Annual Meeting 2002: Invitation Letter

June 27, 2002

TO: All Delegates of Connecticut Conference Churches Authorized Ministers: Ordained, Commissioned, Licensed Officers, Board of Directors, Moderators of Associations Former Moderators of Annual Meetings Nominating Committee of the Conference Members of and Nominees for Ministry Teams In-Care Students

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ:

This comes to you as the first of three mailings for the Annual Meeting of the Connecticut Conference of the United Church of Christ. The following are the dates and site:

Friday, Saturday, and Sunday
October 18, 19, and 20, 2002
at
Hill Regional Career High School
New Haven, CT

The Moderator, the Rev. Hannah Howe of Tolland; the Assistant Moderator, Mr. Erskine McIntosh of New Haven; the Conference Minister, the Rev. Dr. Davida Foy Crabtree; and the Chair of the Board of Directors, the Rev. Donald Ketcham of West Avon join in inviting you to the One Hundred and Thirty-Fifth Annual Meeting of the Connecticut Conference of the United Church of Christ. The theme "God is still speaking. . . " was chosen by the Planning Committee. Our hosts for the weekend will be UCC churches in the New Haven Association. The Rev. Louise Higginbotham, Moderator of the New Haven Association, and the churches and pastors look forward to welcoming us all!

Friday:

Our Business Meeting will begin after dinner on Friday, at 6:15 P.M. Resolution Hearings will be on Friday at 4:15-4:45 at the high school. Other events on Friday evening include the Conference Minister's Address and a 45-minute worship service. The Worship Committee is planning the meeting to be framed with a variety of worship experiences. A full agenda will be sent in the second mailing.

Saturday:

Activities will include a Keynote Address by Bernice Powell Jackson, Executive Minister of Justice & Witness Ministries of the United Church of Christ and a member of the Collegium of the United Church of Christ. Bernice brings the joy of the Spirit and a love of the UCC, as well as her passion for Justice & Witness. You will enjoy our time with her. There will also be reports from the Board of Directors, an update on the capital campaign, workshops, presentation of the 2003 proposed budget, and speak-outs. The day's business meeting will close on Saturday night at 6:15, followed by supper.

Saturday workshops:

These will be held at Hill Regional Career High School. Enclosed with this mailing is a list of workshops being offered. You will sign up for the workshops as you register at the high school in October. The CT Women of the UCC will have a luncheon and program at Center Church on the Green in downtown New Haven, and delegates will be bused to that site.

Sunday morning:

There will be a second Keynote Address by Bernice Powell Jackson, reports from the Board of Directors, action on the 2003 Budget, election of officers, and completion of Action on Resolutions, and a speak-out. Items from the Board of Directors will include some proposed bylaw revisions. We will have lunch at the high school before being bused to United Church on the Green for the Sunday afternoon worship.

Festival Worship

Festival Worship with Communion and Installation of Officers will be on Sunday afternoon at 1:15 P.M. Our Conference preacher, the Rev. William (Bill) Zito of Watertown, will preach. The Worship Committee has planned an exciting and spirit-filled worship including a variety of joyful music. A processional of clergy and lay delegates will begin the worship. Clergy are encouraged to robe for this service. Everyone from your church is invited to join your delegates and pastor(s) at this service. The service will be held at the United Church on the Green in New Haven. Buses will be provided to transport delegates from the high school to the church.

Setting:

Our setting this year will be the Hill Regional Career High School. The facility is fully accessible, is only four years old, and has a large auditorium, many rooms for workshops, snack bars, and a pool! Because the hallways are nice and wide, the displays will be in the hallways as you walk between the auditorium and the cafeteria. Meals will be served in the cafeteria of the high school with specially prepared menus. The high school is just off Route 34 in downtown New Haven, which is just off Interstates 91 and 95; it is very easy to get to and there is plenty of free parking. Directions will be provided in the August mailing.

Housing:

Commercial lodging reservations should be made this summer if you plan to stay overnight in the New Haven area (please see enclosed flyer). In the August mailing will be a form to complete if you desire to stay with a host family in the New Haven area.

Resolutions:

We are enclosing the two resolutions that have been submitted in Group A. Hearings will be held on these resolutions at the high school on Friday afternoon at 4:15 P.M.

There is still time to get a resolution in for the annual meeting in Group B. It would be most helpful to our process-and advantageous to you-if you would make contact with the Resolutions Committee in September if you anticipate presenting a resolution: Alice O'Donovan (RevAlice@aol.com), Chair of the Resolutions Committee, or Sarah Annis (saraha@ctucc.org) at the Conference Office. Below are the instructions for Group B resolutions found in the Primer that the churches received in January:

Group B resolutions and affirmations must be a compelling response by the church or recognized group regarding urgent issues or concerns that come up after the May 1 deadline. On the day of the Annual Meeting, any churches or groups that have resolutions or affirmations that were not submitted by the May 1 deadline and therefore not considered by the Resolutions Committee, will have an opportunity to meet with the Committee for consideration of their resolution or affirmation. This will be a public hearing (with the exception that the sponsoring church or group must be present to share its thinking) and will be open to any and all delegates at the Annual Meeting. However the Resolutions Committee will determine, depending upon the number of resolutions and affirmations to consider, whether or not the delegates present may participate in any of the discussion. The Group B resolutions will then be distributed to the delegates.

Authorized Ministers' Event:

The speaker for the event will be Mr. Ronald Buford, the creator of the UCC identity program "God is Still Speaking". Ron serves as Public Relations and Marketing Manager, for the Proclamation, Identity, and Communication Ministry in Cleveland. He will reflect with Connecticut authorized ministers on the role of the local church pastor in creating a culture of belonging with the local congregation. The event will be held at Yale Divinity School in New Haven on Friday, October 18, at 12:30 P.M. Registration for this event will be included in the August mailing.

Twenty-five and Fifty Year Ordinands

Honoring those ordained for 25 or 50 years: This event will take place on Friday afternoon at Yale Divinity School. Those to be honored will be listed in the August mailing.

Youth Activities/Mission Day:

Opportunities for youth activities and work projects are underway for youth on Saturday. A flyer is enclosed and registration forms will be mailed in August.

Other highlights this year:

Yale Bookstore will have a booth at the high school and will be open Friday, 4:30-7:30, and Saturday, 8:30-5:00.
Displays will be up Friday afternoon until Sunday noon.
Youth groups will be selling snacks and sandwiches on Saturday and Sunday.
UCC identity items will be available for sale.

Laity Sunday-October 20

We encourage all Pastors to plan now to have Laity Sunday for October 20 so that all Pastors may be available to attend the Annual Meeting in its entirety. A sermon will be provided by the Alternate Conference Preacher, the Rev. Dwight Juliani, and will be mailed to every church in September.

A full agenda will be mailed in August, along with forms for registration, housing, special needs, and child care. Please plan now to attend the Annual Meeting on October 18-20!

Faithfully yours,

Davida Foy Crabtree
Conference Minister

P.S. If you have any questions about this mailing, please contact Peggy Wright at the Conference Office by email (peggyw@ctucc.org) or phone (860-233-5564 or toll-free 866-367-2822). If you as a delegate find you are unable to attend the meeting, please let your church know immediately so an alternate delegate may be named, and let us at the Conference office know so the August and September mailings will be sent to the correct delegate.