News

Rev. Karin Case: A Commitment to Programs that will Support the Church: For the Next Generation

One in an occasional series of articles about the Sustaining Pastoral Excellence Endowment Campaign. Rev. Dr. Karin A. Case, who currently serves as interim pastor at the First Congregational Church of Shrewsbury, has a deep commitment to offering “the best ministry I can” to her congregation. An experienced interim minister, she has ministered to and with the church to help them move through several complicated transitions. Case, who leads a Clergy Community of Practice...

Sustaining the Church - Now and in the Future

One in an occasional series of articles about the Sustaining Pastoral Excellence Endowment Campaign. Chris Barensfeld, who has been an active member of the Second Congregational Church of Boxford for the last twelve years, is focused on the future. Barensfeld, who serves as a member of the Sustaining Pastoral Excellence Endowment Campaign’s Executive Committee, says, “I am concerned about the longevity of Protestantism in this country, and I think it’s important to find ways...

Growing in Community: The Promise of the Sustaining Pastoral Excellence Campaign

The Rev. Angela Menke Ballou is settling into her new call as the pastor of the Federated Church, Cotuit. Prior to receiving her new call in November, Rev. Ballou served as Associate Pastor at the Second Church of Beverly, MA.    When asked about her path into the ministry, she reflected on the near-fatal car accident she had suffered while a freshman in college, which demonstrated to her the power of faith and having a spiritual home.   “Ninety people from...

David Shumway sees future of church in Sustaining Pastoral Excellence Campaign

David Shumway moved to Newton with his wife in 1966. As members of the United Church of Christ faith community, they joined the church around the corner, Central Congregational Church in Newtonville. Shumway and his wife became very active in the church until its closure, serving as the church’s treasurer for eight years in the 70’s and 80’s. He recalls, “On a fluke, my wife decided to volunteer us to take someone’s place at the MACUCC Annual Meeting. I...

Rev. Paul Shupe: Pastoral Excellence Program Helps Support Vibrant Ministries

Rev. Dr. Paul Shupe, Senior Pastor of Hancock United Church of Christ in historic Lexington, Massachusetts, has fully settled in to his new ministry. Shupe celebrates the completion of two full years at Hancock in August, having arrived from Madison, Wisconsin (and before that, Portland, Maine). Hancock is a large church, with 750 members and nearly 200 children, and the burgeoning church is also served by Associate Pastor Dana Allen Walsh. Shupe became involved in a Clergy Community of...

Rev. Carole Baker: Pastoral Excellence Program is an opportunity for education, collegial support

Rev. Carole Baker, who has been pastor at the Central Congregational Church of Attleboro Falls for 23 years, said, “I was a member of one of the first Clergy Communities of Practice. I was one of the people in the Conference who pushed for this…and I feel that we all need to be engaged in honing our skills.” For Baker, the value of such communities is clear: “Being together with your peers, talking about issues that come up in the church, in the world…this is...

Rev. Jan Gregory-Charpentier: PEP has allowed me to be a better pastor

Rev. Jan Gregory-Charpentier didn’t need to be talked into joining one of the Massachusett Conference, United Church of Christ’s Clergy Community of Practice groups. “I was one of the early adopters of the initiative,” Gregory-Charpentier said, “probably 6 or 7 years ago. I was involved for three years, the period of our initial covenant. Then I was asked to facilitate a new clergy community of practice, for another three years." The benefits of her...

Sustaining Pastoral Excellence Endowment Campaign in great shape at kickoff

After more than a year of lining up early donors, recruiting ambassadors and producing informational materials, the Massachusetts Conference has officially kicked off the Sustaining Pastoral Excellence Endowment Campaign. The $3.5 million dollar campaign is aimed at creating an endowment fund to provide a permanent source of income for the Pastoral Excellence Programs that for the past nine years have been funded through the Lilly Endowment. During its quiet phase, 100 percent of the...

Dick Harter: Saying "Yes" to Sustaining Pastoral Excellence

Dick Harter is a man who puts his money where his mouth is. A lifelong member of the United Church of Christ (UCC), Harter said that when Rev. John Thomas (former General Minister and President of the UCC) and Rev. Jim Antal (current Minister and President of the Massachusetts Conference of the UCC) shared their belief in the importance of leadership development within the United Church of Christ, “I said yes.” Harter continued, “John and Jim are two of the people for...