I've been looking forward to this for several months now. The calendar is not so packed. The busyness of Associations, the Conference and General Synod are past. By and large committees in all of these settings are taking a break. Authorized ministers are taking vacations or going on study leave. Life is good.
On the other hand there continues to be some activity. Here is a random compendium of news, business, upcoming events and other items of interest.
Stan Bennett licensed as a community minister of Malden Road UCC to serve at Hutchings Psychiatric Center, has notified me of a group of Iranian emigrés living in Syracuse that have come together around their concerns for the direction of their country. They also have an interest helping the rest of us come to know this new community better.
Here is the pitch: Churches or groups from your church offer to host a tea party to which you invite members of the congregation and members of the Iranian Community. Enjoy refreshments, good talk and fellowship.
Read more by following this link: Tea for Democracy.
The Executive Committee of the UCCNY Executive Council is conducting the search for the Interim Conference Minister to head the staff and the Conference into the transition between the ministry of Geoffrey Black and the next person that God is calling to be our Conference Minister. The job description has been published and the Executive Committee is looking forward to receiving the application of qualified candidates.
Here is the link for the Job Description: UCCNY Interim Conference Minister Job Description
Programming, worship, and workshops will focus on the theme of Global Ministries. We anticipate the participation of the staff from UCC Wider Church Ministries in both the planning and in leadership at Silver Bay. The UCCNY Commission on the Global Church will be working with the Annual Meeting Planning Committee in coordinating plans for the event. We have scheduled a planning retreat at Silver Bay for October 23-24.
Don't forget to check out the Seminar for Church Musicians, sponsored by The First Congregational Church, UCC Norwich for the weekend of July 31 - August 2. Composer Alan Pote will be the keynote speaker and workshop leader. Here's the link for the Norwich Church website. Water from the Well
I subscribe to the email news feed of the World Council of Churches. In today's posting news came of a speech with WCC General Secretary, the Rev. Dr. Samuel Kobia, made to the gathering of the All Africa Council of Churches in Kinshasha, Republic of Congo.
Dr. Kobia spoke about the need for the churches to speak out against the unspeakable violence that continues to target women in the Congo and across Africa. "The churches still seem to relegate violence to the private sphere, and still understand violence as only physical," he said. "The first and most obvious [effort] is to acknowledge that the violence actually exists..."This means taking it out of the private arena and placing it squarely at the altars of our churches, in the seats of our parliament and in the halls of our academies," said Kobia.
The WCC email reported, "Kobia's speech coincided with an ecumenical delegation visit sponsored by the WCC. The visit is part of the Living Letters series of visits where delegations visit churches in countries in conflict to listen, learn and show solidarity."
"We have seen and heard stories of women and children who not only disproportionately bear the hardships and burden of poverty but sometimes with their bodies and life pay for the egos of violent men," said Kobia.
"While these stories ring loud and clear in our ears and their pain bleeds in our heart, we still find the myopia or perhaps complete blindness of the churches and communities to recognize and acknowledge this violence," he said.
"Kobia said women were asking how many stories of pain they needed to tell before the church began to listen," reported the email.
The situation is caused by the ongoing rebellion in the Congo. Please pray for God's people there, for the end of the fighting. For more information about the World Council of Churches follow this link. media@wcc-coe.org.
Happy Summer!
Blessings,
Rick Cowles
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