The 2023 Clergy Retreat will be held on the Friday of Annual Meeting, May 19th.
This will be a Clergy Development Session for Active and Retired SCC Clergy with Author and Pastor Philip Gully presenting.
Stay tuned for more details!
Tag: South Central Conference (Page 1 of 3)
Catch up with news from around the South Central Conference!
Please see the most recent eNews weekly update below!
You can also follow this link directly to their newsletter if it is not displaying correctly below: https://conta.cc/3RB2d3M
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Janet Sherman has been elected to represent the Heart of Texas Association on the South Central Conference Board of Directors beginning with the Board’s Fall meeting.
The Board’s executive committee confirmed Janet’s placement on the Board following the SCC’s annual meeting held recently at Camp Allen in Navasota.
Janet will serve a three-year term on the Board.
Congratulations, Janet!
Join with the youth of Friends Congregational UCC in College Station as they increase their goal to raising $40,000 (each dollar raised retires $100 in medical debt) and work to retire $4,000,000 in medical debt this spring!
| The South Central Conference Annual Meeting page is up and running! Be sure to make plans to attend May 27th – May 29th at Camp Allen. Register as soon as possible as the last day to register will be Friday, May 13, 2022. This is a bring your family event with activities planned for children, youth, and adults. The focus is Rest, Cultivate, Grow, and the Heart of Texas Association planning committee have been working hard to ensure that all three things can happen! Churches, please be sure to send your delegates so quorum can be met and the business of the Conference can be completed. On Sunday, Rev. Phil Hodson will be installed as the SCC Conference Minister. The worship service will be livestreamed so your churches can participate and your clergy can attend this important mark of the South Central Conference. |
| Please remember that once you select your base registration to continue scrolling down the page to select any applicable add-ons. |
Scheduled for December 23, 2021 @ 3:00 pm
Hello Friends,
The next Retiree Zoom Gathering has been scheduled for Thursday, December 23rd at 3:00 pm.
Please use the below link to join this meeting:
Join Meeting – Retired Zoom Gathering
Meeting ID: 869 7193 6091
Passcode: 224868
I look forward to seeing you all!
Thank you, Phil
Submitted by Rev. Phil Hodson, SCC Conference Minister
As of today I have traveled 5,173 miles around the Conference in my car. I’ve been preaching and visiting our congregations, meeting with different individuals and groups, and asking the same question: What should a Conference Minister do? I’m asking because I want to learn our goals and dreams and also gain insight into our past experience so that we can live more fully together into the future that God has in store for us. When I started asking the question, I expected two standard answers: conflict resolution and search & call. What’s been both interesting and exciting to me is that neither of those are at the top of the list with anyone I’ve spoken to. Instead, I’ve heard these words: encouragement, guidance, direction, connection raised repeatedly. I find this terribly exciting — because that’s been my hope since I started the car on July 15! It is my deepest desire to be in ministry with you that is missional, relational, and incarnational across every setting of the church.
One of the ways that can happen is through the use of a tool called MissionInsite, which the Conference has purchased and will make available for use in every congregation. As a pastor in the local church, I used this resource to launch a new congregation, identify ministry opportunities, and see the local church relate to its’ community in incredible ways — and I want us to do the same in the South Central Conference! This resource compiles data about the neighborhoods we live in and the neighbors who live beside us — interests, preferences, hopes, and more — using the latest from the Census and the agencies who collect our individual data for private enterprise to understand us, but their goal is to help the church gain deeper understanding so that we can be in ministry with our neighbors in relevant, practical ways that will transform lives. Did I mention this is freely available to any setting that would like to use it? And that I will make time to personally consult with you and your leadership in understanding your mission field and help you identify new opportunities? This will be a multi-step process that will help us understand ourselves and our neighbors more fully, so that we can help the rubber meet the road in our ministries going forward! The first step is to answer this question:
Would your congregation be interested in this resource?
If you answered yes, the next step is to email me and let me know you’d like to begin the journey! Note: when you do, I’ll send you back a spreadsheet. This will come with regular homework. I’m sharing this now because we just signed the contract and I’m really excited about what is possible! I’m also sharing it now because Christmas is right around the corner (I know, right?), and the Advent and Christmas season has traditionally been a wonderful time to connect with new neighbors and showcase the power of community and relationship through the life of the church! Which leads me to another question:
Would or Could your church utilize a list of names in your community for you to reach out to?
If we developed a simple postcard that could name your church and Christmas Eve worship time, then provide you a list of 1,000, 5,000, or 10,000 names in your community to mail it to, would your congregation be interested in underwriting the cards and names prepared for you?
Jesus’ ministry was highly contextual. He knew the people he connected with. Everywhere he went on his ministry journey, Jesus paid careful attention to what was actually around him and related to the folks he met. I believe, as we prepare for what God has in store in our future, we must move forward in the same fashion. These resources, and the questions I’m asking you today, are one way your Conference Minister hopes to encourage, guide, offer direction and foster new connections with you. I pray you will find them helpful and engage in this exciting opportunity together with me. We have many wonderful miles to travel together!
Blessings,
Rev. Phil Hodson
Conference Minister
South Central Conference,
United Church of Christ
3610 River Road
New Braunfels, TX 78132
Shared by Trinity Church of Austin
Please join us on Sunday, November 7, 2021 from 3:30-7:30pm to celebrate Sid Hall’s 33 years of ministry with Trinity Church of Austin!
Sid retired as of July 1 of this year, but due to pandemic conditions, we delayed his retirement celebration until it was cool enough for us to gather outdoors. We encourage you to mask up and join us for live music, food, drinks, and fellowship at Ranch Austin with the Trinity community.
We have a stunning lineup of Austin musicians joining us for the evening, including Kelly Willis, Sara Hickman, Albert & Gage, Nancy Scott, Ed Miller, the Therapy Sisters, Doc Grauzer, and our own Trinity musicians. Scroll down for details!
Proceeds from the event will benefit the ongoing ministries of Trinity Church of Austin. Your generous tax-deductible donations allow us to fund sliding scale admissions for those in our community who could not otherwise afford to attend.
Heart of Texas Association Fall Meeting via Zoom
Saturday, October 23rd.
(Details to be announced.)
Greetings friends in faith,
The Heart of Texas Association of The United Church of Christ formally announces its Search and Call for a new Association Minister. The position is an average of 15 hours per week. Each prospective candidate should ensure their United Church of Christ online profile has been updated. Candidates may access the profile section of the UCC.org website here: Create an account and log in here.
Once your online profile has been completed on the United Church of Christ website, you may forward a copy of your profile to me at [email protected], and I will distribute it to the Search and Call Committee. If you are outside the United Church of Christ, you may submit your information directly to Conference Minister, Rev. Phil Hodson at [email protected].
The application deadline for this position will be Thursday, September 16, 2021. The job description and other pertinent information will be posted to the Heart of Texas Association website at: http://hotaucc.org.
And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds, and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ . . . (Ephesians 4:11-13)
Peace and Blessings,
Pastor Carl
Carl Schwartz-King
Moderator, Heart of Texas Association
The United Church of Christ
[email protected]
https://onrealm.org/FaithUnitedChur/give/now!