Call To The Fall Annual Meeting

Register Online

Middletown High School
200 LaRosa Lane, Middletown
Friday, Saturday: October 23-24, 2009

To: Lay Delegates From Local Churches
Youth Delegates From Local Churches
All Authorized Ministers Of The Conference
All Officers Of The Conference
Moderators Of Associations
Former Moderators Of The Annual Meetings
Board Of Directors And Committees Named In The Bylaws

This comes to you as the Call to the Fall Annual Meeting (Part II of the One Hundred Forty-second Annual Meeting) of the Connecticut Conference of the United Church of Christ (Connecticut Conference of the Congregational Christian Churches).

Geoffrey Black

Materials

Call Letter PDF Agenda HTML | PDF Consent Agenda PDF 2010 Proposed Budgets HTML Rules of Procedure PDF Reading List: Fiction and non-fiction works for Sacred Conversations HTML Authorized Ministers Luncheon Flyer PDF Ordained Ministers Celebrating 50/25 Years of Ordination PDF Hospitality information HTML | PDF Middletown Lodging HTML | PDF Serving as a Delegate in the United Church of Christ PDF Registration Form PDF Special Needs Form PDF Child Care Form PDF Directions PDF | Google Maps | Mapquest Maps

Remember that all sessions are open to registered visitors as well as delegates, so be sure to tell others about the events of the two days!

The Keynote Speaker will be the Rev. Geoffrey Black, General Minister and President of the United Church of Christ. Rev. Black has served as Conference Minister for the New York Conference. He has also served on the staff of the Office of Church Life and Leadership of the National Setting of the United Church of Christ. Rev. Black was elected to the position at General Synod XXVII in Grand Rapids, MI, and will assume office just 23 days before he is with us. Ecumenical commitment, concern for equal justice, and community improvement have shaped Rev. Black's ministry in the church and in the communities in which he has lived. He brings a wealth of experience to the position of General Minister and President and we are honored to have him with us to share his vision of the United Church of Christ.

The Theme of the weekend is “Sacred Conversations on Race.” There will be an opportunity on Saturday to participate in one of those conversations with trained facilitators. The Rev. Karen Georgia Thompson, Minister for Racial Justice of the National Setting of the United Church of Christ, has provided leadership and trained the facilitators. Her guidance will help the Conference and the churches chart the course for continued conversations.

Click here for online registration. Pre-registration for meals must be received no later than Sunday, October 18 on-line and Friday, October 16 by mail. Registration will begin at 4:00 pm at Middletown High School. Those attending the Authorized Ministers’ Lunch may register at that event for the Annual Meeting. Dinner will be at 5:15. The meeting will begin at 6:30 pm. The Conference Minister’s Address will be at 8:00 pm.

Hospitality: Click here for information about child-care, special needs and the hotel list.

Ordained ministers celebrating their 50th and 25th anniversaries of ordination will be honored at the Friday clergy luncheon at First Church of Christ, 190 Court Street, Middletown.

A Worship Committee, led by our Conference Preacher and Chaplain, the Rev. Dr. Rochelle Stackhouse of New Haven, has planned our worship experiences. We invite members from congregations of area churches to attend the major celebrative worship service on Saturday afternoon at 1:30 pm. Offerings will be received at the Friday evening worship service for Challenged Conferences of the United Church of Christ, and at the Saturday afternoon worship service for the Sacred Conversations on Race Program.

The following business will be discussed and acted upon:

1. Actions Recommended by the Board of Directors of the Conference
   1. Consent Agenda
      Our Board of Directors uses a method in their meetings called the “Consent Agenda.” Attached to this Call are the items on the Consent Agenda with an explanation about a Consent Agenda.
   2. Our Church’s Wider Mission (OCWM)
      OCWM Goal for 2010
      Suggested Action: Upon recommendation of the Board of Directors, the Conference adopts a Basic Mission Support Goal of $1,856,843 ($687,032 unrestricted, $1,169,811 restricted) for 2010.
   3. Distribution of Monies
      Suggested Action:
      Upon recommendation of the Board of Directors, the Conference adopts the following distribution of monies received for the Connecticut Conference and the ministries of the United Church of Christ during 2010:
      1. Basic Mission Support monies to be divided on the basis of 37% for the Conference and 63% to the United Church of Christ nationally for distribution among the ministries according to the payment schedule adopted by the General Synod of the United Church of Christ;
      2. Investment income to be used entirely for Conference work unless otherwise stipulated by the donor;
      3. Special support, capital and emergency appeal monies to be designated entirely to the purposes for which they were authorized.
      4. The Board of Directors recommends to the Conference that per capita contributions for 2010 be maintained at $6 per member to be used entirely for Conference work.
   4. The budgets will be adopted for 2010. The budgets will be presented and acted upon on Saturday.
      1. Proposed 2010 Budget for the Missionary Society of Connecticut
         Suggested Action: Upon recommendation of the Board of Directors, the 2010 Proposed Unrestricted Budget of $1,643,523 for the Missionary Society of CT and the 2010 Proposed Restricted Budget of $1,820,705 for the Missionary Society of CT are adopted, and the Conference grants to the Society the privilege of revising the budget during the year as funds are available and needs arise.
      2. Proposed 2010 Budget for the Trustees of the Fund for Ministers
         Suggested Action: Upon recommendation of the Board of Directors, the Conference adopts the 2010 Proposed budget of $482,562 ($208,536 restricted, $273,976 unrestricted) for the Trustees of the Fund for Ministers, and the Conference grants to the Trustees the privilege of revising the budget during the year as funds are available and needs arise.
   5. Special Commission on Conference Sustainability
      Suggested Action: The Board of Directors recommends to the Conference: In light of the challenges inherent in the 2010 budget, the Conference requests the Board of Directors to appoint a Special Commission on Conference Sustainability. The responsibility of this Commission will be to study the sustainability of the Conference financially under current models of support, to develop alternate models of financial sustainability, to place its work in the context of the importance of the mission of the national and global ministries of the Church, and to make recommendations to the Board of Directors for preventing and, if necessary, responding to future revenue deficits. The Commission is to be composed of laity and clergy from within the Conference, plus representation from the national setting of the United Church of Christ.¹ Further, the Conference requests a preliminary report from the Commission through the Board of Directors at the Spring Meeting on May 8, 2010 at First Congregational Church in Madison.
      
      

      ¹The Bylaws of the United Church of Christ contain these provisions:
      
      173 A Conference receives from the local Churches contributions for Our Church’s Wider Mission and keeps detailed record of the same.
      174 A Conference consults on a regular basis with the office of General Ministries, acting on behalf of the General Synod, to reach mutual agreement upon the percentage, or the dollar amount, of the undesignated gifts for Our Church’s Wider Mission to be retained for its own support.
      175 Upon the basis of the agreed upon percentage, or dollar amount, the Conference each month retains the amount necessary for its own support and forwards the balance to the treasury.

2. Resolutions and such other actions that may come before the meeting.

When we assemble at Middletown High School we will be the Body of Christ worshipping, praying, deliberating, and making a witness to Jesus Christ. Come prayerfully, thoughtfully, and enthusiastically to seek God’s wisdom for our common mission as the United Church of Christ in Connecticut.

Sincerely in Christ,

The Rev. Dr. Davida Foy Crabtree
Conference Minister

Available On-Line at http://www.ctucc.org/news/AnnlMtg09/

• Consent Agenda PDF
• Fall Meeting Agenda HTML | PDF
• Proposed 2010 Budgets for the Missionary Society of CT and the Trustees of the Fund for Ministers HTML
• A Must Read 2010 Budget Overview HTML
• List of Ordained Ministers celebrating 50/25 years of ordination PDF
• Hospitality Information HTML | PDF
• Flyer on Authorized Ministers’ Event PDF
• Hotel flyer HTML | PDF
• Directions to Middletown High School and First Church of Christ, Middletown PDF | Google Maps | Mapquest Maps
• Registration and Meal Reservation Form PDF