Northeast Area

The Rev. Dr. Michael Penn-Strah
Associate Conference Minister in the Northeast Area
2005 Report

At its March, 2005 meeting, the Conference Board of Directors voted to affirm that “the mission of the Massachusetts Conference of the United Church of Christ is to nurture local church vitality and the covenant among our churches.” In the Northeast Area we have attempted to live out that mission in a variety of ways during the past year.

Nurturing Covenant
We have made an intentional effort to learn more about the nature and theology of the United Church of Christ, and what it means to be live in covenant with other congregations and other settings of ministry. The members of the Boards of Directors of both the Andover and Essex Associations continued their study and discussion of foundational documents including the UCC Statement of Faith, the Preamble to the Constitution, the marriage equality resolution passed by General Synod 25, and documents from the national website. This has resulted in an increased awareness of both our rich heritage and the unique challenges we face as we continue to build upon that heritage in the 21st century.

Building on this recognition, members of both Association Boards of Directors are now being trained to visit each of our congregations in an effort to strengthen our covenantal relationship. Those visits are scheduled to begin in January, 2006.

My own understanding of how covenantal relationships function within our denomination increased this past summer as I had the privilege of serving as a staff delegate to General Synod 25. I have found numerous opportunities to share what I learned from that experience with congregations and pastors in the Northeast Area. I also served on the planning committee for the New England Regional Staff Retreat, an annual event for Conference staff in the Northeast. Both the planning meetings and the retreat strengthened my relationships with other Conference staff in the region. Those relationships are a key resource in maintaining covenantal relationships between Conferences.

Clergy groups in both the Andover and Essex Associations have also devoted time to strengthening covenantal relationships by discussing how we can be in ministry together when we are at very different places theologically. These general discussions were followed by a luncheon with a group of evangelical pastors who often feel that their voices are not heard in the Conference or the denomination. Both of these efforts have raised awareness, opened important channels of dialogue and strengthened covenantal relationships. However, they represent only the very beginning of a ministry we must continue in the year ahead.

Nurturing Vitality
We have nurtured the vitality of our congregations in a variety of ways. Members of our churches in both Associations have asked that some form of the “Suitcase Seminars” be reinstituted. In September, the two Associations held a joint fall meeting that lifted up our new church start in Lowell, Iglesia Hispana, and then moved into a number of seminars designed to equip people for ministry in and through their congregations. The response was overwhelmingly positive, and both Associations are looking forward to a similar meeting next fall.

Transitions
Times of transition offer a unique opportunity for congregations to reassess their ministry, the mission field in which they live, and the kind of leadership they need to live more faithfully as disciples of Jesus Christ. My role in this process has included guiding churches through the selection of interim ministers; helping them understand the search and settlement process; helping them develop appropriate profiles; assisting them, when necessary, with final negotiations with a new pastor; and helping them celebrate their new beginnings with services of installation. In each of these steps Church and Ministry Committees also play a vital role.

In 2005 I helped five churches find Interim Pastors. In addition, I have facilitated a monthly support group for the Interim Ministers serving in the Northeast Area.

Of the 56 churches in the Northeast Area, 17 have been in some stage of transition during 2005. Six congregations completed their search, four more are now actively searching for a pastor, and the remaining seven are working with interim ministers.

Other important transitions included the installations of five clergy in our congregations. We also celebrated the ordinations and installations of two others and ecclesiastical councils for three more people.

Special Projects
We have also nurtured the vitality of our congregations through two special projects in the Northeast Area. The Crombie Street Congregational Church, which has also been the home of the Salem Mission, a shelter for and ministry to the homeless, sold its historic building and purchased a closed Roman Catholic parish in Salem, becoming Open Door United Church of Christ on the Seeds of Hope Campus. This move allowed the mission and the congregation to move into separate buildings for the first time in their 26-year history. The result of this separation has been the bittersweet recognition that while the mission has experienced exciting growth, the congregation has declined to the point that it may no longer be viable. A consultant has been working with members of the congregation and other stakeholders in the mission, and will present a final report and recommendation in January of 2006.

The second special project is the Timothy Project. Two congregations, Central Congregational Church in Chelmsford and Tabernacle Congregational Church in Salem, have begun to participate in this pilot project in which Conference resources will be intensely focused on 9 churches around the Conference to help them grow in five areas: discipleship, adult faith formation, stewardship, mission, and denominational identity. I have served as a member of the project steering committee.

Ecumenism
In addition to the Area events and responsibilities I’ve noted, I have continued to staff the Conference Commission on Ecumenism. The Commission has nurtured the vitality of local congregations by encouraging them to develop “a heart for ecumenism”. This ministry began with a workshop at the Annual Meeting of the Conference, and has continued with an effort to strengthen relationships with the Jewish and Muslim communities. In addition, the Commission has continued to be the major (among Massachusetts Churches) source of funding for the Massachusetts Council of Churches. It has also channeled Conference funds to the Massachusetts Commission on Christian Unity and to United Ministries in Higher Education. Part of the commission’s work has included periodic reviews of the ministries of each of these agencies.

Finally, I express my deep thanks and appreciation for the multiple skills and gifts of our Administrative Assistant, Fran Lajoie. As many of you know, she is often the one who responds to a frustrated request for assistance. She helps both pastors and other administrative assistants find the answers they need, attends to multiple details and in so many ways, facilitates the varied ministries of the Northeast Area with a calm cheerfulness we have all come to rely on. With her, I look forward to another year in ministry with each of you.

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