Tag: Phil Hodson

Community or Communion

September 15, 2022 / Faith UCC

September 14, 2022 | Conference Minister Musings by Phil Hodson
https://sccucc.org/article/community-or-communion/

A community is a group of people who come together around shared values. Sometimes it’s a common enemy. Others a common set of values or beliefs. Communities are important and they matter. They reflect a pluralized society, made up of many groups come together with a common interest. In the best of times, communities are a draw, and they invite individuals in to be part of something larger than themselves. Often we talk of the church as community, and often that is reflective of who we endeavor to be.

But a word more reflective of the church is communion. A communion is a group of people who come together around a shared loss. A shared experience of lack in their various lived experiences. Every time we celebrate this meal, we celebrate together. And in our celebration we remember Jesus’ death. We share in remembrance, in mystery, in the experience of something common yet unique, something we cannot explain that shapes us. I think, today, this word might better reflect what we strive to be in the world. In this moment of intense difference, where we accentuate that which sets us apart from the “other,” instead of what binds us together; communion invites us into a unity of purpose, a unity of full experience, centered around a shared sense of loss. This loss is more prescient for us today, given all we’ve been through together these past few years. And perhaps communion may be more valuable to our connections with others, to growth in relationships (which is the core nature of our shared faith), than developing community. Maybe we develop communions.

One of the distinctives of our life together in the United Church of Christ is our commitment to unity over conformity. We each interpret the Scriptures and relate to our faith through our lived experiences. We embrace diversity in opinion and unity in purpose. This is counter-cultural. It stands against what we see happening in the world around us. And it reflects our shared communion. That we together worship a God who came and walked among us. Who experienced life as we do, in both joy and sorrow. A God in Jesus Christ who invited us to love our neighbors as ourselves because there is no “other,” only diversity in experience. We are united through that diversity in experience. Through our joys and griefs, known by all of us, we can break bread together.

And I’m convinced people are looking for communities shaped like that. Communities of communion. Where unity is more important than conformity. Where all can be one. May it be so for us.

Blessings,

Phil

Setting Things in Motion

December 6, 2021 / Faith UCC

Submitted by Rev. Phil Hodson, SCC Conference Minister

I write you today in the hope that each and every one has enjoyed some part of this past week. Perhaps it was time with loved ones and a shared meal; maybe just some quiet moments alone out of the ordinary busyness of our everyday lives. Maybe you made a list of ingredients for that Thanksgiving dinner, or the parts of it you were responsible for preparing alongside others. You shopped. You prepped. You cooked. You shared the result. My hope is that preparation culminated in the creation of new memories, the opening of new conversations, and the sharing of new possibilities in your life.

It is customary each year for the Conference to debut our tentative spending plan for review prior to its adoption by the Board of Directors. This custom was, by necessity, not undertaken this year due to the sudden passing of one of our pastors at the time those details were to be finalized and released. So, in November, the Board met for the final time of this calendar year and passed a spending plan. Today I present it here for your review.

I’m a process-oriented person and I recognize that the finished product has been fully baked. However, I think it will be palatable this year and am confident we’ll be back to cooking by the typical ingredients in 2022! Because I can share with you, happily, that the extra time we had in preparation allowed us to examine things more closely and to balance the budget in this upcoming year’s plan! Together with your support through our “Fair Share” OCWM initiative, the South Central Conference can now make new memories, open new conversations, and share new possibilities of a future filled with hope because we can set this plan in motion.

I present it to you, on behalf of the Board of Directors, with joy and hope for all that lies ahead as we prepare in this season of Advent to celebrate the birth that makes all things new!

Please click here to review the 2022 Spending Plan.

Blessings,
Rev. Phil Hodson
Conference Minister
South Central Conference,
United Church of Christ
3610 River Road
New Braunfels, TX 78132

The Space Between

September 5, 2021 / Faith UCC

Submitted by Rev. Phil Hodson, Conference Minister

Your anchor passage at annual meeting 2021 came from Mark’s gospel. It referenced the storm over the lake and Jesus’ rebuke of the storm. At annual meeting reflections were offered on how God is with us in the midst of the storm and the power of faith in uncertain circumstances.

But there’s something else here, buried in the text. After Jesus rebukes the storm, all becomes quiet and still. In the stillness, in the quiet, the disciples reflect on who Jesus is and his significance in their lives. Today I write you in that strange quiet, almost surreal in-between space. A space where we are just beginning to understand the damage caused by Hurricane Ida in New Orleans. A space that has yet to be found for many as rain continues to shower across Louisiana, Mississippi, and makes its way north and east. A space where we can take stock of the reality of climate change in our world. A space where we can give thanks for lives spared. A space where we are going to remain, prayerfully together, for a little bit. I’ve heard from many already who want to spring into action, but we’re in a place where we don’t have enough information yet. We know there has been damage to several of our churches, and so we pray for them, knowing that we will respond with our bodies in working prayer to help rebuild and repair when the time comes. As we sit together in this space for a little while there is one other thing we can do: get ready. Pray up and ask God if we have the capacity to step in and help with rebuilding physically when the time comes. Pray up and then share our gifts so that the resources will be available to our churches and the wider communities when the time comes.

We are a denomination built on being in covenant with one another. Being there for one another. And we, in the South Central Conference, will be. For today, we pray. And we prepare for the next faithful steps when the time is right. Each of us can give, as we are able, to lay the groundwork for recovery by responding to the Special Appeal issued this week by the national setting. I encourage us to do so. Let’s get ready, the action will spring forth in God’s good time.

Blessings,

Rev. Phil Hodson
Conference Minister
South Central Conference,
United Church of Christ
3610 River Road
New Braunfels, TX 78132
T: (830) 625-2212 x 4 C: (765) 532-3429

New SCC Conference Minister Rev. Phil Hodson Affirmed

May 3, 2021 / Faith UCC

New SCC Conference Minister Rev. Phil Hodson Affirmed Saturday, April 17th
Submitted by Rev. Nikki Stahl, SCC Board of Directors President

[Note: An Introduction Statement from Rev. Hodson can be found here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/15p4GGRVI_FgtcJPqrh6o7ld4aUOuwjnx/view]

The South Central Conference is excited to announce that at Special Meeting held Saturday, April 17th members of the conference voted to affirm the selection of Rev. Hodson as our next Conference Minister. Rev. Hodson will officially begin his work in the South Central Conference on July 15th.

A bit about Rev. Hodson from Rev. Vanessa Monroe, Chair of Search Committee, as spoken at first Meet & Greet: “Rev. Hodson comes to us from Wichita United Church of Christ in Kansas where he currently serves as pastor. Rev. Hodson has also spent a significant time pastoring in the United Methodist Church. He has experience planting churches including knocking on doors; revitalizing churches – finding what is within a particular congregation that is to be celebrated in a way that perhaps widens the welcome, or creates new interests, or allows people in a community to realize what has been sitting there all along. Rev. Hodson has even merged churches when congregants agree that they are stronger together. During the pandemic, as we all pivoted, Rev. Hodson guided his congregation in the creation of a film studio. He will for us be an advocate for our camp. He has served on the Board of Directors on Campus Ministry in Oklahoma, has taught mission insight strategies to congregations, and has worked on the vision process for the Kansas Conference. Rev Hodson is a successful grant writer and has excellent business [experience creating] strategies for growth. Rev. Hodson comes to us prepared to begin to walk alongside our board and our congregations as we seek to live more fully into the call of our God for this day and this time.”

If you are interested in learning more about Rev. Hodson, you can watch the Meet & Greets where you can see relationships already being formed.

A special thanks to the Search Committee: Rev. Vanessa Monroe, Cesar Baptista, Bessie Griffin, Debra Joseph, Rev. Jacqueline Lamensky, Rev. Joshua Lawrence, Marilyn Reyes, Rev. Neil Thomas, and Arlene Turner. And also to Rev. Lee Albertson who helped resource and guide the search committee. If you know any of these individuals, please reach out and thank them personally. You can get a glimpse of the huge amount of work that they accomplished in a relatively short time frame (and during a pandemic) by reviewing the search process they followed.

We look forward to God’s spirit working through Rev. Hodson as he guides us as Conference Minister. We are excited and hopeful of our next steps as the South Central Conference and all the ways in which our local congregations/ministry settings, camp, and partners in ministry will benefit as well!

In an effort to help with the transition, the Board of Directors approved extending Rev. Campbell Lovett’s call through September 30th. Between June 15th and September 30th, Rev. Lovett will work 1/4 time with his sole purpose of tying up loose ends (Jun 15th – Jul 14th) and then to be a resource to Rev. Hodson (Jul 15 – Sept 30th). We are grateful for your continued support – including monetary – and for the acquisition of a second PPP loan to allow this gift to happen.

Again, we are excited and we welcome Rev. Hodson, his wife Joelle, and their four boys (Xander, Xane, Xackary and Xavier) to the South Central Conference!

Peace,
Rev. Nikki Stahl
President of the Conference Board of Directors

Tag: Phil Hodson

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