en-us Thu, 29 May 2014 10:03:22 EST Thu, 29 May 2014 10:03:22 EST http://www.macucc.org/news/detail/138 http://www.macucc.org/news/detail/138 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 (CCOP) and participates in one as well, says that having “the wisdom of colleagues, their strategies, [and the ability to] talk through complex dynamics, has been very important in the last few months.”  As an original member of one of the Massachusetts Conference’s new clergy groups funded by the Lilly Foundation, Rev. Case recalls, “That was an absolutely sustaining practice that helped me get established in ministry.  I had come out of a Ph.D. in Christian... Mon, 14 May 2012 00:00:00 EST http://www.macucc.org/news/detail/132 http://www.macucc.org/news/detail/132 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 to support the notion of liberal religion in a time when religious perspectives are becoming increasingly polarized.” The church has seen the benefit of supporting the Pastoral Excellence Program (PEP) as their new, young pastor has set down roots in the church. PEP offers an opportunity for “young and newly ordained pastors to stay in touch with the resources that this program, and the Massachusetts Conference, can provide,” said Barensfeld. Rev. Laura A. Gronberg has been... Wed, 28 Mar 2012 00:00:00 EST http://www.macucc.org/news/detail/122 http://www.macucc.org/news/detail/122 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 the church came to be with my family to pray for me the day I almost died. I experienced what it was like to be held in community, and community at its best.” Before becoming a pastor, she worked in Industrial Engineering at Walt Disney World. Her work with Disney involved a great deal of volunteering, and she realized her life outside of work was bringing her the most joy.   “I finally gave into that call that I had heard years earlier.” Rev. Ballou... Thu, 09 Feb 2012 00:00:00 EST http://www.macucc.org/news/detail/113 http://www.macucc.org/news/detail/113 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 didn’t know about the Conference, and probably like a lot of people I felt like we didn’t need the Conference for anything; we were doing fine on our own. But because she had committed us, I went. And when I went, it was mind-boggling…the services, the meetings, the programs. All of a sudden, I became a backer of the Massachusetts Conference, and I started to get interested in what they were doing.” Shumway went on to serve as MACUCC Treasurer for many years. His role as... Fri, 02 Dec 2011 00:00:00 EST http://www.macucc.org/news/detail/107 http://www.macucc.org/news/detail/107 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 Practice – one of the cornerstones of the MACUCC’s Pastoral Excellence Program (PEP) – almost immediately after coming to Hancock. It was a move he would enthusiastically recommend to his colleagues and to churches who want to support their ministers. “The pool of wisdom and experience is tremendous. I shudder to count how many years of pastoral experience are present [in the room]," he said. "And the support extends beyond the meetings, because I now have... Wed, 19 Oct 2011 00:00:00 EST http://www.macucc.org/news/detail/104 http://www.macucc.org/news/detail/104 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 important.” Baker says that being a part of her group helped her counteract the solitary nature of professional ministry. “This is a lonely profession, and [I do not want to be] a Lone Ranger in my parish.” Baker feels that participating in a Clergy Community of Practice has also helped her preaching be more engaging and timely. The value of connecting with colleagues, particularly those in the same geographical area, has been another benefit.   And what about the... Tue, 20 Sep 2011 00:00:00 EST http://www.macucc.org/news/detail/96 http://www.macucc.org/news/detail/96 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 involvement, says the Rev. Gregory-Charpentier, “have been many.” She went to the Duke School of Theology through the MACUCC’s support and participated in a program called Foundations of Christian Leadership. She was also involved with at least two or three other church members in colloquies. And, Gregory-Charpentier notes, the MACUCC “was gracious enough to offer some financial support through the Pastoral Excellence Program for a retreat for clergywomen. These have been... Tue, 16 Aug 2011 00:00:00 EST http://www.macucc.org/news/detail/91 http://www.macucc.org/news/detail/91 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 Conference Board of Directors, Executive and Program staff and Pastoral Excellence Program group facilitators committed to the campaign, raising more than $610,000 in pledges and donations by the public kickoff at the 212th Annual Meeting in Sturbridge in June. “The early positive response to this Campaign is tremendous!” said Andy Gustafson, Associate Conference Minister for Stewardship, adding that the campaign has already raised twice as much from individual donors as was raised from... Wed, 20 Jul 2011 00:00:00 EST http://www.macucc.org/news/detail/62 http://www.macucc.org/news/detail/62 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 whom I have the greatest respect. When they said ‘this is what needs to be done,’ I wanted to support that initiative.” Harter has been a member of the First Church in Cambridge, MA, for fifty years. A man for whom faith is deeply important, Harter has been involved in his own church and with the Massachusetts Conference, and has seen the Pastoral Excellence Program (PEP) develop from its beginnings more than ten years ago. “I’m impressed with what has... Tue, 07 Jun 2011 00:00:00 EST