November 1, 2023 Community Connections
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Bringing History Alive
Rev. Arthur Ritter, Moderator
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November is a month in which many of our churches celebrate our Pilgrim heritage in worship and special events. We have a history which we need to learn and of which we can be proud.
Last week at a Vitality Council meeting, Rev. Ian McDonald said something which caught my attention. “Our forefathers and mothers took a new idea of church forward into the future. Their eye was on what can be and not what was…. Our job as Congregational leaders is to take this history of vision, dreaming, and creating to move us into the future…It is not our past that made us powerful but our ability to make the future a reality today.” Thank you, Ian!
As we celebrate our heritage, I pray that we will not get lost in our history but use it as inspiration for our future. Let us be Pilgrim leaders! May we be faithful to our call as disciples of Christ, bold in dreams and daring in action, to build the Kingdom of God in our midst.
Happy Thanksgiving!
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Prayer of Thanksgiving
Jodee Lord, Vice-Moderator, Chair, Board of Directors
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Dear Lord,
Today we give thanks for the many blessings we have received.
We give thanks to those individuals who serve on Boards, Ministry Councils, Committees and Task Teams.
We give thanks for the many talents they bring to each group.
We give thanks for their creativity and wisdom.
We give thanks for their many hours of conversations and sharing ideas with open hearts and mind.
We give thanks for the programs and resources they have created.
We give thanks for the Pastors and Congregations that share these individuals with a larger body.
We give thanks for the time they spend in prayer asking for your wisdom and guidance.
On this Thanksgiving, we give much thanks for all you do.
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Happy Halloween…
Varn Philbrook, Congregational Foundation Board of Governors
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… from your Congregational Foundation and the Congregational Investment Trust folks – no tricks though. For our Association the annual budgeting cycle has begun. The key ingredient is money! Currently the CIT supports the budgeting cycle by reviewing our investments, assessing the economy and, most importantly, the predicted needs of the NA
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operations for the upcoming year. The CIT then recommends a drawdown percentage for the endowments to help with the funding of our NA operations – Shared Ministry Fund, Ministry Councils and any related cash funding. From there, over the upcoming months, the Foundation, NA Finance committees, and CFO will finish the budgeting review and present a unified budget to the NA Board of Directors for final approval. And so the business of the NA for the upcoming year begins again.
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NACCC staff on the road
Rev. Dr. Ashley Cleere, Executive Director
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The ED Listening Tour included stops at eight churches in Maine, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Wisconsin. During her eleven days in New England, Rev. Cleere visited two congregations considering membership in the NACCC, shared coffee with the dean and associate dean of Andover Newton Seminary at Yale Divinity School and was a presenter at the Northeast
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Fellowship of Congregational Christian Churches fall meeting. She also enjoyed three lunches with NACCC clergy, one of which was attended by Missions Coordinator, Julie Robie. In addition to a tour stop in Wisconsin, Ashley attended a vicinage council at the First Congregational Church of Wauwatosa.
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Director of Programs, Gerry Krupp, led a workshop for the Massachusetts Association of Congregational Christian Churches. At that gathering, he introduced the new editor of The Congregationalist, Maggie Helmick. On the following Sunday, Rev. Krupp preached at East Freetown Congregational Christian Church. Later in the month, he spent the day at Dubuque Theological Seminary in Iowa, preaching at chapel and getting acquainted with faculty and students over lunch.
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Evaluating Mission Organizations: Webinar
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You can still register for this upcoming webinar on November 2, 2023, at 2pm (CDT): “Gaining Confidence in Mission and Outreach Giving: A Conversation about Evaluating Mission and Outreach Organizations.” Click the button to find details and register for this webinar. If you have any questions, please email Julie Robie. Thank you for all you do to support God’s people!
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Our Contact Information
National Association of Congregational Christian Churches
8473 S. Howell Ave
PO Box 288
Oak Creek, WI 53154
(414) 764-1620
http://www.naccc.org
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