Massachusetts Conference Edition
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by Minister and President, The Rev. Dr. Jim Antal
April/May 2009
One of the wonderful things about serving in this role is that almost daily, one of our over 80,000 members tells me how much they appreciate the Massachusetts Conference -- from the guidance we offer churches in search of a new pastor to the coaching we offer churches around vitality, stewardship and evangelism; from the communities of practice we convene to the many justice projects we advocate; from the Stewardship University we host to the Committees on Ministry we advise; from our resource-rich web site to taking youth and young adults to Synod... I could go on and on.
All of this is made possible by your congregation’s financial commitment to Our Church’s Wider Mission (OCWM) and your congregation’s payment of Fellowship Dues. But these contributions provide only 70% of the income needed to pay for these and other Conference programs.
We know how much you value all that the Conference does. For many years, the contributions that hundreds of you have made towards Friends of the Conference have allowed the Conference to undertake special projects not in the budget. We are profoundly grateful for this support, and we will continue to come up with new initiatives beyond our usual budget that your generosity will make possible.
Soon, we’ll give you another chance to express your gratitude by supporting the ongoing work of the Conference through the Conference’s Annual Appeal. 100% of every dollar will go towards providing direct services to our congregations and our pastors. When the opportunity is offered, I hope you will share generously so that the Conference can continue to enhance and support God’s ministry in Massachusetts through the United Church of Christ.