Conference News

The Village Church Pastoral Residency Program (2026–2028)

The Village Church Pastoral Residency Program (2026–2028)

The Pastoral Residency Program at The Village Church in Wellesley and Weston, Massachusetts is a two-year, full-time ordainable call in the United Church of Christ designed for recent M.Div. graduates preparing for parish ministry.

This position is an ordainable call in the United Church of Christ, with a full-time salary and housing allowance of $60,000 a year (or $55,000 with free parsonage housing, if available), and full benefits.

  • As full-time pastors, Residents participate in all aspects of the life of Village Church in Wellesley and Weston. The two settings provide experience of working with a large staff and as solo pastor.

  • Residents gain experience in core areas of pastoral leadership: Worship, Faith Formation, Pastoral Care, Transformational Leadership, Social Justice, and Professional Development. We intentionally leave space in their portfolios for Residents to respond to the Spirit's movement.

  • The program trains two Residents at a time, and the staggered call process enables them to progress in their learning and leadership with the support of a peer.

  • Throughout their service with us, residents receive extensive support and mentoring from both the pastoral staff at Village Church in Wellesley and the congregations in Wellesley and Weston.

  • We support participation in a New Clergy Group through the UCC’s Southern New England Conference.

To read more program details and the application timeline for the 2026–2028 cohort, click here.

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Free quarterly clergy roundtable program

Free quarterly clergy roundtable program

Lombard Mennonite Peace Center is launching a free quarterly clergy roundtable program.

The first program theme is: 

Generational Differences in the Balance of Togetherness and Individuality - Implications for the Church 

Particular focus will be given to the emotional labor Gen Z experiences around performative roles (like showing up at church or a holiday dinner) when they perceive forces of togetherness differently than others. 

How do we create churches that welcome the authentic presence of youth instead of masking while participating?

 Register for free to get the link.

They recommend reading the book, Hear Us Out: Six Questions on Belonging and Belief by Sue Pizor Yoder (Author), with contributors  Bonnie Bates, Brandon Heavner, Joanne Marchetto, Jill Peters, Stephen SimmonsJanet Stahl, and James Stahl in preparation for this round table discussion.

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What is Recovery Spirituality?

What is Recovery Spirituality?

Recovery Spirituality is born out of what many in recovery call “the gift of desperation.” It begins in the moment when we recognize our own powerlessness and become willing to turn our will and lives over to a Spirit greater than ourselves. It’s not about perfection — it’s about surrender, trust, and a new way of living that opens us to grace, hope, and healing. 

 Click through to learn more.

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Flies, Butterflies, and the Bias We Carry

Flies, Butterflies, and the Bias We Carry

Some of you know I keep chickens in my backyard. If you have ever raised chickens, you understand that they are not the cleanest animals. And where there are chickens, there are flies.

Have you ever noticed how flies rush to what is rotten while butterflies search for what is colorful and alive? Both insects have wings. Both can fly wherever they want. Yet they seek very different things. Flies target decay. Butterflies look for blossoms. One sees garbage. The other sees growth.

There is more to the story.

Click through to read the rest of it!

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Saturday Sharing: The Convergence Music Project

Saturday Sharing: The Convergence Music Project

The Convergence Music Project

New Progressive Congregational Music

Andra Moran, singer/songwriter, worship leader, and co-founder of the Convergence Music Project (CMP), talks with Board member Amanda Udis-Kessler about CMP and its resources, and shares her observations about what is happening in progressive worship music these days. Andra will also share two of her songs with us.

Saturday, October 25, 2025 at 12 noon ET / 9 am PT on Zoom.

This event is free and open to all. Register to receive the Zoom link.

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Tribalism or Religion

Tribalism or Religion

We live in a time when people draw lines quickly. They sort, group, and divide one another by politics, culture, or even sports teams. Tribalism has always existed. People instinctively gather with those who look, think, and act like them. At its best, tribalism gives belonging and security. At its worst, it hardens hearts and turns neighbors into enemies.

Religion calls us to live differently. Scripture tells story after story of God pushing people past narrow loyalties.

Click through to read Dr. Derrick’s article.

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Recovery Spirituality in Action: A Ministry of Presence, Listening, and Love

Recovery Spirituality in Action: A Ministry of Presence, Listening, and Love

by Minister Gordon Street, Commissioned Minister – Southwest Conference, UCC

For the past several years, my ministry has centered on “making a spiritual connection”—meeting people where they are and helping them reconnect with a personal sense of the Divine through the lens of 12-Step wisdom.

As my ministry continues to grow and evolve, I’m excited to share its new title and theme: Recovery Spirituality in Action. This updated name reflects not a new direction but a deeper commitment to what has always been at the heart of my work—spirituality lived out in real time, in the real world, with real people.

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Congrats to Congregational Revitalization and Resiliency Grant recipients!

Congrats to Congregational Revitalization and Resiliency Grant recipients!

When we join the Southwest Conference of the United Church of Christ, we enter into multiple covenant relationships as individuals and as congregations. COM B (Committee on Ministry Section B) is a SWC committee whose primary responsibility is to serve and assist congregations. We recently had the joy of receiving our second round of proposals for the Congregational Revitalization and Resiliency Grants. The goal of the grant money is to assist churches in moving beyond the status quo, and in creative and new ways, developing programs that will inspire church growth. Creativity and originality were encouraged, and we were delighted to receive well-written, thoughtfully considered, and creative grants from congregations across the Conference. Congratulations to all congregations who submitted grants and who were awarded funds for their creative endeavors! 

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Land Acknowledgments and People of Faith

Land Acknowledgments and People of Faith

As Indigenous Peoples’ Day approaches, the Church faces a faithful reminder: we worship on land once cared for by Indigenous peoples. A land acknowledgment names those who first tended this ground; the Akimel O’odham and Piipaash peoples in our region, and invites us to respond with gratitude, respect, and responsibility.

A land acknowledgment does more than open a service. It tells the truth about where we stand and challenges us to live as better caretakers of God’s creation. When we speak these words, we recognize that the earth is God’s gift, not our possession, and that God calls us to protect it with care.

Words alone can sound empty. A land acknowledgment loses meaning when we treat it as a formality. It gains power when we act on it and when we build relationships, learn stories, and seek justice.

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What Is a Pastor? 

What Is a Pastor? 

What’s in a name?” Shakespeare once asked. A rose by any other name would still smell as sweet. The same is true for many of us. Over the years, I’ve held many titles: son, husband, friend, teacher, chaplain, pastor, and now associate conference minister. Each one carries its own weight, but some titles go deeper than description. They take responsibility, even identity. Thomas C. Oden never took the title of pastor lightly. In his book Pastoral Theology: Essentials of Ministry, he reminds us that “pastor” comes from the Latin for shepherd. That’s not just a quaint metaphor. It’s one of the deepest biblical images for Christian ministry (Psalm 23, John 10, 1 Peter 5).

Shepherds don’t get corner offices, they don’t spend their days shuffling memos, and they certainly don’t wear Italian suits to go herd sheep. They walk with the flock, make sure no one wanders off a cliff, fend off predators, and sometimes even smell like the sheep they’re caring for. Oden believed that the image best describes what the clergy are called to be.

A pastor, he says, isn’t primarily a manager, a therapist, or an entertainer. The role is far older and far weightier. To be called pastor is to be entrusted with the care of souls: preaching, baptizing, feeding the people with Word and Sacrament, praying, and modeling what faith looks like in real life.

Click through to read Dr. Derrick’s article.

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Generations United FCU: Fair, Equitable Banking Grounded in UCC Values

Generations United FCU: Fair, Equitable Banking Grounded in UCC Values

A message from GUFCU:

Generations United Federal Credit Union (GUFCU), which was first introduced to the United Church of Christ in June of this year, continues to grow and establish its identity as new members from many UCC conferences across the nation join.

Over the past few months, we’ve welcomed clergy, congregants, and their family members from New York to Hawaii, Massachusetts to Puerto Rico, and many states in between. We’re especially excited to see parents and grandparents open Youth Accounts for their children and grandchildren, and associations establishing checking and savings accounts to take advantage of our competitive interest rates. Most importantly, our deposits are being lent to members young and old, so they can pay down debt. These activities reflect our mission: building a stronger, financially responsible UCC community.

Through conversations with both prospective and new members, we’ve also discovered there are some misconceptions about our mission. We have updated our messaging on our website – https://gufcu.org to try to address them. Click through to read more.

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