Archive of Messages from the Minister & President

April 11, 2008:  A Sacred Conversation on Race and Earth Day

Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

As people of the Resurrection, we are surrounded by new life and fresh opportunities to build the Kingdom!

A SACRED CONVERSATION ON RACE – MAY 18, 2008 – Resources available from a link on our home page: www.macucc.org

Tomorrow, USA Today will publish a full page ad for the UCC inviting the nation to enter a sacred conversation on race and asks other communities of faith to join our preach-in scheduled for Trinity Sunday, May 18.  Together we must ready ourselves for this important preaching opportunity and the intentional dialogues that must follow in the months to come.

http://www.ucc.org/assets/pdfs/usatodayad.pdf

The Mass. Conference website homepage contains a link to a wide variety of helpful resources that will prepare you to engage this discussion from the pulpit, in the pews, and in your neighborhoods.  Between now and May 18, as we become aware of more materials, we will add those links to the others.  So revisit our site for resources.  Among other resources is a 50+ page Handbook for A Neighborhood Conversation on Race.  We will also link to materials on ucc.org as they become available.

EARTH DAY RESOURCES available from a link on our home page: www.macucc.org

I would urge all our churches to dedicate a Sunday in April or May to Earth Day.  The moral issues associated with climate change dwarf all others, and can only be addressed if people from all faith traditions bring our hope, our disciplines and our capacity for adaptive change to the challenges we now face together.  The current issue of UCNews features a long centerpiece on churches “going green” and refers to the just-released pastoral letter on faith and the environment from the UCC Collegium of Officers.  You can see a video, get and overview and read comments about the letter at http://www.ucc.org/earthcare/, or read the letter in its entirety at http://www.ucc.org/earthcare/pdfs/pastoral_letter.pdf  Soon, every church will be receiving a copy of the brand new DVD, Renewal, which tells inspiring stories of how people from different faith traditions are taking action to heal the earth on behalf of future generations.  Thanks to our own Mass ReLeaf Ministry for this gift to all the churches.  Please use it in the coming months in your adult education programs.

Jim

April 4, 2008:  Prophetic Preaching

Friends in Christ,

The United Church of Christ is calling for a Sacred Conversation on Race for Sunday May 18.  This was announced at a press conference at Trinity UCC Chicago yesterday (April 3) and covered by CNN (among other networks).  Two clips below portray John Thomas calling for a Sacred Conversation, and comments on how Trinity and the UCC have been misrepresented in the media.

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2008/04/03/sot.trinity.thomas.cnn?iref=videosearch

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/politics/2008/04/04/roesgen.wright.church.cnn?iref=videosearch

In the coming weeks, I will be in communication with our pastors and churches to provide resources and encouragement for engaging such a sacred conversation. 

ALSO:

ANTS Prof. and UCC minister the Rev. Dr. Mark Burrows will be on Television this Sunday.  Mark will appear on the Channel 5 program "City Line" this Sunday, April 6 at noon as part of a discussion of prophetic preaching on race issues, growing out of the recent controversy surrounding the preaching of the Reverend Jeremiah Wright.

With Mark’s permission, I am sharing a piece he wrote a day or two ago that moved me and helps move this conversation.

Prayerfully,

Jim

The Rev. Dr. Jim Antal,
Conference Minister and President

Right Prophets and Wrong

by Professor Mark Burrows

What a strange twist in this year’s celebration of political carnival.  Now that a Democrat has emerged as a front-runner who is a person of passionate faith, evangelical in fervor and progressive in vision, it seems he isn’t quite right after all.  Not for what he believes (or doesn’t), but for what his pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, said in a sermon.  If you missed hearing about this, you’re probably among the very few in the nation:  it’s been the subject of every possible talk show on television and radio in recent weeks, and parts of the sermon are readily available on YouTube clips, many posted by his detractors and some more recently by his supporters.

But what did the Rev. Wright say before proclaiming the stinging words, “God damn America”?  His sermon focused on the fact that “governments change – sometimes for the good, and sometimes for the bad,” as he put it.  To make this point, he turned to the prophetic text found in Malachai 3. 6:  “God does not change” and went on to say that “God was against slavery yesterday, and God who does not change is still against slavery today. . . God was a God of justice only yesterday, and God who does not change is still a God of justice today.”  Surely there are many among us who might dissent from such a view, just as the majority of (white) Christians in the US condoned slavery before the Civil War – either through silent acquiescence or by turning to biblical texts to justify their stance.  One has only to read through some of the online blogs associated with the YouTube clips to see how virulent racial fear and hatred remain in our time.  This, sadly, is not news.

What is news for some is that Pastor Wright dared to denounce the policies of the US government when these were used to enslave, oppress, and discriminate against some of its own citizens.  It might startle these critics to discover that Rev. Wright stands with the long tradition of the prophets in his denunciation:  it’s in The Book, after all, if they bother to check.  In concert with these difficult voices, Rev. Wright opposed the policies of this nation when these were found to disregard justice for some of its citizens.  In the speech that precedes Malachai’s claim that “God does not change,” the prophet had voiced a thunderous word of judgment against the Israelites for a list of crimes which included unfairly oppressing wage-earners, disregarding the needs of the most vulnerable in society (orphans and widows), and holding sojourners (read:  immigrants) in contempt.  In this denunciation, is the prophet right or wrong? 

What came as shocking news for his critics was the sharp word of judgment Rev. Wright leveled against our nation.  But there is nothing “new” here, at least for those familiar with the biblical prophets.  Rev. Wright simply named the atrocities committed by a nation that – among other less than just acts – enslaved millions of Africans who had been brought to this land against their will and, even after “emancipation,” subjected them to political, social, and legal disempowerment by the forces of racist segregation and discrimination.  Would the God of the prophets bless any nation that perpetrated such deeds?

What came as news for some of his critics, but not for readers of the Bible, is that this pastor dared to denounce America for acting unjustly toward its people.  He might have said, in agreement with the biblical prophet whose name he bears:  “This is the nation that did not obey the voice of the Lord their God, and did not accept discipline; truth has perished; it is cut off from their lips” (Jer. 7. 28).  He might have spoken against the wrongs of those false prophets who “. . . healed the wound of my people lightly, saying, ‘Peace, peace’ when there is no peace” (Jer. 6. 14).  He might have turned against the false comfort of religion, echoing the same Jeremiah, “Do not trust in these deceptive words:  ‘This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord” (Jer. 7. 4).  He might have joined the prophet in crying out against false righteousness:  “Behold, I bring you to judgment for saying, ‘I have not sinned.’  How lightly you gad about, changing your way.  You shall be put to shame by Egypt as you were put to shame by Assyria. . . .For the Lord has rejected those in whom you trust, and you will not prosper by them” (Jer. 2. 35 – 37).

All that his (white) critics heard was the strong use of the “d” word, enough in their minds to condemn him without a more patient hearing.  We do not have to wonder how the God of the ancient prophet Jeremiah would view slavery, discrimination, and injustice.  It’s in the texts, like them or not.  But many continue to denounce Rev. Wright as unworthy of being an American, and dismiss his legitimacy as a Christian minister.  And, of course, the blame spills over to Mr. Obama, a long-time member of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, the vibrant church Rev. Wright honorably served for more than three decades.

Why this fear of hearing a strong word of judgment?  One might say that this is simply one gauge of the lingering racism that defines our nation’s soul.  This may be true, as Rev. Wright suggests in his sermon.  But he did so in order to call us to higher ground, to remind us that “governments change,” and can turn from doing what is evil to doing what is right and good.  Is this un-American?  Hardly.  Is it a hard word to hear?  Yes, apparently, for many.  Is it a fair measure of the biblical witness?  Of course, for those who know the ancient scriptures that Jews together with Christians and Muslims honor as sacred.  Such words echo in line with the faithful rhetoric that came to be called a “jeremiad,” after the name of the prophet of old and his stinging lamentations against his nation – in his case, the “chosen people” of Israel.

What Rev. Wright was doing was calling us to adhere to nothing short of this vision, and to stand with the prophets and, yes, with the founders of our nation in adhering to the principles of equality and justice, above and beyond the apparent fickleness of human governments – ours included – and their often ill-fated policies.  What he was doing was exposing the idolatry of nationhood that embraces injustice toward some in order to secure peace for others.  What he was speaking against was the false prophecy that refuses to tolerate criticism of the nation and makes of patriotism an obedience that is blind to the principles of equality, freedom, and justice on which this nation was founded.

They will not like the whole Bible that Rev. Wright based his sermon upon, and especially those difficult prophetic parts – including the stories of Jesus in his Not-Nice-To-Power-Brokers moods.  They’d prefer a leaner version, trimmed of such unpleasantness that sounds extreme, radical, troubling of the peace.  Of course, we all have our own edited version of the Bible, the texts we privilege and those passages we ignore.  Even if few of us would be as brazen as Thomas Jefferson – good “deist” that he was! – in actually producing an edited version, we come to recognize this tendency in the song some of us sang during the 60s:  “A man he hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest.”

But we should be clear about one truth:  Rev. Wright stands with the prophets of scripture, with Isaiah and Hosea, with Amos and, yes, with Jeremiah.  He also stands with the founding fathers of this nation, who declared as “self-evident” the truth that all people “are created equal” and deserve equal justice under the law.  And, I am proud to say, he stands with the leaders of the church he and I serve as ministers of the gospel, the United Church of Christ, a church committed to living out the word of Jesus and the prophets faithfully, a church seeking to serve the God of justice and of peace, a church bold enough to bring a word of judgment when necessary and mercy in all ways. 

Rev. Mark S. Burrows, Ph.D.

Professor of the History of Christianity

Andover Newton Theological School (Newton, MA)

March 26, 2008:  Relationships Between Churches of Different Make-ups

Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

Jesus is risen! He is risen indeed! 

Prayers of joy and hope for your spiritual and bodily renewal accompany this message.

Each of us, in our own settings, have carried added responsibilities over the past few weeks, but none more than Trinity UCC and its new Pastor, the Rev. Otis Moss, III.  Thank you for faithfully engaging this challenge, and for doing so in so prayerful a fashion.

Steve Sterner has written a letter to pastors which I have pasted below for your edification.  John Thomas and others at the National Setting of the church are hard at work on several fronts that I hope will bear fruit in the next week or so.  I have been working with Susan Dickerman and Peter Wells on a possible initiative here in Massachusetts and will alert you if it comes to pass.  If you want additional information on Trinity UCC in Chicago, on Jeremiah Wright, or talking points on this issue, you may find them here (you may have to paste this link into your browser):

http://ctconfucc.org/resources/200803_trinityucctalkingpoints.html 

All of this prompts me to ask two questions:

I wonder which of our congregations have an intentional, active, ongoing relationship with another congregation (UCC or otherwise) whose racial makeup is different from their own.  I am aware of several such partnerships, including those between Wellesley Village Church and Charles Street AME; Pilgrim Church UCC (Sherborn) and Bethel AME (Jamaica Plain); Second Congregational Church (Cohasset) and the Louis D. Brown Institute;  and St. Mark Church (Roxbury) and United Church of Christ in Canton.   In addition, City Mission Society of Boston, which was founded at Old South Church, has partnerships with Bethel Pentecostal (Holiness Church of America Apostolic), Pleasant Hill Baptist Church, and Greater Generations (Church of God and Christ).

1. Are there others?  Could you email back a brief description of the relationship, its history, and any plans or response you have in mind to take advantage of the current opportunity to engage a conversation that could bridge the racial divide?
2. I wonder which of our congregations would describe themselves as either multi-racial, multi-cultural or both? 

Anticipating your responses and praying that we engage the possibilities before us with hope,

Jim

The Rev. Dr. Jim Antal,
Conference Minister and President

-----------------------------------------------------

LETTER FROM Steven L. Sterner, Executive Minister

Local Church Ministries, United Church of Christ

March 26, 2008

Dear Colleagues,

For the last few weeks both my mind and my heart have been focused on the work of pastors and leaders in local UCC congregations.  The preparations of Lent, the moving worship of Holy Week and the great joy of Easter Sunday are all parts of a parish pastor’s life.  This year I have deeply missed being part of the leadership of these services and celebrations in a local church.  So I have been thinking about all of you who have shared that leadership in these sacred days.

I have also been thinking about you, your ministry, and your churches for another reason in recent weeks.  As the media frenzy over Trinity UCC and Dr. Wright has swirled through the waning days of Lent and into the solemn days of Holy Week, I know you and your congregations have been caught up in something that can be hard to understand or explain.  I can imagine members of your churches reacting with a whole range of emotions about the caricature of Trinity Church and the whole of the United Church of Christ that has been offered on news programs, editorial pages, and likely in casual conversation among co-workers and neighbors.  I have thought especially about Pastor Otis Moss and the members of Trinity Church, imagining that they don’t recognize the church or pastor that is being characterized in such mean-spirited ways.

These are not easy days to be in ministry anywhere, but especially in the UCC.  As the political season continues to move forward it is likely that more caricatures and characterizations will emerge.  Every General Synod action will be lifted for public scrutiny once again, removed from the context of an expression of faithful people to the context of a political campaign marked by negativism and mud-slinging.  And as that happens members will ask you why, or how to respond, or are these stories true?  As I think about how I would respond in a church I served, I do not know if I can offer a good or adequate answer to all the questions.

I believe what I would say to you and to the members of your churches is to start by looking at your own church.  Speak about the experiences of your church. I know from visiting UCC churches around the country that our churches are filled with people of faith, people who engage in acts of justice and charity, people who know that the Gospel calls them to be disciples of Jesus Christ.  Trinity UCC in Chicago is filled with people just like that.

As I meet with the other members of the Collegium of Officers of the United Church of Christ I am struck by the deep love and concern for local pastors and congregations shared among them.  They join me in offering our gratitude for your ministries and our prayers for your congregations.

Thank you for your ministry and leadership.  May the joy of the Risen Christ bring you renewed hope and promise in the days and months ahead.

Faithfully,

Steven L. Sterner, Executive Minister

Local Church Ministries, United Church of Christ

March 26, 2008:  Climate Change

Sisters and Brothers in Christ -- Friends and Lovers of the Earth,

Many congregations will celebrate Earth Day in a few weeks.  Today’s balmy weather is a pleasant reminder of how we are nurtured by God’s creation.  Because the sky, the animals and the trees cannot speak for themselves, and because the interests of future generations are ignored in most of our decision making, and because the poor are the ones most seriously affected by environmental degradation, as stewards of God’s creation, we are called to advocate for a sustainable environment. 

Both the Mass. Conference UCC and the Mass. Council of Churches are supporters of the Massachusetts Interfaith Climate Action Network (MICAN) which is lobbying for the passage of legislation. I write to ask you to help MICAN by doing three things:

• Join me, and invite your congregation’s members to join you, in signing the petition.  Send your signed copies to the address on the petition by April 10;http://mican1.wordpress.com/

• work with your local clergy association or other clergy in your community to set up a meeting with your legislators in your district to lobby them to include the principles in the pledge in any legislation that comes before them;

• sign 2 copies of the letter pasted below and mail them to your legislators.

Our sacred scriptures call us to serve and protect what God has created. As I have said in many of our churches, I believe that the engagement of people of faith – from all faith traditions – is the key ingredient needed to assure that our grandchildren will inherit the Eden into which we were born.  I believe that global warming is one of the most critical moral issues of our day.  By partnering with scientists, politicians, business leaders and public servants we can hand a sustainable planet to our children.

In gratitude for your prayerful engagement of this concern,

Jim

The Rev. Dr. Jim Antal,
Conference Minister and President

Sample letter that can be sent to your State Representative and Senator:

I write as a supporter of the Massachusetts Interfaith Climate Action Network (MICAN) efforts to pass legislation to stop climate warming. Interfaith leaders from across the state are coming together to ask our elected officials to take strong, quick action to help society transition to safe, clean, renewable energy and high levels of energy efficiency. To ensure the well-being of all, especially the poor, we must dedicate funding and resources according to the following principles:

• 80% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050
• No new coal plants
• Efficiency first: prioritize funding and programs that reduce energy needs and costs. This includes - building performance contracting, including diagnostics, air sealing and weatherization; reduced costs and favorable financing for high-efficiency heating, cooling, lighting and appliances; high-efficiency vehicles
• Prioritize clean, safe, renewable energy sources
• Prioritize care for the poor and investment in low-income communities
• Invest in training and support for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, and those coming out of the prison system, to obtain jobs in the growing green sector
• Distribute funding and resources that increase community energy self-reliance, particularly investing in community organizations in low-income communities
• Eliminate or minimize subsidies for fossil fuel-related and nuclear energy production
• Invest in public transportation to ensure mobility, job access and well-being for all

Our various faiths call us to serve and protect what God has created. I join MICAN in the belief that we will stir and awaken the hearts and minds of others so that our abuse and exploitation of the earth will cease. We believe that global warming is a pressing moral issue we cannot ignore and that religious, political and business leaders and public servants need to build partnerships to resolve to stop it.

Sincerely,

Address:____________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

Preaching in the Public Eye

March 19, 2008:  Op-ed Piece by Jim Antal and Holy Week Message from John Thomas

Dear Colleagues and Friends of the Massachusetts Conference UCC,

I expect that this will be my final Holy Week message to you.

I have posted here an op-ed piece that I wrote. (It appears that events have moved so fast that it won’t be printed.)  I think it makes a point that will have lasting importance for us and our members.

I have also included a link to John Thomas’ personal Holy Week message which I want you to have.

Holy Week prayers and blessings to you,

Jim

The Rev. Dr. Jim Antal,
Conference Minister and President
Massachusetts Conference, United Church of Christ

March 19, 2008:  Boston Globe Article on the UCC

Dear colleagues and friends of the Massachusetts Conference,

A few days ago John Thomas sent out this Holy Week message.  I wanted to be sure you received it, at least for your personal prayers on this 5th anniversary of the beginning of the war.

In case you have not seen today’s Boston Globe, an excellent front page article by Michael Paulson quotes, among others, Rev. Evan Hines, Rev. Wanda Watkins and me.

May your Holy Week journey renew your relationship with Jesus’ suffering and triumph,

Jim

March 18, 2008:  John Thomas on Prophetic Preaching

Dear Colleagues and Friends of the Massachusetts Conference UCC,

Prayers and blessings to you as we stand by our Lord in his journey… and make it our journey.

Late in the day on March 17, 2008, UCC General Minister and President John Thomas shared a reflection on prophetic preaching. I believe it speaks not only to the moment, but also beyond the moment in a way that each of us would do well to contemplate. John demonstrates a passion we should all feel, recognizing that we will express it in different ways. You can read it here.

I hold all of you in my prayers, especially this week and particularly when so many in our congregations and in our nation are ready to hear from us a clear word about the role of preaching and the role of the church in the public square.  I trust that your own prayerful understanding of our vocation will serve you well under these circumstances, and hope that John’s reflections, and the email I sent out three days ago, will assist you.

Many the challenges of Holy Week draw you closer to our Lord,

Jim

The Rev. Dr. Jim Antal ,
Conference Minister and President

March 15, 2008: Trinity United Church of Christ

Sisters and brothers in Christ,

Prayers and blessings to you as we stand by our Lord in his journey… and make it our journey.

Because we serve a God who is Lord of all the earth, in serving that God, our ministry is a public ministry.  We are scrutinized by and beyond our congregations for what we have said and what we’ve left unsaid.  At the conclusion of every worship service, in every congregation, no matter who is preaching, there are congregants who will leave in agreement with things we have said and congregants who will disagree with – even want to repudiate -- things we have said.  Pastors know these truths.  Congregants know these truths.

America is now engaged in a discussion with incendiary potential – and as leaders/members of the United Church of Christ, we can be a positive influence.  I believe we are called to do just that.

First, we can hold in our prayers the members, leaders and pastors of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago.  And to inform our prayers (and perhaps our parishioners) I have pasted below a story from the national UCC webpage with the hope that its perspective will help you spiritually as you prepare for Palm Sunday and Holy Week. 

Secondly, we can remind our congregations and as many as possible beyond our congregations:

1. That the UCC in particular, and Mainline Protestant churches in general, are filled with people who represent a range of theological views.  We neither subscribe to a narrow theological alignment nor to an ideological alignment. 
2. We view this theological diversity as a good thing, and we embrace the challenges it sometimes presents.  These challenges prompt us to listen to “our still speaking God” more carefully.
3. We have a centuries old heritage that celebrates, honors and protects freedom of the pulpit. 
4. For many of us, perhaps most of us, not a week goes by in which something we say from the pulpit does not meet with the disapproval of one or more members of our church.  By engaging them in dialog, we listen to our “still speaking God” speak through them, and we (and they) learn together.
5. We recognize that over the last 30 years, this is not how Christianity has been portrayed in the public square.  Instead, Christianity has been portrayed as a religion of doctrinal and ideological alignment. 

I believe that in this public moment when the words of a preacher, the beliefs of a church, and the alignment of a member of a church are under severe scrutiny, the opportunity exists for the American public to calmly acknowledge what it already knows: that within congregations, as well as within and across denominations, Christians do not all think alike.  And following Jesus does not require ideological alignment.

In this time of Holy Week, let us hold one another and all of our congregations in our prayers.

Jim

The Rev. Dr. Jim Antal,
Conference Minister and President

Chicago's Trinity UCC is 'great gift to wider church family'

Written by J. Bennett Guess
March 14, 2008

In the wake of misleading attacks on its mission and ministry, Chicago's Trinity United Church of Christ is being lauded by United Church of Christ leaders across the nation for the integrity of its worship, the breadth of its community involvement and the depth of its commitment to social justice.

"Trinity United Church of Christ is a great gift to our wider church family and to its own community in Chicago," says UCC General Minister and President John H. Thomas. "At a time when it is being subjected to caricature and attack in the media, it is critical that all of us express our gratitude and support to this remarkable congregation, to Jeremiah A. Wright for his leadership over 36 years, and to Pastor Otis Moss III, as he assumes leadership at Trinity."  Thomas says he has been saddened by news reports that "present such a caricature of a congregation that been such a great blessing."

"These attacks, many of them motivated by their own partisan agenda, cannot go unchallenged," Thomas emphasizes. "It's time for all of us to say 'No' to these attacks and to declare that we will not allow anyone to undermine or destroy the ministries of any of our congregations in order to serve their own narrow political or ideological ends."

Located in the heart of Chicago's impoverished Southside, Trinity UCC's vast array of ministries include career development and college placement, tutorial and computer services, health care and support groups, domestic violence programs, pastoral care and counseling, bereavement services, drug and alcohol recovery, prison ministry, financial counseling and credit union, housing and economic development, dozens of choral, instrumental and dance groups, and diverse programming for all ages, including youth and senior citizens.

Thomas, a member of Pilgrim Congregational UCC in Cleveland, has attended worship at Trinity UCC on a few occasions -- most recently on March 2 -- and says he is "profoundly impressed" with the 6,000-member congregation.

Among Trinity UCC's crowning achievements, Thomas says, is its work with young people.

"While the worship is always inspiring, the welcome extravagant, and the preaching biblically based and prophetically challenging, I have been especially moved by the way Trinity ministers to its young people, nurturing them to claim their Christian faith, to celebrate their African-American heritage, and to pursue higher education to prepare themselves for leadership in church and society," Thomas says.

'Exceedingly gracious'

The Rev. Steve Gray, the UCC's Indiana-Kentucky Conference Minister, describes Trinity UCC as a "jewel."

"It's everything a Christian community is supposed to be," says Gray, who has been working with Trinity UCC for the past three years to develop a new UCC congregation in Gary, Ind. "Trinity has given well over $100,000 in support of its partnership with us, and in 15 months of regular meetings with Jeremiah Wright, we always found him to be a man of gracious hospitality, humor, generosity, who paid attention to detail but also a man who does not call attention to himself."

Trinity UCC has been involved in planting more than 15 new congregations, according to the UCC's Evangelism Ministry in Cleveland.

Gray, a member of First Congregational UCC in Indianapolis, has worshiped several times at Trinity UCC and is most impressed by the overflowing sense of welcome it extends to visitors.

"When you're Euro-American, the people [at Trinity UCC] are so exceedingly gracious, warm and welcoming. They hug you and say, 'Welcome to our church!'"

Many, including Gray, point with appreciation to Trinity UCC's generous support of denominational and ecumenical ministries. From 2003 to 2007, Trinity UCC gave more than $3.7 million to Our Church's Wider Mission, the UCC's shared fund for connectional mission and ministry.

'Extraordinary outreach'

The Rev. Bennie Whiten, retired Massachusetts Conference Minister who prior served for 15 years as associate director of Chicago's Community Renewal Society, says, "Trinity was one church that we could always rely on to respond almost immediately. They have been very, very involved in the community in so many meaningful ways."

Noting the church's work in health care, early childhood education and economic development, Whiten says, "The scope of their concern and outreach is extraordinary. It's really just an outstanding congregation."

Whiten, a member of Pilgrim UCC in Oak Park, Ill., is especially taken with Trinity UCC's commitment to the need and importance of quality theological education. More than 60 members of Trinity UCC are currently enrolled in seminary and pursuing masters-level degrees. Moreover, the congregation pays for students' tuition costs.

"They firmly believe in the UCC's commitment to an educated, seminary-trained clergy," Whiten said, "and they have probably had more people feeling the call to ministry than any other church in the denomination."

The Rev. Susan Thistlethwaite, president and professor of theology at UCC-related Chicago Theological Seminary, says Trinity UCC is a model church in the way it supports its people in discerning and cultivating their gifts for ministry, both lay and ordained.

"Another thing I really appreciate about Trinity is that its ministries are always directed both inward, toward the congregation itself, and also outward in supporting other congregations ecumenically and supporting community organizations that are dedicated to lifting up the wider society," Thistlethwaite says. "We have had so many fine students come through Chicago Theological Seminary who were helped to discern their call to ministry through this church's dedication to serving the wider church."

'Jesus and justice'

The Rev. Kenneth L. Samuel, pastor of Victory UCC in Stone Mountain, Ga., says he is impressed that Trinity UCC "promotes spirituality and piety while also being emphatic about social justice."

While Trinity UCC is the denomination's largest congregation, Samuel's 5,300-member church is the UCC's second largest. Founded in 1987, it joined the UCC in 2004.

"Trinity was really one of the churches that inspired me to want to affiliate with the United Church of Christ," Samuel said. "My church was originally National Baptist and Southern Baptist, but it was the critical-thinking that [Trinity] brought to this work, the justice work, that helped me to want to become a part of the denomination. I have no regrets about that."

Samuel says that, during Wright's 36-year ministry at Trinity, Wright has not been afraid to tackle difficult topics, while staying equally committed to preaching "Jesus and justice."

"There have been two major sins in the Black church that many Black churches will not address – homophobia is one and sexism is another," Samuel says, "and Jeremiah Wright has been one of the articulate, courageous voices that has not been afraid to address these critical issues. If he can do that and still maintain his close connectivity to the Black community, and stay grounded in the Black ethos, that's what has inspired me."

'Speaks well for us'

Carol Brown, national president of United Black Christians and a member of Cleveland's Mt. Zion UCC for more than 50 years, describes Trinity UCC as "the flagship church of the United Church of Christ." "I think it's very interesting that a minority group within a denomination can have the largest church, support the most ministries and give the largest number of OCWM [mission] dollars," Brown says. "That speaks well for us as an accepting, open and affirming denomination. Especially, as a justice-oriented church, [Trinity UCC] sets a standard for all the denomination that all are welcome." Brown, who worships at Trinity UCC when in Chicago for meetings, says she is most taken by its exuberant spirit. 

"It's certainly a very welcoming church, and it's certainly very reaffirming of the faith when people join in such large numbers when there's an altar call," Brown says. "It's something that you don't see in the average church. God is certainly at work there, and it's exciting when you see that many people stand up to witness to their faith and step forward."

Our young people need us

Message from Jim Antal, Minister & President, Massachusetts Conference, United Church of Christ

Thus says the Lord: A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping. Rachel is weeping for her children; she refuses to be comforted for her children, because they are no more.
Jeremiah 31:15

Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

Even as we proclaim “Christ is alive!” we stop dead in our tracks to contemplate the horror and mourn the loss of 32 people lying dead at Virginia Tech.

America awoke this morning with broken hearts and shaken confidence. As the air waves were flooded with bits and pieces of this story, any who listened to their heart could hear the desperate cries and see the terrified faces of the innocents who were felled. Their lifeless bodies lay alongside those of Cassie, Steven, Corey, Kelly, Matthew, Daniel, who were among the Columbine students gunned down eight years ago this Friday, as well as the other innocents from a long list of schools which have suffered such tragedies.

Before the killer pulled the trigger, God’s heart was already breaking. God knows the stress, the pain, the trouble and the anger so many of us carry in our souls. And as the morning unfolded, people the world over by the millions joined God, overcome by an immeasurable sorrow.

Although there was no direct connection, I phoned my two sons yesterday just to hear their voices. We want safety and security. We especially want our children to be safe and to live in a world which offers security. But God does not promise this. Nor can we guarantee it.

But we can listen to the voices of our precious children and youth. They need us now – especially with the air waves saturated by this story. Our congregations also need your prayerful, honest help as they seek to maintain their faith in the face of such senseless killing.

And clergy need one another. As we offer our community the support it needs, we must also ask for and offer support to each other.

Events like this make many feel isolated. But we can use this as an opportunity to connect – with children, with youth, with those in your congregation who may be particularly sensitive, with colleagues, and with God. There is room in God’s heart for every person. And the safety and security and peace we desire can only be found there.

Jim

The Rev. Dr. Jim Antal ,
Conference Minister and President
Massachusetts Conference, United Church of Christ

September 12, 2006

Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

Greetings, grace and peace to you and your congregations.  Less than two weeks into this calling, I continue to be on the receiving side of your extravagant welcome, and what a blessing it is!  Sitting under a tent last Sunday, along with 300 members of the Topsfield Congregational Church, as we clapped to the banjo accompaniment of “Plenty Good Room,” I leaned over and said to Larry Atkins, “No one would describe this congregation as “frozen chosen!” 

Like all of you, yesterday I marked the anniversary of 9-11.  As the chief ecumenical officer of the Conference, I spent the morning in prayer and meaningful discussion with the leaders and representatives from the diverse religious communities throughout the Commonwealth.  The Rev. Dr. Diane Kessler, UCC minister and Executive Director of the Massachusetts Council of Churches

(http://www.masscouncilofchurches.org/), helped facilitate the discussion and the press conference that followed.  (CBS included the story on their nightly news:    (http://cbs4boston.com/local/local_story_254162726.html)

Together, this group issued an appeal focusing on the values we share as people of faith.  You can find this statement on our website (http://www.macucc.org/president/interreligiousstatement.htm).  Many UCC churches and members have long been and continue to be actively involved in promoting the principles articulated in this appeal.  The involvement of members of First Church in Cambridge with the Daughters of Abraham dialog groups

(http://www.daughtersofabraham.info) is but one example. 

In addition to your ongoing efforts, and the work done by the Massachusetts Conference Commission for Ecumenism, I want to suggest something on a grass roots level.  Something simple.  Something reminiscent of our Lord’s invitation, “Come, have breakfast.”  Consider asking the members of your congregation to make a commitment to invite a person of faith from another faith tradition into their home for dinner and conversation.  While many will roll their eyes and tell you they do this frequently because their circle of friends includes people from various faith traditions, many will scratch their heads because they can’t come up with someone they could invite.  My experience is that this will become fertile ground for reflection.

Five years after 9-11 our world continues to be shaped by those who highlight only the conflicts represented in diverse religious perspectives.  Now more than ever we must deepen our understanding of Muslims, Jews, and of people from other faith traditions, and witness to the world the shared principles of peace, justice and unity that are central teachings of our scriptures and traditions.

Jim Antal

Minister & President, Massachusetts Conference United Church of Christ

September 5, 2006

Greetings and blessings to new colleagues and old friends! 

Although I've only been in Massachusetts a few days, the calls and visits I've enjoyed have been numerous and welcome.  The timing of what follows makes it my first communication with you.  Beyond such important matters, know that my prayer life now includes you and your congregations.

Note:  This email contains updated information concerning the UCC Insurance Program.  Please forward it to your church’s Treasurer, Property Committee Chair, or whoever deals with property and liability insurance in your congregation.

On August 30, the Board of Directors of the Massachusetts Conference, UCC met with Cathy Green, President of the UCC Insurance Board, Bill Heckles of the Board of Directors of the UCC Insurance Board, and our agents George Hulme and Jim Stewart.

Ms. Green has been the President of the UCCIB for four months.  She acknowledged the widespread concern among our churches about the program over the past year.  She has confidence in the program going forward and shared the following information:

• Last fall’s difficulties were caused in large measure by significant overestimates of claims pending, which made the UCCIB look much weaker (and less attractive to insurers) than, in truth, it was.  These estimates have been adjusted, based on actual claims experience, and the program is in a strong negotiating position going forward.  In fact, indications are that all present carriers who provide coverage will remain in the program for the coming year.
• Pricing policies are being adjusted to take into account loss experience and risk exposure on a more regional and individual basis.  (In the past, UCCIB policy was, essentially, to have churches at lesser risk subsidizing those at greater risk on a national basis. The problem with this approach is that lower-risk churches can get lower-cost insurance elsewhere and have little incentive to stay in the program.)   The loss experience in Massachusetts overall has been very good.  Although negotiations are not yet complete, it is quite likely that participating Massachusetts churches will, on average, see decreases in rates for the year beginning 10/1/06.
• The sudden departure of many churches from the program last fall resulted in cash flow problems which are gradually being resolved.  Refunds are still due to many Massachusetts churches related to our switch to a different Worker’s Compensation company.  Refunds are being made first to those churches still in the UCCIB program; when these are complete, refunds will be made to those churches which have left the program.  Cathy expects all refunds due to be paid in full.
• Invoices for participating churches will be mailed during the first week of September, and memoranda of insurance around 10/1/06.

After much discussion, the Board unanimously passed the following resolution:

The Board of Directors reaffirms the work of the Conferences of the United Church of Christ Insurance Board and commends the UCCIB program to the churches of the Massachusetts Conference.

More information is available from our agents George Hulme (508 872-1227; GHulme@FittsInsurance.com) and Jim Stewart (413 732-0352; jstewart@chaseins.com), and at the UCCIB website at http://insuranceboard.org/whatsnew.php?prId=63 .

The Rev. Dr. Jim Antal

Minister & President

Massachusetts Conference

United Church of Christ