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Massachusetts Conference
United Church of Christ
209th Annual Meeting
October 31 - November 1, 2008
Worcester, MA
Discernment: "Come now,
let us reason with one another" Isaiah 1:18
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General information | Time & Events |
SORRY, REGISTRATION FOR THIS EVENT IS NOW CLOSED.
Program
The theme of this year’s Annual Meeting will be faithful behaviors, and particularly the art of discernment, its history, and its place and faithful practice in decision-making in UCC polity today.
In order to be meaningful, this practice must be focused on a particular question. Although the precise question is still under discussion, the planning committee has chosen as our general topic the financial expression of covenant between our local congregations and the wider United Church of Christ, particularly as manifest in our congregations’ gifts to Our Church’s Wider Mission Basic Support, and the distribution of those gifts between the Conference setting and the National UCC.
Reading material on this topic will be distributed to delegates as they register - therefore early registration is recommended.
 Learn more about the program
Business
Business to be conducted in the two plenary sessions will include votes on the Conference budget and resolutions, as well as a report by the Board of Directors and the Minister and President.
More details on the business to be conducted, including the budget & resolutions.
Workshops
Workshops will be offered between plenary sessions on Saturday. It is strongly recommended that delegates pre-register for their 1st, 2nd and 3rd workshop choices when registering for the Meeting.
Go to workshop descriptions
Worship
A closing worship service including communion will be held at United Congregational Church at the end of the afternoon plenary.
Registration
Registration materials were sent to each church in enough quantity for all voting delegates. All delegates and guests NEED TO BE REGISTERED.
PLEASE NOTE that REGISTRATION IS NOW CLOSED.
Accommodations
Due to the 8 AM start time, the Annual Meeting Planning Committee urges delegates, especially those who will need to travel some distance, to consider spending Friday night at the Crowne Plaza, 10 Lincoln Square, Worcester. Call (508) 791-1600 and ask for the Massachusetts Conference UCC Annual Meeting special rate.
 UPDATE - October 9, 2008
The Crowne Plaza Hotel in Worcester is almost full but overnight accommodations for October 31st for the 209th Annual Meeting for the Massachusetts Conference, UCC are available at a special rate at the:
- Hilton Garden Inn Hotel, 35 Major Taylor Boulevard, Worcester, MA 01608 (next door to the Crowne Plaza Hotel), $109 per room (two queen beds). This rate holds until October 17th by calling 508-753-5700. Identify that you are attending the Massachusetts Annual Meeting for the special rate.
- Worcester Courtyard by Marriott, 72 Grove Street, Worcester, MA 01605; $119 per room (king bed); $129 (two queen beds). This rate holds until October 20th by calling 1-800-331-3131 Please mention the United Church of Christ room block for the group rate.
- Hampton Inn Worcester, 110 Summer Street, Worcester 01608, $129 per room (two queen beds). This rate holds until October 17th by calling 508-757-0400.
Please identify that you are attending the Massachusetts Conference Annual Meeting.
Parking
Parking is available in the Crowne Plaza Parking garage for a fee, on the streets, and in the United Congregational parking lot on Salisbury Street. |
Friday, October 31, 2008
(Optional events)
Crowne Plaza Hotel,
10 Lincoln Square, Worcester MA
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3:00 –
5:00 PM |
Clergy & Lay Leader Gathering: “Crossing the Muddy Jordan: Navigating Congregational Transformation.”
More details on gathering |
5:00 –
6:00 PM |
Reception
A gathering time for pastors, delegates and friends |
| 6:00 PM |
Annual Meeting Celebration Dinner
More details on reception & dinner |
Saturday, November 1,2008 |
7:00 –
8:00 AM |
Registration & Continental Breakfast
United Congregational Church, 6 Institute Road, Worcester, MA |
8:00 AM -
11:00 AM |
Opening Plenary Session
United Congregational Church
Will include the keynote address on discernment by the Rev. Mr. Martin Copenhaver, Senior Pastor of the Wellesley Congregational Church.
More details on the discernment program
More details on the business to be conducted. |
11:30 AM –
12:30 PM |
Lunch 1, Workshops and Marketplace
Crowne Plaza Hotel |
12:45 PM –
1:45 PM |
Lunch 2, Workshops and Marketplace
Crowne Plaza Hotel
Conference attendees will split into two groups for lunch and workshops.
Workshop descriptions |
2:15 PM -
6:00 PM |
Afternoon Plenary & Worship
United Congregational Church
Business will continue, and worship including communion will be celebrated.
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Details
Clergy & Lay Leader Gathering: “Crossing the Muddy Jordan: Navigating Congregational Transformation.”
3:00 - 5:00 PM Crowne Plaza Hotel, 10 Lincoln Square, Worcester MA
We hear a lot today about “reviving the dying congregation” and “turning the declining church around.” But dying churches are not alone in their need for transformation. Congregations that appear to be functioning fairly well are also called to grow and change. Going deeper is often as big a challenge as staying alive! How does transformation take place in a setting when everything appears to be okay? What is the role of the pastor in negotiating the transition from being okay to being truly alive? What do leaders need in order to be more like Joshua, taking people across the muddy Jordan into a challenging future?
Come join the on-going conversation of a group of Massachusetts Conference pastors who have been pondering these questions together, while helping their congregations re-discover and embrace their call to Christian discipleship and clarify their missional purpose.
Facilitators: Revs. Michael Bennet, First Church of Christ, Longmeadow; George “Skip” Waterbury, The First Congregational Church of Winchester; Suzanne Woolston Bossert, United Parish of Brookline; Jan Gregory-Charpentier, United Parish of Upton; Mary Luti, Andover Newton Theological School; Dale Rosenberger, The Dennis Union Church; Martin Copenhaver, The Wellesley Congregational Church; and Tony Robinson, author and consultant.
The program is free of charge but prior registration is necessary as space is limited.
Reception & Annual Meeting Celebration Dinner
5:00 - 6:00 PM - Reception
6:00 PM - Dinner
Crowne Plaza Hotel, 10 Lincoln Square, Worcester MA
The reception is a gathering time for pastors, delegates and friends. The dinner will include a musical presentation by the Pommern Village Choir from Tanzania. Recognition of 50-year ordinands, Barnes Award and Haystack Award winners.
Menu choices will be:
- Baked New England Scrod with seasoned bread crumbs and lemon zest
- 10oz Roast Prime Rib of Beef served with au jus
- Grilled Portobello & Vegetable Stack grilled Portobello mushrooms with eggplant, zucchini, summer squash, tomato and red onion over rice pilaf drizzled with a warm lemon thyme vinaigrette
Registration is required; indicate menu choice on the registration form.
Business
Business to be conducted will include votes on the Conference budget and resolutions, as well as a report by the Board of Directors and the Minister and President.
The budget and resolutions, as well as reports from the Board of Directors Chair and the Treasurer, and the Proposed Standing Rules for the Meeting, are printed in the Advance Materials booklet. One copy of this booklet is being to sent to each church office just after Labor Day along with the Annual Meeting registration materials; a booklet will also be sent to each Meeting participant when they register.
 The Advance Materials booklet can also be downloaded here.
Size: 351 kb. Esimated download time is 1 min 30 seconds on a 56k modem. This is a PDF document. If you cannot access it, click here for help.
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