CONFERENCE NEWS

^{Moving Together in Spirit as a Conference / JANUARY 11, 2024}

CONFERENCE MINISTER'S CORNER

Rev. Dr. Tony Clark, Transitional Conference Minister

Dear Members and Friends:

I often hear about the struggle to find clergy for our smaller and more rural churches. This is not unique to the Montana-Northern Wyoming Conference, nor to the UCC. It is not a new phenomenon. It is ours to wrestle with, though.

With fewer people attending seminary, and fewer seminary graduates going into congregational ministry, it looks like this trend will continue. We are in a time when we can no longer assume the denomination or our seminaries will provide clergy to serve in our churches. We will need to develop methods of providing ministers from within our Conference to serve each other.

I bring with me a deep knowledge of the Manual on Ministry, as I supported the Manual when I worked at the national offices. The Manual, which was rewritten and published in 2018, has some guidance for when we cannot find clergy to serve our congregations. With this in mind, I will be giving workshops around the Conference on how the Manual on Ministry can guide us to ameliorate this issue within our Conference. The workshop is intended to be conversational, and there will be some chance to talk about the Marks of Faithful and Effective Ministers, as well as the role of the Church and Ministry Commission in this work. The first of these meetings will be in Worden next Saturday.

Join me at Bethlehem UCC, in Worden, Saturday January 20, 2024 from 1-3.

Please let us know if you plan to attend at www.mnwcucc.org/workshop.

Peace,

Pastor Tony

Looking ahead to 2024: Programs, projects and plans from UCC National Ministries

Year in review: Our top stories of 2023

Camp Trailer Fundraiser

Greetings Everyone! Outdoor Ministry has been asked by campers why we did not take a special offering at the end of camp. Instead of a general-purpose offering, we wanted folks across the Conference to have an opportunity to participate in a special project.

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. Here is our project:

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.

Individual Support for Mission

• Consider sending the amount you would have contributed to the special camp offering to Outdoor Ministry for the trailer.
• Consider a year-end gift to help with this worthwhile project.
• All money raised will first go to paying for the trailer and then to fitting the trailer with shelving, power, etc.
• In-kind gifts of materials and labor to fix up the trailer are welcomed.

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 from now until the end of the Christmas season. In January, contribute the offering to the Outdoor Ministry Team for purchase of the trailer. 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.

A Special Gift from Jim and Val  Pastor Jim and Val of Molt would like to share lessons on Reiki with members of the Congregation and others around the Conference who would like to join. Reiki is a Japanese form of energy healing. Jim and Val have been sharing this system of touching with the hands based on the belief that such touching by an experienced practitioner produces beneficial effects. The first session will be learning about Reiki followed by sessions to learn how to practice Reiki. First Session Options: January 7, January 21, or January 28. Email jim-access1@msn.com for more information.

National Human Trafficking Awareness Day on January 11

raises awareness of the persistent issue of human trafficking. Though the entire month of January has already been recognized as National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month, this day is specifically dedicated to awareness and prevention of illegal practices. Since the Senate established this day of observance in 2007, it has drawn massive public support from individual donations to government-organized events. The horrific injustice of human trafficking can affect people of any race and background, and on this day we are all called to fight human trafficking wherever it exists.

2016 Alderson Ave Billings, Montana 59102

406-656-8688 / www.mnwcucc.org