministry in our Conference.

2016 Alderson Ave Billings, Montana 59102

406-656-8688 / www.mnwcucc.org