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2009 / No. 3
Congregationalist.org
A nnual Meeting Issue
Moderator Lottie Jones Hood
NA in Milwaukee: Doing a New Thing
Also inside:
• HOPE in a Can
• Church Planting Workshop
• North to Alaska!
and more...
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2 THE MINISTERS AND MISSIONARIES BENEFIT BOARD
w w w . m m b b . o rg
Features
Magazine of the National Association of
Congregational Christian Churches
2009 / No. 3
Photo by Larry Sommers.
Publisher
Carrie Dahm
NACCC Office, Oak Creek
Contributing Editor
Linda Miller, Missionary Society News and Needs
NACCC Office, Oak Creek
Graphic Design
Jay Chow
Milwaukee, Wis.
“First Steps” Workshop at Fox River
Vol. 169 No. 3
ON THE COVER:
The Rev. Dr. Lottie Jones
Hood, senior pastor of
the First Congregational
Church of Detroit,
presides as moderator
over the 2009 Annual
Meeting of the NACCC.
Editor
Larry F. Sommers
Madison, Wis.
8
Proofreader
Debbie Johnston
Livingston, Mont.
Editorial Advisory Committee
Edith Bartley (Executive Committee)
Plymouth Church of the Pilgrims, Brooklyn, N.Y.
Rev. Beth Bingham (Editor Appointee)
Pilgrim Congregational Church, Pomona, Calif.
Rev. Jack Brown (Editor Appointee)
Olivet Congregational Church, Olivet, Mich.
Rev. Dawn Carlson (Communication Services
Committee)
First Congregational Church, Terre Haute, Ind.
Rev. Donald Mayberry (Communication Services
Committee)
First Congregational Church, South Paris, Maine
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NACCC ANNUAL MEETING COVERAGE
9
Doing a New Thing
Overview of 2009 Annual Meeting
10
Congregational Lecture
Reflections by Sandy Freud, Jim Hopkins, Betsey Mauro, and
Reno Wright
12
“The Lord’s Song in a Strange Land”
Bible Lectures reviewed by Karl Schimpf
14
It Was SO FINE!
Annual meeting retrospective by Moderator Lottie Jones Hood
16
North to Alaska!
Previews of 2010 meeting by Sherry Glab and
Claudia Kniefel
Departments
4
Relation
The editor reflects on antecedents
20
News and Needs
Of NACCC missions
5
Letters to The CongregaTionalisT
22
College Notes
Olivet College scene
7
Along the Way
News briefs for Congregationalists
23
Benediction
“A Sublime Destiny”
Necrology
Saints lately passed
23
Pastorates and Pulpits
18
PLUS A SPECIAL LIFT-OUT SECTION FEATURING
• Editor’s Roundtable Donations
• Guidelines for Magazine Contributors
• Subscription/Donation Coupon
The CongregaTionalisT | ISSN 0010-5856 | Postage paid at Oak Creek, WI 53154-8618.
Published quarterly by the National Association of Congregational Christian Churches, 8473 S. Howell Ave.,
Oak Creek, WI 53154-0288.
Periodicals postage paid at Oak Creek, WI and additional mailings offices.
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The CongregaTionalisT 8473 S. Howell Ave., Oak Creek, WI 53154-0288.
© 2009 The National Association of Congregational Christian Churches. All rights reserved.
The National Association of Congregational Christian Churches
Bringing together Congregational Christian Churches for mutual care and outreach
to our world in the name of Jesus Christ.
Letters to The Congregationalist
Center has always been a small country church, even
though Atlanta has grown to envelop the community in
which we exist. With our annual budget of only $22,000,
we were quickly overwhelmed with legal fees [arising from
the UCC lawsuit], which have exceeded $40,000—and we
haven’t even gone to court yet!
Given the broad implications of the Southeast
Conference’s suit, especially the legal definition of
“the Congregational Denomination,” we reached out
to our National Association, and we have received
amazing assistance:
Prayers and encouragement from around the country
(phone calls, e-mails, letters from NA churches, independent
congregations, even UCC churches and churches of other
denominations.)
Financial gifts arriving like manna after our case was
“broadcast” with the help of many of the NA leadership.
Advice on legal and historical issues pertinent to our case.
None of this would be possible if our National Association
did not have the resources available to maintain and then
connect us with a network of support. I can personally
affirm that as a covenant community that network is
actively assisting Center today—and we thank YOU for
our very existence!
Please remember that we all need to ensure this network
remains strongly in place to help others tomorrow too.
C
enter Congregational Church [Atlanta, Ga.] joined
the National Association in 2006, never realizing how
quickly we would need the larger covenant community’s
support in a time of crisis.
We were founded during the days of the National Council
of Congregational Churches [in the late 19th century]
to be a part of “the Congregational Denomination” and
have remained faithful to the Congregational Way from
our inception.
However, we now find ourselves, because we left
the United Church of Christ and united with the
National Association of Congregational Christian
Churches, being sued by the Southeastern Conference
of the UCC, based on their claim [that the UCC
is] the only true successor to “the Congregational
Denomination” as they claim it was intended in our
Trust Deed.
4
I want to encourage every church to support the Fair
Share giving so that network will be there whenever we
need it as we continue to work and walk together in “the
Congregational Denomination”—the Congregational Way.
Rev. J.R. McAliley III, Pastor
Center Congregational Church
Atlanta, Ga.
Editor’s Note
[Ed.: The Rev. McAliley reported the UCC lawsuit to
the Committee for the Continuation of Congregational
Christian Churches at its June 2008 meeting. As this issue of
The CongregaTionalisT goes to press, the
judge has not yet reached a decision.
However, the church has incurred an
additional $17,000 in legal expenses
beyond the $40,000 mentioned
above. If the judge sends the case
to a jury trial or issues a summary
decision that is appealed by
either side, legal expenses of many
thousands more are anticipated.
“This has to do with the heart of the definition of
Congregationalism,” McAliley said to the
committee at its June 2009 meeting. “If
we win, we get to lift up the fact that
‘the Congregational denomination’ is
not the NA, the UCC, the ‘4Cs’ or
all those independent churches—no,
it’s all of us.” Whether or not this case
establishes a precedent beyond state borders,
McAliley noted that Georgia is home to several
NACCC churches and the NA-affiliated Piedmont
College, with properties given under ‘ancient’ deeds
similar to that of the Center Church.
The church has received outside
donations of at least $13,000 to aid in
its fight.
The lawsuit was the subject of an article titled “The Bully
Pulpit,” by Jim Auchmutey in the Wall Street Journal,
May 22, 2009. The article is available online at
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124294970292545463.html.]
Relation
Antecedents
F
ather of a brood of highly visible saints,
Lyman Beecher (1775-1863) said this about himself:
“From the beginning my mind has taken in the Church
of God, my country, and the world as given to Christ. It is
this that has widened the scope of my activities beyond the
common sphere of pastoral labor…”
His children grew to challenge his theology but shared his
broad view of the role of Christians in church, community,
and world.
Lyman’s second son, Edward Beecher (1803-1895), less
famous than his younger siblings Harriet Beecher Stowe
and Henry Ward Beecher, is nonetheless worth our notice.
And—oh, yes—he was the first senior editor
of The Congregationalist, serving from 1849 to
1855, assisted by Joseph Haven Jr. and Increase
N. Tarbox. You can read a passage setting forth his hopes
for the then weekly journal on the inside back cover of this
magazine, in our “Benediction” section.
Thought you might want to know.
L arry SommerS, Editor
A Yale graduate who also read theology at Andover,
he served Congregational churches in the Boston,
Mass.; Galesburg, Ill.; and Brooklyn, N.Y. He was the
first president of Illinois College at Jacksonville, a close
friend of abolitionist martyr Elijah Lovejoy, and a noted
theologian who aimed to revolutionize Christian doctrine
as Copernicus had revolutionized cosmology (a hope which
proved as illusory as it was ambitious).
5
Along the Way
Larry Sommers
News of local churches, state and regional associations,
and individual Congregationalists…
The Rev. Dr. Bruce Theron of South Africa tells ICF delegates of a recent
trip into Zimbabwe.
ENCOUR AGING ONE ANOTHER—Suburban
Milwaukee was the site of the International Congregational
Fellowship’s Ninth Quadrennial Conference July 23-29.
The event, hosted by First Congregational Church of
Wauwatosa, Wis., was held at the Wisconsin Lutheran
College in Wauwatosa.
The Rev. Dr. Patrick Shelley, Lake Country Congregational Church, Hartland, Wis., and The Rev. Dr. Harding
Stricker, Asociation Civil Cristiana Congregational, Jardin
America, Argentina. The meeting’s theme was from
1 Thessalonians 5:11—“Therefore encourage one another
and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.”
Encouraging words came in reports on God’s work from
the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia,
Greece, Lebanon, Syria, Myanmar, Cameroon, Argentina,
and South Africa.
Delegates elected as co-moderators Mrs. Val Price,
The Congregational Manse, Hertfordshire, U.K., and the
Rev. Phaedon Cambouropoulos, Third Evangelical
Church, Athens, Greece. Both are long-time international
Congregational activists. Planning has begun for the 10th
Quadrennial Conference of the ICF, to be held in the
U.K., probably in Oxford, in 2013.
Four dozen official attendees convened for a week of
meetings in Wauwatosa, led by the ICF’s co-moderators:
Kevin Clark, a CFTS student
at the University of Dubuque
Theological Seminary, prepares
to offer free Cokes, while Darren
Keepers, Pilgrim Congregational
Church of Pomona, Calif., holds a
sign explaining the project.
Senior Pastor Opportunity
The Congregational Church of Sun City, Arizona, is
seeking a Senior Pastor to continue the message of
Faith, Freedom, and Fellowship to a membership of
about 500 plus regular visitors.
Our Church was founded by Dr. John Alexander, one of
the founders of NACCC, and succeeding Senior Pastors
have been active in NA as well.
Sun City is a retirement community with many amenities
for graceful living. It is a great place to live.
For more information, read the C.I.F. on file at NACCC,
or write:
William Shipley,
Search Committee Corresponding Sec.
19442 Willow Creek Circle
Sun City AZ, 85373
6
Joanne Simpson
Thinking about a Fresh Challenge?
HOPE AND KINDNESS—Eric Van Tassell, First
Congregational Church of Spencer, Iowa, president of
Heritage of Pilgrim Endeavor, and Kristen Lewis,
a member of First Congregational Church of Wauwatosa,
Wis., report that on July 27, HOPE members visiting Faith
Community Church, Franklin, Wis., handed out free
soft drinks, free car washes, free help for local businesses,
and plenty of smiles. The young college-age adults were
attending HOPE’s national meeting, held jointly with
the National Association of Pilgrim Fellowship, at Carroll
University in nearby Waukesha, June 25-28.
A significant church in the NACCC,
established in 1711
on beautiful, historic Nantucket Island, seeks a
The youths washed cars for free in the supermarket
parking lot, handed out canned soda and bottled water on
a street corner, and helped local businesses with various
tasks. One man, Paul Lewis, First Congregational Church
of Wauwatosa, Wis., shredded paper in a realtor’s office for
an hour and a half. Participants repeatedly turned down
offers of compensation, preferring to share the love of God
in a practical way.
Lisa Rambo, this year’s HOPE conference speaker, and
her husband Tony Rambo, HOPE co-director, guided and
motivated the group. The day’s acts of kindness were capped
by a concert performed by the Rev. Elliot Wimbush,
First Congregational Church, Maywood, Ill.
ECONOMY OF GOD—The Center for Congregational
Leadership, Olivet, Mich., will conduct a one-day seminar
on Saturday, Sept. 26, “ideal for ministers and lay people
who wish to deepen their understanding of stewardship,”
says the Rev. Dr. Betsey Mauro, dean of the center.
The program will feature presentations by Ron Chewning,
Stewardship Advisors; the Rev. Dr. Tom Richard,
executive secretary of the NACCC; and Richard Reese,
of the Ministers and Missionaries Benefit Board. Cost is
$75 for the first participant, which includes stewardship
program materials and meals; and $15 for each additional
member of the same church, which includes meals but
not materials. For more details, or to register, contact
Dr. Mauro, [email protected], or her assistant,
Marie Steele, [email protected], or telephone
(800) 262-1620, ext. 12.
Senior
Minister
• Experienced & Dynamic Preacher
• Spiritually & Theologically Grounded
• A Strong Leader & Administrator
First Congregational Church
Nantucket, Massachusetts
For a Church Profile and Minister Information Form,
contact www.NACCC.org
HISTORY RE-ENGRAVED—With an assist from
the NACCC and First
Congregational
Church
of Wauwatosa, Wis.,
the
Pilgrim
Fathers
Memorial
at
Scotia
Creek—near the village
of Fishtoft, near Boston,
East Anglia, U.K.—has
been revised to state what
actually happened there
in September 1607. The
original marker claimed
that the Pilgrims “sailed
from here” to escape the
The Pilgrim Fathers Memorial in
England... stands corrected.
English religious laws of
the time. In fact, they
intended to sail from there but were arrested and jailed
before they could do so; they made good their escape from
England the following year by way of the Humber estuary.
John and Judy Cammack
The idea came from Steve Sjogren’s book, Conspiracy of
Kindness: A Refreshing New Approach to Sharing the Love of
Jesus With Others (Vine Books, 1993), which focuses on the
concept of servant evangelism. Providing services without
accepting donations is meant to transform a church’s work
from a fundraiser into a simple yet powerful expression
of faith.
The plaque’s inaccuracy bothered John and Judy
Cammack, local historians from Boston (U.K.), and the
Rev. Dr. Steven Peay, a U.S. expert on church history who
happens to be senior minister of the Wauwatosa church.
(Continues on page 17)
7
“ First Steps” Workshop
at Fox River
S
by Art Ritter and Stu Merkel
everal years ago the Congregational Church
Development Division of the NACCC posed a
challenge at our annual meeting: Fifty new churches in ten
years! Recently, CCD has tried to help laypeople, churches
and regional associations envision church plantings as real
possibilities and begin looking for ways to bring them
into being.
On Friday, June 26, the day before the NA Annual
Meeting opened in Milwaukee, 52 people—clergy and
lay leaders, including several potential church planters—
gathered at Fox River Congregational Church in nearby
Pewaukee, Wis., for Dr. Gary Rohrmayer’s “First Steps for
Planting a Missional Church” workshop.
Rohrmayer, a church planter and church planting coach
for more than 20 years, presented biblical and theological
reasons for church planting; he shared practical tools that
people could use in a step-by-step process; and he shared
creative ideas for church planting and for church renewal in
established churches.
“It outlined a practical process,” said the Rev. Rob Brink,
associate minister at First Congregational Church of
Wauwatosa, Wis., “instead of just getting people charged
up to plant a church.”
“The event provided a venue to consider what’s
involved and the leadership profile necessary to facilitate
a successful church start,” said Fox River’s pastor, the
Rev. Dr. Lonnie Richardson. “I was encouraged by the
number of participants who are seriously considering
becoming church planters.”
Richardson, who in 2001 helped plant the church
he now serves, said, “A movement within our National
Association—from receiving established churches, to doing
new things for God by planting new churches in strategic
settings—will bring us real growth, freshness and vitality.”
What are the next steps?
CCD is promoting church planting within our regional
associations; successful efforts have already been ventured
in Arizona, Florida, Georgia, and Wisconsin. A new church
plant—the “It’s All Good” Cafe, sponsored by the former
Fourth Congregational Church of Chicago—has recently
begun in Wolf Lake, Ind.
Dr. Tom Nebel, one of Rohrmayer’s partners, presented
his “Big Dreams in Small Places” workshop twice, and met
8
The Rev. Stu Merkel, left, discusses "First Steps" with the Rev. John Miller,
First Congregational Church of Royal Oak, Mich.
with the members of CCD, during the annual meeting.
His enthusiasm and CCD’s determination to see more NA
churches planted have inspired CCD to look to new ways
to strengthen churches, regional associations, and clergy
groups to promote the planting of the next generation of
churches. We believe these are the strongest components
necessary to bringing about a harvest of new churches.
If you wish to attend a future workshop, please contact John
Carson in the NACCC Oak Creek Office, (800) 262-1620,
for more information.
The r ev. a rThur P. r iTTer is the senior
minister at Meadowbrook Congregational
Church in Novi, Mich. He has just
completed four years of service on the
Congregational Church Development
Division of the NACCC. Art has previously
served Congregational churches in Toulon,
Ill. ; West Bloomfield, Mich. ; and Salt Lake
City, Utah.
The r ev. Dr. STu merkeL is pastor of
Faith Community Church, Franklin, Wis.,
since April 2009. He studied at Fuller
Theological Seminary, is married to Lynn
Merkel, and has two boys, Pete and Greg.
He serves on the Congregational Church
Development Division and is the regional
director for Alpha Wisconsin.
ANNUAL MEETING
MILWAUKEE 2009
Doing a New Thing
“L
adies and gentlemen, welcome aboard the Starship
Mayflower… make sure your seatbelt is securely
fastened around your waist, sit back and relax… but also sit
up and pay attention! You are in for the time of your life!”
Darkness. Silence. Attendees fidget in their chairs.
Then, in varied accents, The Voice of God:
“Behold… I am doing a new thing…. Do you not
perceive it?”
Hyperspace projection, rushing through a video starfield…
Earth comes to rest in a pair of hands, on a screen.
A mellow baritone is heard—the Rev. Elliot Wimbush, First
Congregational Church of Maywood, Ill.—singing his original
composition, “See Something New;” and three graceful girls in
flowing gowns—Kirsten and Sarah Carlson and Stephanie Van
Wieringen, Faith Community Church of Franklin, Wis.—
glide through the hall, dancing in the light of the Cosmos.
By now, old-timers knew that things were going to be
different this year: The Rev. Dr. Lottie Jones Hood was
at the helm of Starship Mayflower, and God was Doing a
New Thing.
“Reverend Lottie,” pastor of the First Congregational
Church of Detroit, presided as moderator—in her words,
“starship captain”—of the 55th Annual Meeting of the
National Association of Congregational Christian Churches,
held in Milwaukee June 27-30. She chose the meeting’s
theme, from Isaiah 43:19—“Behold! I am doing a new
thing… do you not perceive it?”
As the association’s first African-American moderator,
Lottie Jones Hood was in herself a new thing; and she was
avid in pursuit of a “transformative learning experience” for
all in attendance.
“Prayer warriors” lifted up the concerns of the association
at every business session.
The annual Congregational Lecture came in four parts, the
views of four different Congregationalists (see “Who wouldn’t
want to be a part of this Congregational Way?”, pp. 10-11).
The Rev. Karl Schimpf of North Shore Congregational
Church, Fox Point, Wis., preached the sermon—“Willing
to Make a New Start!”—at Sunday worship service, with a
combined choir from Wisconsin churches, dynamically led
by Rick Kieffer, North Shore’s music director.
Sunday afternoon was filled with workshops on topics new
(“Webtools for the Tech Savvy Christian”) and otherwise
(“Conflict is Inevitable”).
The Bible Lecturer, the Rev. Dr. Charles G. Adams, brought
a new perspective on the spiritual meaning of the gospel and
its social application (see “The Lord’s Song in a Strange Land,”
p. 12 ff.).
Even the business sessions were transformed into “a new
thing” for delegates (see “It Was So Fine!”, p. 14-15). After
full discussion, the assembly removed term limits from the
NA’s executive secretary and associate executive secretary
positions, but narrowly disapproved requiring half the annual
Fair Share of $10 per member as a “minimum contribution”
for NA membership.
It was also a bumper year for missionaries, with 20
representatives present from 16 NA-sponsored missions and
four recommended missions (see “Missionary Society News
and Needs,” pp. 20-21).
And everyone got a chance to sample the delights of
Milwaukee, with Saturday morning tours of the Miller
Brewery and Sunday afternoon excursions to the Milwaukee
Art Museum, historic downtown churches, and the city’s
thriving Lake Michigan shoreline, where the annual
Summerfest was in full swing.
An innovative time was had by all, as God was clearly
doing a new thing in Milwaukee in June.
Photos: 1. Sarah Carlson; 2. The Rev. Elliot Wimbush; 3. Revs. Jim Jupin and Cindy Bacon; 4. Edith Watson and Wanda Patterson of Harmony, Hope, and Healing music ministry, Chicago.
Photos 1 and 4 by Barry Szymanski, 2 and 3 by Larry Sommers.
9
ANNUAL MEETING
The r ev. SanDy FreuD, pastor of New Faith Fellowship,
Orange County, Calif.:
…L
et me ask—How many of you who ever worked in an office
miss the mimeograph machine, or typing and correcting carbon
copies? Do you suppose any teenager would want to trade in their iPod® or
MP3 for an 8-track tape player? The church of Jesus Christ is not a museum,
but a mission launching pad. Together, today we begin doing a new thing.
Will you join us?…
My first Congregational minister was a short Italian who always wore black.
Back in the ’60s, raised in Chicago, I had never heard of an Italian Protestant, let alone an Italian Protestant minister….
Some of us here were raised in different traditions. For me it was Lutheran….
What I love most about the Congregational Way is that we accept people right where they are in their journey of faith…
knowing that we are all pilgrims in different places at different times in our lives.
Christ is the sole spiritual authority in our lives and in our local churches. We are responsible only to Him as known to
us through the Scriptures or yet to be revealed to us. We are free to worship and follow Christ without answering to any
other spiritual authority on Earth.
Jim hoPkinS, a member of Riverpoint Congregational Church, West Warwick,
R.I., and long-time lay leader in the NACCC:
I
was born into the Congregational Way. I was baptized at Riverpoint
Congregational Church, the same church I still attend…. During my tenth
year, on October 2, 1949, I joined the church…. My father gave me pledge
envelopes, saying, “Now you have made a commitment to the church, and now
you must support it.”…
Part of Riverpoint’s covenant calls us to “seek God’s will according to the
light made known or yet to be disclosed.” As teenager, I thought this somewhat
irrelevant or archaic….
The Kingston Congregational Church sat at the edge of my college campus, and… Rev. William Davis… never feared
facing the topic; he never declared a solution; but he always talked about the context in which our Christian faith should
consider the issue…. I was away from home and could skip church easily, [but] I found myself drawn to a Congregational
church for information and inspiration….
We each… seek God’s truth, but we must find it for ourselves with the support of our local church, free from declarations
of higher human authority. The words handed from Rev. Norm Ream to Alice Murphy, and on to me, ring true:
“A boy convinced against his will is of the same opinion still.”
All photos on these 2 pages by Larry Sommers.
10
MILWAUKEE 2009
The annual Congregational Lecture, by tradition, was a learned speech by an
important NA voice for the Congregational Way. This year, doing a new thing,
the association heard a colloquy of four important voices—clergy and lay, male
and female, white and black, young and old—each holding forth on the topic:
“The Congregational Way: What It Means to Me, and Why I Love It!”
The r ev. Dr. BeTSey m auro, dean of the Center for Congregational
Leadership at Olivet College:
…C
ongregationalism has embraced my grieving as well as my
rejoicing, my questions as well as my certainties, my past and
undoubtedly my future. I expect it will lay me to rest someday, but so far,
there has been no rest in it for me…. What glorious demands on me!
For me, Congregationalism makes sense…. No one stood between me and
Jesus Christ…no bishop, no parent, no man (I being a woman), or any other
source of authority. When I moved, it was Christ that was closest to me. When
I breathed, it was his Spirit that filled the air in my lungs. The relationship was simply direct. However, it was not directly
simple. This unimpeded relationship meant I had decisions to make about who I was going to be in this spiritual bond. In
my choices, I was directly accountable to Christ….
I told you that there has been little rest in Congregationalism for me. But I believe that is because the Spirit still broods
over us and Christ still walks among us and God still calls us…. There is no place I’d rather be than in the company of
others who covenant to walk with me on this wonderful journey of faith, helping me perceive the new things God is doing
in our midst. Now that’s fellowship!
r eno WrighT, a member of First Congregational Church of Detroit and
a seminarian in the third year of a four-year M. Div. program at Ecumenical
Theological Seminary in Detroit:
…C
hurch for me has always represented a place where believers could
come together and worship God, a place to learn how to apply
biblical principles in our everyday lives, and a place to fellowship with brothers
and sisters in Christ….
When I was invited to the First Congregational Church of Detroit…
I realized that there was really no special title necessary in order to be used by
God in this church. Not only that, but over time I began to notice just how involved the entire congregation truly was in
the overall running of the church itself….
One of the most impressive ministries [of the Detroit church] for me was the Underground Railroad Living Museum
Experience, where a participant has the opportunity to tour an elaborate recreation of an American slave’s journey to
freedom….
The participant receives the Gospel message of hope with the expectation of a better tomorrow as he or she is guided
through this spiritual experience of darkness and fear into the marvelous light at the end of the journey. This ministry
is provides a very timely message that can potentially meet both spiritual and emotional needs of those within the local
community who might be struggling with life’s every day issues. And this process is primarily facilitated through volunteers.
Who wouldn’t want to be a part of this Congregational Way?…
11
ANNUAL MEETING
The Lord
s
’
Song
in
a
Strange Land
The Rev. Dr. Charles Adams gives a Bible Lecture on Day Four of the 2009 Annual Meeting of the National Association of Congregational Christian
Churches, Milwaukee, Wis., June 30, 2009.
W
e were blessed this year by our Bible Lecturer,
the Rev. Dr. Charles Gilchrist Adams, pastor of
the Hartford Memorial Baptist Church in Detroit and
a professor at the Harvard Divinity School. A celebrated
preacher and teacher, Dr. Adams gave the invocation at the
2005 funeral of Rosa Parks. His words so captivated me
that I found myself drawn up in the listening rather than in
the writing; and it was a wonderful experience.
comprehend. But these few I did write down, and I share
them with you:
He based Lecture 1 on Psalm 137:4— “How can we sing
the Lord’s song in a strange land?”—encouraging us to see
the Bible as a musical score, so the preaching of the Word
becomes a song.
“Why are we driven to fill the open spaces of our lives with
feverish activities and noise and work when what we need is
the ecstasy which comes when we are still and know our God?
In the black American tradition, he said, “The preacher
is required to ‘hoop.’ The ‘hoop’ is the music of the mind
in the Holy Spirit—a sustained note that swallows dogma
into doxology.”
The psalm took root in Babylon, where the horror of exile
could not take the Israelites’ song away as they witnessed
in a culture that rejected the Lord’s song: Their personal
identity came from their connection to community.
What sustained the slaves working in the fields of our
own country, said Adams, was realizing that the song which
unites the world is the same song that created the world.
“They never lost their sanity,” he said, “because they
never lost their song. And they never lost their song because
they never lost their hope. And they never lost their hope
because they never lost their God.”
As he preached, ideas and questions came tumbling
down upon each other faster than my poor mind could
12
“To deny dignity to others is to deny dignity to ourselves….
“For some of us freedom is too great for us to face. Some
people make themselves slaves to the restraints of their own
culture. How far have we compromised ourselves by squeezing
ourselves into the cultural expectations of our time?
“Why is it that we who are saved by grace so often demonize
our enemies?”
Lecture 2 was based on Isaiah 58:3-9. He placed the
historic context around the year 530 B.C.E., when we find
Israel—called to be a light to the nations—adhering to the
rituals, keeping the Sabbath; doing all the right things for
all the wrong reasons.
Dr. Adams called this text “the agenda of the Spirit.”
Israel was fasting on ritual while forgetting about the chains
of injustice and the cords of oppression. Religion, he said,
gets co-opted by all sorts of concerns and in the process gets
corrupted for other purposes.
“Intelligence,” he said, “does not guarantee integrity.”
He combined the Isaiah text with Luke 4, in which
Jesus, at his home synagogue, read from the scroll that was
handed to him: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he
has anointed me to preach good news to the poor….”
MILWAUKEE 2009
Barry Szymanski.
The Rev. Dr. Charles Adams
addresses delegates and attendees
of the 55th Annual Meeting
of the National Association of
Congregational Christian Churches,
Milwaukee, Wis., June 29, 2009.
The church, said Adams,
has been corrupted by the
world. He suggested that
we have worshiped the
cross to the extent that it
does not challenge us nor
call into question the
political landscape or social
order of our day.
He may even have come
close to “hooping” when
he asked, in the vernacular,
“Is you got good religion?”
Bad religion takes life, good religion gives life.
We are all on the same boat. Trouble anywhere spells
trouble everywhere.
Dr. Adams ended the second lecture by articulating this
acronym for FEAR: “False Evidence Appearing Real.”
I think he would remind us that perfect love,
as demonstrated and lived by Jesus, casts out fear.
Later that day, Bible Lecture 3 centered on 1 Corinthians
3:22-23: “All things belong to you and you belong to Christ
and Christ belongs to God.”
“Come to Detroit,” challenged Dr. Adams, “and tell the
people who have lost their jobs that ‘all things are theirs!’”
In exploring this apparent contradiction between
Scripture and modern life, Adams marked the difference
between ownership and possession: “The amazing grace of
Larry Sommers
No one can own
God or good, but
everyone can possess
God and good.
God gives everyone possession but no one ownership.”
Like a good rabbi, he followed this statement with a series
of questions.
Do we as Christians own Jesus Christ? Sometimes we think
so. (“Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine….”)
Can we own the Holy Spirit? Some think so.
His conclusion: No one can own God or good,
but everyone can possess God and good.
He reminded us that the divine mystery cannot be sung
as a solo. It must be sung in a symphony.
I came away glad that Lottie Jones Hood had chosen
Dr. Adams to speak to us. His words touched my heart in
many ways, calling us to unite as Congregational Christians
in singing the Lord’s song!
The r ev. k arL SchimPF was the
first graduate of CFTS and has
served churches in Ohio, Utah, and
Wisconsin. He has been the senior
minister at North Shore
Congregational Church in Fox Point,
Wis., since 1983. He was moderator
of the National Association in 1993
for the annual meeting in Portland,
Maine. At this year’s annual meeting
he received the Harry R. Butman Award, presented by the
Division on Ministry for service to the churches. He is
married to Dottie Schimpf, a parish nurse; and they have
three sons and seven grandchildren.
13
ANNUAL MEETING
It Was So Fine!
by Lottie Jones Hood
Stand Up and Be Counted: Blue-clad tellers count delegates in a standing vote after a " division of the house" was called for during the business meeting on
Day Three of the 2009 Annual Meeting of the National Association of Congregational Christian Churches, Milwaukee, Wis., June 29, 2009.
I
t was so fine! I can think of no better way to describe it.
What was it that made the experience so fine?
The Objectives
The objectives were to create a spirit-filled edutainment,
one that could provide a model, with parts from which
future annual meetings might evolve. It would be
educational and informational, entertaining and fun-filled,
and blanketed with the Holy Spirit.
Blue-clad tellers count paper ballots during a vote on Day Three of the
2009 Annual Meeting of the National Association of Congregational
Christian Churches, Milwaukee, Wis., June 29, 2009.
All photos on these 2 pages by Larry Sommers.
14
The Mayflower would become a starship, honoring the
Congregational heritage, while taking us to new heights
that left the physical and embraced the spiritual in search
of transformational experiences. We even had a special Web
site. It was all so fine!
The Process
A great team put this meeting together: Carrie Dahm,
meeting planner; the Rev. Patti Dando Haaheim, program
scheduler; the Rev. Sue LeFeber and Jim Benz, host
committee; Ted Adams, graphics and Web designer; the
Rev. Don Mullen, spiritual presence coordinator; the Rev.
Wendy Van Tassell, music coordinator and stage producer;
Linda Miller, workshops and Mayflower Mall coordinator;
the Rev. Sandy Freud, Congregational Lecture coordinator;
the Rev. Dr. Tom Richard, executive secretary and the Rev.
Dr. Neil Hunt, Executive Committee chairperson; the
Rev. Cynthia Bacon, special projects coordinator; and Liz
Philbrook and the Rev. Jack Brown, members at large. In
addition, I wish to thank the Rev. Bobbi Chapman for her
weekly contributions of New Thing Thoughts to the Web
site. It was all so fine!
MILWAUKEE 2009
The Results
The results demonstrated the objectives were being met:
It was a spirit-filled edutainment. Participants demonstrated
the art of living: You could not really tell if they were
working or playing! The workshops, the entertainment, the
leisure activities, the Mayflower Mall (resource room), the
Congregational Lecture, the Bible Lectures, the spiritual
presence—it was all so fine!
And yes, we did find those “transformational
experiences”—especially in the business meetings. Votes
were complicated, passions ran high. A “prayer warrior”
prayed at the beginning of each meeting, and prayer was
even requested just before one highly-charged vote.
The Holy Spirit was invited into the Business Meetings.
It was so fine.
In one particularly close vote, a member of the prevailing
side, the Rev. Cathy Schuyler of the Duluth Congregational
Church, Duluth, Minn., moved for reconsideration—
saying that unless we voted again, we would never really
know. It was a transformational experience: It showed
what it looks like when the Holy Spirit is moving among
us. Someone who expressed great passion was willing to
sacrifice a victory already won, to make sure that it was the
will of the group. It was so fine!
I had two transformational experiences of my own.
First, I experienced what it was like to show the face of
impartiality; and in so doing, I had the opportunity to
listen—to listen in a way that I would not have done had
I been trying to frame words to get my position across.
My other transformational experience was so fine
I hardly have the words to explain it: I was not a skilled
parliamentarian; and though I studied and practiced, it
became clear I was going to have to allow God to work
through the people to help me. And he did. It was so fine.
This year as the Moderator was replete with joys, surprises
and new things. My wish is that it served the same purpose
for the NA and its member churches, delegates, and
individual members at this time and place in our journey.
My wish, further, is that for them, too, it was so fine!
The r ev. Dr. LoTTie JoneS hooD
is senior minister of the First
Congregational Church of Detroit,
Mich. She was the NACCC’s first
African American moderator and
has become an experienced starship
captain.
Moderator Lottie Jones Hood instructs the
delegates on procedures.
The Watermelon Cake
Speaking at the closing banquet June 30, Moderator
Lottie Jones Hood told a story she has told before—of
another transformational learning experience in her
life. As she spoke, NACCC Associate Executive Secretary
John Carson brought out a watermelon birthday cake
like the one in the story. Here is the story as she previously
told it in The CongregaTionalisT 2008, No. 4:
“…My birthday was that
weekend, and the group,
prompted by Will, wanted
to give me a birthday cake.
However, because I had a
need to control my sugar
intake, they wanted it to be
something I could safely eat.
So, with the lights out, and
their faces gleaming with pride
they waltzed into the meeting
room with this ‘cake’ ablaze
with candles. The thing was that
the cake was a half of a watermelon.
They were so pleased with themselves; their faces
shone with delight that they had been so creative.
“When I saw this ‘cake’ I was dumbfounded! My
mouth flew open, and a small gasp escaped my lips.
You see, I am African-American. They were all—
every last one, including Will—European-American.
There is almost no greater stereotype of the redlipped, grinning, black-faced little minstrel drooling
over a slice of watermelon, unless it is a white person
presenting it.
“I was so shocked, and profoundly hurt that
I did not know what to say. And so I said nothing.
However, in the midnight hour, when I had time to
think about it, I had a chance to remember—and
remember I did. I remembered the times Will had
shepherded me, guided me, watched out for me,
and I remembered the time when in an emergency,
Will had even taken me to the hospital. And in the
light of my memories and experiences with him,
I no longer saw the watermelon birthday cake as a
racial insult. The watermelon birthday cake became a
healing metaphor.
“It is my prayer that in our quest to become a light
on a hill, any incidents that could be construed as
racial slurs will, instead, become healing metaphors.”
15
ANNUAL MEETING
MILWAUKEE 2009
North to Alaska!
Darkness into Light
by Sherry Glab
I
t is a popular custom to send a “Save the Date” card prior
to an invitation for a wedding or birthday party.
Consider this your “Save the Date” card. The dates are
June 26-29, 2010, the event is the 56th Annual Meeting
of the National Association of Congregational Christian
Churches, and the place is Anchorage, Alaska!
The theme for this meeting is Isaiah 9:2—“The people
who have walked in darkness have seen a great light.”
We will truly walk in the light in Anchorage. The meetings
will begin just days after the summer solstice, and we will
experience nearly 24 hours of daylight as we study God’s
word in a new “light.”
Celebrate With Us in
Anchorage, 2010! by Claudia Kniefel
Fifty years ago a church was born—First Congregational
Church of Anchorage—so we’re holding a party, and we’re
inviting families and individuals from our sister churches
to help us celebrate at the NACCC Annual Meeting. There
will be something for everyone!
For our very youngest we will have a well-staffed nursery
right in the hotel. Older children can take part in an
exciting program—“Tending to God’s World, Adventures
in Alaska”—that’s an equal mix of mission projects,
spiritual exploration, and Alaskan adventure.
High-school youths in NAPF—the National Association
of Pilgrim Fellowship—and college-aged men and
women in HOPE—Heritage of Pilgrim Endeavor—
will gather at the University of Alaska Anchorage for
wonderful Alaska adventures wrapped around service and
spiritual experiences.
Adults will be interested in outdoor adventures such as
hiking, kayaking, river rafting, jogging, biking, and others,
Credit where credit is due: Last issue,
we ran this ad on the back cover of
The
CongregaTionalisT.
In
our enthusiasm to promote the
Alaska meeting, we inexcusably
failed to credit the photographer.
The
magnificent
view
of
the Anchorage skyline was
photographed by Robert Olson.
16
For more details read the article by Claudia Kniefel,
chairman of the Host Committee, in the latest issue of the
NACCC News or visit our Web site at www.fccak.org.
Sherry gLaB is a member of Pilgrim
Congregational Church in Pomona,
Calif., served as secretary of the
NACCC 2002-2005, and is the
moderator of the association for 2010.
many of which can be done right from Anchorage in the
evening; remember, it doesn’t get really dark! But also, be
sure to plan extra vacation time before or after the meeting.
If you’re exhausted just reading that, don’t worry!
Anchorage is still the destination for you. The grandeur of
the state can be seen from downtown Anchorage, from a
rental car, from the Alaska Railroad between Anchorage
and Seward or Denali, or from a number of popular
glacier cruises.
If your mobility is compromised, be assured that
Anchorage is still a very friendly town for you.
And getting here can be half the fun. You can fly, of
course, but maybe this is your chance to take the cruise
you’ve dreamed about, to or from Alaska. Check it out. By
watching carefully you can get some really good deals on
cruises now.
We invite you to visit our Web site, www.fccak.org,
for pre- and post-meeting trip ideas and information.
We’ll update it frequently.
Come celebrate with us!
cLauDia k nieFeL is a member of the
First Congregational Church of
Anchorage and chairs the Host
Committee for the 2010 Annual
Meeting.
Along the Way
Had the Pilgrims not been nabbed
by the King’s men, “they would have
sailed to Holland in 1607,” Peay wrote
in an e-mail to The Congregationalist.
“That was their first attempt at getting
out from under the restrictive laws of
‘conformity’ to the Prayer Book, etc. …
We agreed that the wording should be
made accurate. I made the suggestion
to John and Judy that our church
would be willing to fund this. [Former
NA associate executive secretary]
Don Olsen said that I should include
the NACCC in the project.”
The NA and the Wauwatosa church
each chipped in $500, with the church
picking up miscellaneous costs and
transfer fees; Wauwatosa church
administrator Cindy Payette handled
the transfer of funds.
The result is a new memorial marker,
correctly stating that the Pilgrims
“Near this place… were thwarted in
their first attempt to… find religious
freedom across the seas.”
A SONG IN HER HEART—
Jacque Jones, a member of Plymouth
Church of the Pilgrims in Brooklyn,
N.Y., has completed her first year as
treasurer of the Hymn Society of the
United States and Canada. Jacque
(pronounced “Jackie”) won the 2005
hymn writing contest at MacalesterPlymouth
United Church
in St. Pau l,
Minn., with a
hymn text titled
“Creator of the
I nter t w i ne d ”
that appears in
Hymns for a
Pilgrim People.
In 2007, she won the NACCC hymn
writing contest with “Today We Sing
with Thankfulness,” which was sung
at the NA annual meeting that year.
She is not a musical composer but
pens hymn texts which are set to other
people’s music.
She was elected treasurer at the
Hymn Society’s July 2008 meeting
and began the second year of her twoyear term after this year’s conference at
St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minn.
“The Hymn Society is a wonderful
organization for anyone who loves
hymns,” she writes. “Whether a person
is doing scholarly research, writing or
composing hymns, or simply enjoys
singing hymns in good company, the
Hymn Society has a lot to offer….
More information can be found at
www.thehymnsociety.org.”
RELIGION MINOR AT OLIVET—
The Olivet College Board of Trustees
has approved a new minor in Religion
and Ethics. The program will be
under the direction of Karen Chaney,
Ph.D., assistant professor of Religious
Studies and Ethics, who joined the
faculty in 2008.
The new minor, developed at the
instigation of Olivet College President
Don Tuski, is designed for those
who would like to take courses and
engage in formal academic study
in these areas, for those who would
like to integrate the study of religion
and ethics with their major or preprofessional studies, and for those who
would like to go deeper into their own
or another religion’s background and
contemporary expression.
(Continued from page 7)
Three NACCC clergypersons will
be part of this new program. The
Rev. Michael Fales, an Olivet College
professor, is teaching Old Testament;
the Rev. Dr. Betsey Mauro, dean
of the Center for Congregational
Leadership, will teach ethics; and the
Rev. Jack Brown, senior minister
of Olivet Congregational Church, has
been asked to teach New Testament
(Koine) Greek.
A GIF T FOR YOUR FA ITH—
The U.S. Congress has extended a
law that allows individuals to make
tax-free gifts from an IRA to a
qualified charitable organization,
such as the National Association of
Congregational Christian Churches.
A donor can transfer any amount up
to $100,000 in 2009 without having
to pay income taxes on the gift. The
donor must be 70½ years old or older;
the distribution must be made directly
from the trustee of an IRA to the
NACCC; and transfers for 2009 must
be made by December 31, 2009.
To ma ke a n IR A rollover
c ont ribut ion, ple a se c ont ac t
NACCC Director of Development
Diana David at (800) 262-1620,
ext. 25, or e-mail [email protected].
FIFTY AND COUNTING—North
Shore Congrega­tional Church, Fox
Point, Wis., invited the Rev. Richard
Buchman to their pulpit Sunday,
June 14, as he celebrated the golden
anniversary of his ordination into the
Christian ministry. Buchman served
churches in Brooklyn, N.Y., and in
Wauwatosa, Fox Point, and Grafton,
Wis. He and his wife Sandy live in
nearby Mequon.
Jacque Jones.
17
Necrology
Saints lately passed
A. Vaughan Abercrombie
The Rev. Dr. A. Vaughan
Abercrombie, Pensacola, Fla., died
June 2 at age 96.
“Vaughan Abercrombie was a
champion of the Congregational
Way,” said the Rev. Dr. Tom Richard,
executive secretary of the National
Association of Congregational
Christian Churches, at a memorial
service July 26. “He wrote papers,
essays, lectured, debated and preached the inclusiveness
of the Gospel in those early days of forming the National
Association. He was a leader among a whole group of
clergy and laity that stood for freedom of local churches to
determine the direction of their life together. Those were
tumultuous times calling on clergy and lay leaders alike to
speak and preach with intelligence and with heart.”
A Connecticut native and a graduate of Marietta
College in Ohio and the Harvard Divinity School,
Dr. Abercrombie served churches in Ohio, Massachusetts,
Rhode Island, Washington, and New Jersey during his long
pastoral career.
From 1964 to 1969 he served as executive secretary
of the NACCC, traveling widely to maintain contact
with member churches. During this period he drove a
Cadillac and was criticized for the apparent extravagance.
He replied that his job required him to visit many churches
in small communities not served by airports, and since he
had to spend so much time in his car, he wanted it to be a
comfortable car.
He also served in unpaid capacities as a member of the
NA’s Christian Education Commission, Division for
Ministry, and Executive Committee.
A colleague of many years, the Rev. Dr. Arvel M. Steece,
remembered Abercrombie as “a compatible spirit and a
friendly colleague… committed to the Congregational Way
of spiritual life.
“We shared some of our writings with each other and
commented back and forth,” said Steece. Dr. Abercrombie
is survived by Charlotte Abercrombie, his wife of 71 years,
and by their children, Lois, Paul, David, and Lucia.
Commemorative donations may be made to: The
A. Vaughan Abercrombie Memorial Fund, c/o Dr. Thomas
18
M. Richard, National Association of Congregation
Christian Churches, P.O. Box 288, Oak Creek, WI
53154-0288.
The R ev. Dr. A rvel M. Steece, the R ev. Dr. Tom
R ichard, and Jim Hopkins contributed to this report.
•
Harold G. Frentz
Harold G. “Hal” Frentz of Downey
Park, Calif., died June 26.
Hal was born March 22, 1919,
in Randolph, Wis., and grew
up in Waseca, Minn. He played
sousaphone and was on the
gymnastics team at Waseca High
School, and he moved to California
the day after his graduation in 1937.
In a 40-year career at the Bank of
America, Hal rose to the position of senior vice president,
wrote a textbook on finance, and pioneered systems and
procedures that are still used in the financial services
industry. He was also a pillar of his community, active in
Kiwanis, the Salvation Army, the YMCA, the Huntington
Park Water Board, and as a Civil Service commissioner.
But it was in decades of selfless service to the National
Association of Congregational Christian Churches that he
became a familiar face and a reliable partner to thousands
of Congregationalists across the country.
He was a godly man who led by example. When the
Huntington Park Congregational Church decided to
close its doors, he established an endowment fund for the
proceeds of the sale and an investment account for the
Cal-West Association for the funds that Huntington Park
donated them.
He was part of the National Association for many years,
working on the Finance Board and the Financial Services
Committee. Hal also provided financial advice to the
International Congregational Fellowship.
His dedication to the NACCC was legendary. At the
time of his final illness, Hal was in the midst of updating
Financial Services Committee materials for the NA annual
meeting. From his hospital bed he asked his daughter
Diane, “Did you get the updated forms e-mailed to
Tom King?”
He is survived by his wife, Elsie, to whom he was married
for almost 69 years, as well as by two daughters, Diane and
Joan, and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Memorial donations may be made to the Huntington
Park Kiwanis Club, c/o Elsie Frentz, 10035 Haledon #1,
Downey, CA 90240.
Tom K ing, Ed Millar, and the R ev. Douglas Brandt
contributed to this report.
•
Elizabeth Perry Walter
Elizabeth Perry Walter
of Demorest, Ga., died
on June 4, 2009, at the
age of 102.
Born in Worcester,
Mass., on May 22,
1907, she received a
bachelor’s degree from
Mt. Holyoke College in 1929 and was also a graduate of
the Yale School of Nursing. While at Yale, she met her
husband James E. Walter. The Walters came to Demorest
in 1949 when Dr. Walter was named president of Piedmont
College, a position he held for 33 years.
During Mrs. Walter’s 60-year association with Piedmont,
which spanned more than half of the school’s 111-year
history, she contributed to the college in many ways. In
addition to her work as college nurse for many years at
no salary, she and her husband welcomed students from
all over the world to the campus and into their home.
Later, they established the Walter International Student
Scholarship Fund. She also supported to the music program
and the Harry Butman Chair of Philosophy and Religion.
In 2008 the NACCC presented her with the Donna
Alexander Award.
Elizabeth Walter was a member of the MethodistCongregational Federated Church in Demorest, where a
memorial service was held on June 1. She is survived by
two sons and their wives, five grandchildren, and ten greatgrandchildren; she also is fondly remembered by many
generations of Piedmont alumni.
R ev. Dr. A shley Cook Cleere contributed to
this report.
the
•
Join The 1620 Society and Leave A Faithful
Legacy to Branching Out
You can support the
NACCC’s Branching
Out campaign and help
ensure a vibrant future
for
Congregational
churches
by
remembering
the
National Association of Congregational Christian
Churches in your estate plan. Through a deferred
gift, you can tailor your charitable giving to fit your
individual circumstances while also reducing personal
income and estate taxes.
To recognize individuals who have made a provision
for future giving to the NACCC, the Congregational
Foundation created The 1620 Society. Here is how you
can join The 1620 Society and leave a faithful legacy to
the Branching Out campaign:
Include the NACCC in your will or living trust.
Designate the NACCC on your life insurance policy.
Make the NACCC a beneficiary of your Individual
Retirement Account (IRA). Establish a life income gift,
such as a charitable gift annuity, and continue to receive
income throughout your lifetime.
For more information, please contact NACCC Chief
Financial Officer Dan Drea at (800) 262-1620, ext. 14,
or e-mail [email protected].
19
LEAD
MISSIONARY SOCIETY
NEWS AND NEEDS
FOLLOW
Linda Miller, Editor
Missionaries attending
the Annual Meeting
We had a huge representation of
NACCC missions in attendance
at this year’s annual meeting
in Milwaukee!
For International Missions, we
had the Rev. Georgi Zhelev from
Union of Evangelical Congregational
Churches in Bulgaria; Juana Santos
from Panamerican Institute in
Mexico; the Rev. Jaime and Linda
Julian from CMFE—Philippines;
the Rev. SaDo, from Congregational
Church of Myanmar; and Kat Roesch
and Judith Gonzalez, who represented
Mission Mazahua. Pilgrim’s Presence–
Kenya and Travancore Church
Council–India also had displays with
local representation.
Kat Roesch and Judith Gonzalez
For National Missions, we had
Ella Smith for Morgan Scott Project;
the Rev. Dr. Loring Carpenter from
Seafarer’s Friend; the Rev. Tom and
Sharon Gossett from Indian Trails;
Dr. Reginald Nichols and Detrice
Johnson from Piney Woods School;
the Rev. Dr. Gary DeLong from
Maine Sea Coast Mission; as well as
Alicia Nielson and Nedra Lawson
from Bread of Life Mission.
Dr. Nichols and Detrice Johnson
Rev. Dr. Gary DeLong
Nedra Lawson and Alicia Nielsen
Georgi Zhelev and Juana Santos
Ella Smith
Rev. Jaime and Linda Julian and Linda Freud
Rev. Dr. Loring Carpenter
For Recommended Missions, we
had the Rev. Jim Powell from Happy
Life Children’s Home; the Rev.
Charles Sagay from Mission School of
Hope; Julie Zaragoza from Fishers of
Men; and Steve Mossburg from GAP/
Canaan Ministries.
Rev. Jim and Sharon Powell
Rev. SaDo
20
Rev. Tom and Sharon Gossett
LEAD
FOLLOW
hand-held pencil sharpeners, color
pencils and rulers, and water colors
and brushes.
Jeff Robie and Rev. Charles Sagay
Missionary Society with Julie Zaragoza
(lower right)
Specific needs are:
Panamerican Institute: Scientific
calculators, geometry set with
compass, white lab coats, Brother
electric typewriters correctable film
1030 ribbons (AX series), Smith
Corona electronic typewriter ribbons
(XL series).
Bread of Life Mission: 1½" binders,
composition books, prong folders and
pencil boxes.
Still available are the Missionary
Society shirts (green and black) for
$20, as well as the Missionary Society
Alumni 2010 “Children in Mission”
Calendar for $15. Both will make
great Christmas presents! Contact
Linda Miller at the NACCC Office.
Morgan Scott Project: Jumbo fat
pencils and spiral notebooks.
A Big Thank You
Christ to the Villages is still in need
of a school bus.
Prayer Requests
Steve Mossburg
School Time
As parents preparing your children
for school in the fall, you have begun
to purchase school supplies. Some
of our missions are also preparing
for students in the fall. They are:
Panamerican Institute, Bread of
Life Mission, Morgan Scott Project,
Rebecca Mackish Mission, Maine Sea
Coast Mission.
They all need: Backpacks/book
bags, #2 pencils, erasers, scissors,
blue/black/red pens, crayons, glue,
permanent/washable/f luorescent/
dry-erase markers, notebooks, wideruled/college-ruled notebook paper,
hand sanitizer, reams of copy paper,
Missionary Society Shirts
and Calendars
June, July, and August were very
busy months with five missionaries
visiting NACCC churches. Many
thanks to all the people willing to
host, transport and care for these
missionaries, and churches willing
to provide time and space for the
missionaries to share their stories.
The people of the Philippines are
dealing with flooding from their
recent encounter with Typhoon
Isang. The hardest hit areas are the
central and southern part of the
country. Jaime Julian of Christian
Mission in the Far East has asked for
your prayers.
Special thanks to Linda Freud
and the Cal-West Association, who
scheduled two weeks in Southern
California for Jaime and Linda Julian;
to the Rev. Beth Faeth, who scheduled
five days in Minnesota for the Rev.
SaDo; and to Rick Bauzenberger, who
helped in many ways in scheduling,
transporting and hosting the Rev.
SaDo in the Milwaukee area.
During the NACCC 2009 Annual
Meeting, there was a coup in Honduras.
Luz Hernandez from our mission
in Honduras has asked for prayers
for peace.
For more information on any of these
missions, or to make a donation to
any of the above, please contact
Linda Miller at the NACCC office.
(800) 262-1620, ext. 13.
Ruth Branch from Rebecca
Mackish Memorial Mission is now in
hospice care. Ruth and Barbara, her
daughter, can use prayers during this
difficult time.
The Missionary Society, NACCC
PO Box 288
Oak Creek, WI 53154
Keep all our missionaries in prayer,
for their needs are ongoing.
For a complete listing of NACCC
mission projects, please go to our
Web site: www.naccc.org and click
on “Missions.”
21
College Notes
I
Bread
t is not common that the aroma of freshly baking bread
wafts through the Olivet Congregational Church; but it
did, daily, during the annual Intensive Learning Term of
Olivet College—a three-week concentrated semester that
follows the two regular semesters. During the ILT, students
take one or two courses, usually more exotic than those
offered during the regular school year, and often taught at
locations away from the college classrooms—locations such
as our church meetinghouse.
Which brings us back to the smell of baking
bread. I could not help but notice, so
I sniffed my way to what was
happening in our newly-updated
kitchen and reception hall.
Some 20 students were
studying the “Culture
and Science of Bread,”
taught by Dr. Cynthia
Noyes, the head of
Olivet’s
Sociology
and
Anthropology
department, and Dr.
Suzanne Lewis of the
Chemistry
department.
This course looked at
the science of bread, the
technologies that are used to
make it, and at the place of
bread in various cultures around
the world. They studied not only
their text book but also bread recipe
books. Lectures continued while the
bread was kneaded and shaped, baked and cooled.
I was invited to sit in on the lectures, and what was even
more satisfying, to sample the students’ work each day. One
day there was basic yeast bread, the next sourdough, then
Asian bread—and so it went, day after day! On the final
day students were free to select their own recipes, and once
again I was given delicious samples.
One of our church members, Laura Borland Maas,
a literature and poetry professor at the college and a teacher
of our Adult Sunday School class, makes fresh bread for
Communion each month for our church. With that model
in mind, it occurred to me that it would be a pleasure for
folks attending the Central Association of Congregational
Christian Churches and Ministers, meeting at our church,
22
by Jack Brown
to partake of Communion using bread which had been
prepared by the students.
For me this symbolized the bread which is Christ. It had
been prepared with attention and offered to me in grace.
It was enjoyed by our company. It gave us strength to serve
and worship. It hinted at providence—God’s manna for
God’s people in the desert. It tasted great and satisfied us.
It became a material metaphor for Christ Himself, our
Bread of Life.
I shared some of this information with those
receiving Communion at the association meeting,
and they were pleased at the product and
at the special circumstances of
its origin. The teachers were
informed of this, but I am
not sure that word got
to the students. That,
too, reminds me that
we will not always
know how that which
we create and share
may ultimately be
used. We are all
students—that is, we
are all in process in
our servanthood, and
God can even use our
first, primitive efforts as
a means of blessing.
I was not asked to help
grade the efforts of the
students, but I would have
easily given out all A’s—as God does with us when we share
what we have, especially ourselves.
The r ev. Jack BroWn is senior
minister of the Olivet Congregational
Church and adjunct professor of
Religion at Olivet College.
Benediction
“A Sublime Destiny Still Awaits”
… The ecclesiastical principles that we shall advocate, are indicated by our
name. Simple and unpretending as are our principles of Congregationalism,
no one can study their history without being struck with the vast amount of
profound thought employed in their development; and with their intimate
connexion with the progress of civil and religious liberty. Nor do we doubt
that a sublime destiny still awaits them. Yet, though we shall feel it to be our
duty to explain and defend them according to the best of our abilities, we shall
endeavor ever to do it in a Catholic spirit, never exalting external forms above
those higher principles of holiness and truth by which all true believers are
united to God….
Harriet Beecher Stowe Center, Hartford, CT
We are fully persuaded that the great work of Christianity in regenerating
human society, and removing the abuses that sin has caused, is but begun.
Its mission will not be fulfilled till idolatry, caste, slavery, political despotism,
intemperance, impurity and all other abominations of sin are swept from the
face of the earth….
From the inaugural editorial of The Congregationalist, Friday, May 25, 1849,
editors Edward Beecher, Joseph Havens Jr., and Increase N. Tarbox
Pastorates and Pulpits
RECENT CALLS
Ozaukee Congregational Church of
Grafton, Wis., has called the Rev. Rob
Fredrickson as minister of youth.
IN SEARCH
• Senior Ministers
Congregational Church of Sun City
Sun City, Ariz.
First Congregational Church of Salida
First Congregational Church of Wayne,
Salida, Calif.
Mich., has called the Rev. Thomas
First
Congregational Church
Healey as senior minister.
Pleasant Valley, Conn.
First Congregational Church of
Thomas Edison Congregational Church
Wauwatosa, Wis., has called the Rev.
Fort Myers, Fla.
Barry Szymanski as associate minister of First Congregational Church
pastoral care and spiritual formation.
Nantucket, Mass.
Carmel Union Congregational Church
United Church of Marco Island, Fla., has
Carmel, Maine
called the Rev. Richard Adair as senior
Sawyer Memorial Congregational Church
minister.
Jonesport, Maine
Becket Federated Church/First
Saunders Memorial Cong. Church
Little Deer Isle, Maine
Congregational Church of Becket,
Mass., has called the Rev. Kevin Smail
Rockland Congregational Church
Rockland, Maine
as senior minister.
First Congregational Church
First Congregational Church of Crossville,
Saugatuck, Mich.
Tenn., has called the Rev. Earl
Colonial Church of Edina
Crutchfield as senior minister.
Edina, Minn.
Second Congregational Church
Ashtabula, Ohio
West Spring Creek Cong. Church
Corry, Pa.
First Congregational Church
Bennington, Vt.
First Congregational Church
Tacoma, Wash.
Warden Community Church
Warden, Wash.
• Part-Time Ministers
Second Congregational Church
Jewett City, Conn.
Big Woods Congregational Church
Warrenville, Ill.
Pilgrim Congregational Church
Bloomfield Hills, Mich.
Candor Congregational Church
Candor, N.Y.
As of August 22. For more information
on these positions call the NACCC office,
(800) 262-1620 or go to www.naccc.org.
23
8473 South Howell Avenue
Oak Creek, WI 53154-0288
Anchorage
Kenai Fjords Tours
2010 Annual
Meeting
Destination: