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February/March 2006
The Annual Meeting Revisioning Task Team and the Annual Meeting Planning Committee have announced that the 207th Annual Meeting of the Massachusetts Conference, to be held June 9 and 10 at Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, will be “Business Not As Usual.”
“The Task Team and the Planning Committee are excited to introduce a new format for resolutions this year (see related article) and a streamlined business session so that we will have more time for what people requested: worship and workshops and networking/fellowship time,” said Moderator Katrina Clinton, pastor of the First Congregational Church of North Attleboro.
“Just imagine: two workshop choices; four worship times; after-hours events that will stir the imagination and offer fun and fellowship for all,” Clinton said. “And of course there will still be the keynote speaker and clergy gathering and laity gathering and the Marketplace.”
The theme of this year’s meeting will be Transforming Worship, and the keynote speaker will be the Rev. Sydney Fowler, Former Minister for Worship, Liturgy, and Spiritual Formation in the National Setting of the United Church of Christ. Fowler has served the UCC as editor and developer for several curriculum programs, including Inviting Word, Bible Quest, and Seasons of the Spirit. He was part of the leadership team for the Worshiping into God's Future Initiative.
“Our theme, Transforming Worship, speaks to the heart of who we are as the United Church of Christ. Our vitality begins in worship. Our identity is shaped by the Still Speaking God. In worship we are transformed and empowered to engage in ministries that will in turn transform the world around us,” said Clinton.
Other highlights of the Meeting will include:
•The Minister & President Search Committee is expecting to present a candidate for election;
•Theologian, Author, Musician and Educator Marva J. Dawn will be the speaker at the clergy gathering. Dawn’s latest book, “Reaching Out Without Dumbing Down,” was written to help local churches think more thoroughly about worship and culture so that they can function effectively in contemporary society.
Members of Conference churches do not need to be elected delegates to attend the meeting. Registration forms will be mailed to the churches and available on the Massachusetts Conference website at www.macucc.org in March.