We invite our congregations to join us in a time of prayer and reflection to honor Juneteenth National Independence Day on Friday, June 19th. Writes Rev. Darrell Goodwin, Executive Conference Minister for the Southern New England Conference of the United Church of Christ:

At a time when our communities are hungry for hope, healing, and honest engagement with the ongoing work of racial justice, our churches have an opportunity to bear public witness. Prayer vigils are a tangible way for congregations to demonstrate that the Church remains relevant, responsive, and rooted in the work of building beloved community.

Gather in your sanctuaries and meeting spaces. Assemble online. Open your doors, both physically and virtually, to your communities, and pray. As we commemorate the day when the Emancipation Proclamation’s final enforcement was rendered, 900 days after it was first announced in 1862, may we continue to work for the freedom and justice that is still withheld from so many based on the color of their skin and their ethnic origins today.

The Southern New England Conference, UCC has compiled a set of resources and have graciously made it available to all the conferences of the United Church of Christ. Please utilize these resources, found in the link below, for your own Juneteenth Prayer Vigil for Freedom. And please share what your congregation is planning with your communities and the wider Southeast Conference at [email protected] or on our Facebook Page @Southeast Conference of the United Church of Christ.
https://www.sneucc.org/juneteenth-worship-resources-page

In a world where identity is generally constructed on labels, gathering information and learning about the designations of gender, gender identity, sexuality, and sexual orientation  is one of the most important ways we can honor one another. Jay Rice-Cranford is the Associate Pastor with the United Church of Cookeville. He is a Member in Discernment within the Southeast Conference. And holds both a Master of Divinity from Vanderbilt Divinity School and a Master of Science in Education with emphasis on Curriculum and Instruction. Jay was originally assigned female at birth (AFAB) and quickly believed the world got that wrong! After decades of living life, he found the language for understanding himself. From his own experience, he's developed the Gender 101 workshop to be used within our conversation and discernment process regarding becoming an Open and Affirming (ONA) Conference. 

If you missed our Open and Affirming Discernment Panel on May 2nd, you can watch the recording.  We will have more opportunities to participate in our discernment in the coming weeks. 

Rev. Kim Wood, Southeast Conference Minister invites you to reflect this Holy Week in how you can prepare for Jesus this week.  If you missed our conversation with Rev. Dr. Chris Davies, you can watch that video here.