Northwest Word

Northwest Wisconsin Association

United Church of Christ

January 2023

Conference Office Moving to Daycholah Center

Reprinted from Generosity Forward, January 2023

Jones to Begin Serving NWWA

Churches January 23

Rev. Michael D. Jones

The Reverend Michael D. Jones will begin working as our Associate Conference Minister on January 23. Conference Minister Franz Rigert reports that he and the current three Associate Conference Ministers met with Rev. Jones at a December meeting of all conference staff ministers and the five of them "had a great time." Rev. Jones and his husband Blake will live in Eau Claire with their daughters, and have already purchased a home.

Plans call for Rev. Jones to visit a number of NWWA churches for "meet and greet" sessions early in his ministry. Watch for announcements about those coming events as they are scheduled.

Clyma Now Editor of Northwest Word

Rev. William Clyma has stepped in as editor of the Northwest Word, beginning with this issue. He succeeds Wendy Dittman, who has edited the newsletter for six years.

Clyma, a retired UCC pastor with standing in the Northwest Association, served as Associate Minister at St. Stephens UCC in Merrill from 1988-1992 and Pastor of the Congregational UCC of Sparta from 2016-2019. He also served as Pastor of Peace United Church of Christ in Marinette for 14 years. Service at churches in Kansas, Pennsylvania, and South Dakota rounded out his 34 years of called pastoral ministry.

Bill is eager to hear news about important milestones and ministries at all 59 of our NWWA churches. He has a special fondness for Mission Trip stories. Contact him at 763-415-0779 or at [email protected].

Teri Hanson Ordained November 11

Therance (Teri) A Hanson, longtime Licensed Pastor at the United Church of Christ in Athens and Christ United Church of Christ in Colby, was ordained to the Christian Ministry on November 13, 2022 at the Colby church. The Reverend Rob MacDougall preached the sermon.

Pictured in the front row (left to right) are Rev. Gloria Van Houten, Licensed Pastor Patti Steevens, Rev. Doris Ruben, Rev. Teri Hanson, Rev. Elizabeth Hazel and Rev. Julie Goranson. Back Row: Rev. William Clyma, Rev. Rob MacDougall, and Rev. Don Bauman.

Leadership Forward Campaign

The Leadership Forward Campaign of the Wisconsin Conference UCC plans to raise two million dollars so that both local and wider church settings can have good leadership in the future.

Funds raised by this Capital Campaign will equip laypeople, clergy, and congregations with wisdom and skills to meet God’s challenge to be the Church today and tomorrow. Churches that could not have pastors will have them because of the ministries supported by Leadership Forward.

Click the link below to learn more about the ways in which this Campaign will help both the local church and the wider church.

/https://www.wcucc.org/leadership-forward/

Stewardship Moments

One of the dangers of having a lot of money is that you may be quite satisfied with the kinds of happiness that money can give and so fail to realize your need for God, If everything seems to come simply by signing checks, you may forget that you are at every moment totally dependent on God.

C.S. Lewis

Working with The Institute for Intercultural Studies and Research in San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico, the word “Esperanza” comes up frequently in workshops and presentations. 

“Esperanza” in Spanish means “Hope.”

In a culture where a history of oppression from multiple sources has fractured the very idea of community, The Institute, one of our Global Missions Partners, is a beacon of Hope. “Esperanza” for the people of Chiapas. 

I am spending a month of my three-month Pastoral Sabbatical living in San Cristobal de las Casas, working with The Institute, helping to facilitate workshops among other duties. I came to San Cristobal in an effort to pluck myself out of my daily routine and immerse myself in a culture very different than my own; a culture where I could learn and reflect, reconnect spiritually, and embrace cultural dynamics from a very different standpoint. 

I have come to the right place. 

Daily, I walk to the marketplace, to The Institute, and to churches. Walking has become the beat of my life as I immerse myself in the culture. As I walk, I observe; and everywhere I look, I see hope. 

The Church of Guadalupe is high on a hill, overlooking the Guadalupe barrio where I live. When I walk up the 80 steps to the building, I find members of the indigenous community inside, praying for guidance, communicating closely with God. Their faces reflect the hope that their faith has instilled within them.  

On other occasions, I walk to the Church of Santo Domingo, a building 400 years old with ancient pews and gold leaf adorning the walls. I sit in the nave, reconnecting with God. As I do, I am joined in community with others from the indigenous community, also communing with God. The look on their faces is not one of people skeptical of religion nor starry-eyed by a megalomanic preacher, the look on their faces genuine faith; is a look of

hope.

Another church I frequent is the Church of the Transfiguration; a smaller parish on the north side of town. Their chancel and precepts all contain images of Jesus transfigured on the mountain with Moses and Elijah, Peter, James and John. They find hope in God’s message to the assemblage that day; “This is my Son, the beloved. Listen to him!”

The Institute, our Global Missions Partner, helps facilitate hope through the workshops they offer; from sustainable living initiatives to reforestation to recovering from trauma and healing the heart. All of these and other programs offered by The Institute bring healing, health and hope to the participants. It is an infectious hope, as participants bring it back to their communities and share it with their people. The Institute trains folks to be trainers, prepares partici-pants to be leaders. Hope shared is hope multiplied; and communities in Chiapas are changed as The Institute nurtures their already-present seeds of hope.

The Institute is served by Elena Huegel, our Global Ministries Mission Co-Worker in San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas. I helped her facilitate a recent workshop, “Esperanza en el Trauma” (Hope in the midst of Trauma). In this workshop, Elena taught the participants about resilience, the capacity to recuperate and thrive despite adversity. She taught them techniques to build resilience, restore dignity, and to address somatic memory issues related to trauma. The participants left with tools not only to nurture hope in the midst of their own trauma, but to be nurturers of others as well. 

Nurturing hope in the midst of trauma is the work of our mission partners at The Institute distilled to its purest essence. For me, participating in this healing ministry for a month of my Pastoral Sabbatical has been a transformative experience. When I return from Sabbatical, refreshed and renewed, I anticipate my ministry to be forever enhanced by the time I have spent immersed in this culture. 

My thanks to Global Ministries, The Institute for Intercultural Studies and Research in San Cristobal de las Casas, and Elena Huegel, our Mission Co-Worker for helping me facilitate this transformative Pastoral Sabbatical and for allowing me to participate in oppor-tunities to spread God’s message of Esperanza.