Massachusetts Conference, United Church of Christ
The Mission of the Massachusetts Conference, United Church of Christ, is to nurture local church vitality and the covenant among our churches. Website: http://www.macucc.org.
Information
Location:
Framingham, MA, 01702
Phone:
508-875-5233
Mon - Fri:
8:30 am - 4:00 pm

Massachusetts Conference, United Church of Christ

 
Massachusetts Conference, United Church of Christ

Massachusetts Conference, United Church of Christ Read a reflection by Associate Conference Minister Peter Wells, along with all the latest mission and justice news, in the latest issue of Ever Flowing Streams.

archive.constantcontact.com
Read As I do almost every Sunday, I asked the congregation to complete the sentence: "Never put a period where God has put a ___." As usual a few of the folk had taken UCC 101 and proudly shouted "comma"! But one person rang out "Question mark"! Obviously she needed a refresher course - or did sh...
Massachusetts Conference, United Church of Christ

Massachusetts Conference, United Church of Christ The light of... an Advent message from the Minister & President now posted on the Massachusetts Conference Website.

www.macucc.org
Massachusetts Conference, United Church of Christ

Massachusetts Conference, United Church of Christ Read how one church taught about food justice through a potluck supper - in the latest United Church News Spotlight.

www.macucc.org
Somewhat organically after a string of emails on the church list serve, four members of Hope Church (Disciples of Christ/United Church of Christ) in Jamaica Plain met to discuss the documentary film Food Inc., and share thoughts about what lessons it might have for Christians ...
Massachusetts Conference, United Church of Christ

Massachusetts Conference, United Church of Christ The Alban Institute has published The Turnaround Church, the story of the Wollaston Congregational Church, written by Pastor Mary Lou Gifford, co-chair of the Massachusetts Conference's Commission for Evangelism & Church Vitality.

www.alban.org
The Turnaround Church is the story of Wollaston Congregational Church United Church of Christ, a 130-year-old congregation that once was thriving in ministry, membership, mission, music, and money. For half a century, however, the church had slowly declined and was considering closing its doors. ...
Betsy Waters

Betsy Waters I have a question on the use of facebook. When one leaves a congregation does a pastor need to "defriend" all her former parishioners?

November 16 at 8:38am · Report
Quentin
Quentin
Tough question. Keeping them as friends runs the risk of a boundary violation. Perhaps, a re-framing... Are your parishioners your friends? However, de-friending runs the risk of ticking off a bunch of people.
November 16 at 5:16pm
Massachusetts Conference, United Church of Christ
Massachusetts Conference, United Church of Christ
Minister & President Jim Antal addressed this in a document prepared for Boundary Awareness Training as follows:

A pastor with a number of Facebook friends from his/her current congregation decides to leave that congregation to serve another ministry. Here, it is best if the pastor attempts to make virtual reality conform to the best practices ... See Moreobserved in real life. The temptation to engage in inappropriate communication with former parishioners by maintaining continuity through a social network that was established when s/he was that person’s pastor is huge, unless the departing pastor posts a message explaining the boundary issues, and declaring that upon leaving that parish, s/he will be removing those parishioners as Facebook friends. Otherwise, the opportunity for inappropriate communication (e.g. the parishioner begins to complain about the new pastor) is a boundary transgression waiting to happen.
November 17 at 6:30am
Massachusetts Conference, United Church of Christ
Massachusetts Conference, United Church of Christ
The Connecticut Conference UCC offers the following recommendation:

Clergy who are leaving a specific ministry setting (congregation, cluster youth ministry, association, conference) should refrain from offering pastoral care through digital communication after the END date of their contract/call/covenant with their community of faith.
November 17 at 6:32am
Massachusetts Conference, United Church of Christ

Massachusetts Conference, United Church of Christ Watch the MACUCC's own Jennifer Munroe-Nathans (senior pastor of Church of Christ, Congregational, UCC in Millis) perform a comedy routine that draws on her experiece as a pastor!

www.youtube.com
Linda Michel
Linda Michel
You rock, girl!
November 13 at 7:42pm
Massachusetts Conference, United Church of Christ

Massachusetts Conference, United Church of Christ Now available for viewing: Keynote
speaker Gregory Jones, Dean of Duke Divinity School, speaks at the 210th Annual Meeting on the "three
I's" - Imagination, Interpretive Charity, and Improvisation.

vimeo.com
Keynote speaker Gregory Jones, Dean of Duke Divinity School, spoke of "three I's" - Imagination, Interpretive Charity, and Improvisation.
Massachusetts Conference, United Church of Christ

Massachusetts Conference, United Church of Christ Associate Conference Minister Paul Nickerson was quoted in an Associated Press article that ran in numerous publications, including the Washington Post.

www.washingtontimes.com
Dead churches are a familiar story in New England, which recent surveys indicate is now the least religious region in the country. But some see opportunity in a place where America's Christian faith laid its roots.
Massachusetts Conference, United Church of Christ

Massachusetts Conference, United Church of Christ Search & Call in the United Church of Christ - a 4 part series of events for seminarians.

Visit www.macucc.org/pep/EventsforSeminarians.htm for complete information.

Topics include: The Discernment and Search Process, Writing a Ministerial profile to get an interview; and navigating the UCC Search & Call Network
Time:8:30AM Friday, November 13th
Location:Andover Newton Theological School
Massachusetts Conference, United Church of Christ

Massachusetts Conference, United Church of Christ The MACUCC's own Peter Wells, on how Our Church's Wider Mission is Changing Lives.

www.youtube.com
United Church of Christ members discuss how Our Church's Wider Mission is Changing Lives.
Kevin O'Keefe
Kevin O'Keefe
Very nice interview Peter!
October 28 at 5:28pm
Brian Lapis
Brian Lapis
Peter is great!
November 12 at 6:20pm
Massachusetts Conference, United Church of Christ

Massachusetts Conference, United Church of Christ Metrowest Daily News coverage of local churches taking part in the International Day of Climate Action.

www.metrowestdailynews.com
Parishioners from across MetroWest will ring their bells and hit the streets this weekend to raise awareness about climate change. "For us, this is very much a faith-based issue," said the Rev. Debbie Clark of Edwards Church in Framingham. "This is about how we care for God's creation and what we le...
Massachusetts Conference, United Church of Christ

Massachusetts Conference, United Church of Christ The Central Square Congregational Church in Bridgewater will ring it's bell before and after worship Sunday for the first time in a generation - and they will ring it 350 times, as part of the International Day of Climate Action. Is your church taking action this weekend? Share your plans on our Wall.

www.boston.com
BRIDGEWATER - For a generation, the old bell sat silent, in tarnished glory. In its creaky belfry, it bore the indignity of being replaced with canned, electronic chimes, first from a monstrous tape deck, then a computer program. ...
Victor DeRubeis
Victor DeRubeis
Nice if you have a bell tower. East Weymouth Congregational UCC www.eweyucc.org doesn't. We went digital in '06, thanks to a generous donation from the Veno family of Weymouth in memory of longtime member, Jean. Now "Jean," our digital carillon, marks the time and sounds the call to worship every Sunday, and we can program it to play "A Mighty Fortress"... or "Frosty the Snowman." Let the traditionalist tastemaker outrage begin!
October 24 at 10:15am
Massachusetts Conference, United Church of Christ

Massachusetts Conference, United Church of Christ Online registration is now available for this great event!

Living and Moving Through the Stories, Seasons, and Spiritual Exercise of the Christian Liturgical Year
Location:First Congregational Church of Shrewsbury, UCC
Time:9:00AM Thursday, November 12th
Massachusetts Conference, United Church of Christ

Massachusetts Conference, United Church of Christ The Massachusetts Conference Disaster Resource Team Coordinators have issued a statement on H1N1:

www.macucc.org
Every year an influenza germ makes the rounds among us. This year is no different. However, this year an additional germ is among us – the H1N1 virus. Since this is a novel germ, many of us have not ...
Pastor Vicki Kemper

Pastor Vicki Kemper Hiya. Thanks for all the Annual Meeting-related posts. Fyi, the link on your web page to Jim Antal's "State of the Conference" report is not working. Would love to see it posted there or here. Thanks--

October 19 at 5:36pm · Report
Massachusetts Conference, United Church of Christ
Massachusetts Conference, United Church of Christ
Oops, thanks for the heads up - it's working now! We plan to also have audio and video recordings from the meeting posted in the next few days, so check back often! ~ Tiffany Vail
October 19 at 7:48pm