2020 Annual Meeting
54th Annual Meeting of the Southeast Conference“Reflecting on our Past, Focusing on our Future” –
Welcome to an exciting gathering of the Southeast Conference! We are delighted to have Rev. Traci Blackmon with us as a keynote speaker and preacher. We are also delighted to offer a special youth program for all ages. See the tab below for all the details and required forms.
Special Guest
Rev. Traci Blackmon
Associate General Minister of Justice & Local Church Ministries
United Church of Christ
Rev. Dr. Traci Blackmon’s life calling is to serve God and the church in ways that encourages us to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly in fellowship with all believers.
Option Excursion: Because Montgomery, AL offers a wonderful opportunity to learn about the history of slavery and civil rights struggles, there is an optional excursion Friday morning to see some of the historical places around the city. Check out the tab below for details.
Delegates: According to the Bylaws, each church is entitled to three (3) lay delegates. Churches with over one hundred members are entitled to one (1) additional lay delegate for each 100 members or fraction thereof – up to ten (10) lay delegates. In addition, all authorized ministers with standing in the Southeast Conference are considered voting delegates. However, visitors are most welcome to register and attend all aspects of the Annual Meeting.
Tentative Schedule
Friday – June 19
- 9:00 – 11:00 Set up Expo
- 9:00 – 12:00 Optional Bus Tour of Montgomery
- 12:00 Registration opens
- Expo Opens
- Lunch
- 1:30 Opening with song and praise
- 2:00 First Plenary Session
- 3:15 Break
- 3:30 Workshops
- 4:45 Break
- 5:00 Dinner
- 6:30 Worship with Combined Choirs – Rev. Traci Blackmon preaching
- 8:00 Ice Cream Social
- Youth – Chat with Rev. Blackmon
- Youth Hang Time
SATURDAY – June 20
- 8:15 – 8:45 Prayer and Praise
- 9:00 Workshops
- 10:15 Break
- 10:30 Keynote – Rev. Traci Blackmon
- 12:00 Lunch with Celebrations
- 1:30 Second Plenary Session
- 3:00 Worship – with Mass Choir and Holy Communion
- 4:30 Meeting Adjourned
For those remaining in Montgomery for the evening – connecting for dinner
SUNDAY – June 21
Worship Options
- Community Congregational UCC (10:45 am)
- Unity United Church of Christ (10 am)
- First Congregational Christian UCC (11 am)
Special Excursion Option – Driving Tour of Montgomery
- Friday June 19, 2020
- Time: 9:00 am – noon
- Cost: $23
Montgomery is a city that has been peculiarly touched by the great events of American history. The Southern Confederacy was formed here that set in motion our nation’s bloodiest cataclysm, the American Civil War. The Civil Rights movement swept across Montgomery in the decade from 1955 to 1965 and left many monuments in its passage buildings and places perhaps otherwise ordinary, but rendered extraordinary by the history made there. The events that occurred in this city during that decade powerfully contributed to developments that changed the entire structure of our national life. Our driving tour will allow you to see some of the most important of these sites. Our tour guide Jake is a child of the Civil Rights Movement and was an actual participant in the Selma to Montgomery Voting Rights March. He will provide us with a 3-hour itinerary is a driving tour of Montgomery historical site that can include some or all of the following site (1.) Dexter Parsonage Museum (2.) Rosa Parks Museum (3.) Civil Rights Memorial (4.) Freedom Rides Museum (5.) Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church (6.) The Legacy Museum (7.) The Alabama State Capitol (8.) Alabama State University (9.) The National Memorial for Peace and Justice. DON’T MISS IT.
Bus departs from Community Congregational UCC.
Workshops
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Agenda
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Program
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Leaders
Rev. Traci Blackmon, Associate General Minister of Justice & Local Church Ministries, The United Church of Christ
Until the lion tells the story, the hunter will always be the hero. ~ West African Proverb
Rev. Traci Blackmon is the Associate General Minister of Justice & Local Church Ministries for The United Church of Christ and Senior Pastor of Christ The King United Church of Christ in Florissant, MO. As a featured voice on many regional, national, and international platforms, Rev. Blackmon’s life work focuses on communal resistance to systemic injustice. Her response in Ferguson to the killing of Michael Brown resulted in national and international recognition, gaining her many audiences spanning the breadth of the White House to the Carter Center to the Vatican. Her work is now featured in several Ferguson Uprising documentaries. Appointed to the Ferguson Commission by Governor Jay Nixon and to the President’s Advisory Council on Faith-Based Neighborhood Partnerships for the White House by President Barack Obama, Rev. Blackmon is a recipient of the NAACP Rosa Parks Award; The Urban League of St. Louis Woman in Leadership Award; and the National Planned Parenthood Faith Leader Award, to name a few. Rev. Blackmon is listed as one of Ebony Magazine’s 2015 Power 100, and she is a featured writer in several Justice publications. Rev. Blackmon is a graduate of Leadership St. Louis and currently serves on the boards of The Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference, Chicago Theological Seminary, and WomanPreach! She has been named 2017 Citizen of the Year by The St. Louis American and as one of St. Louis’ 100 most influential voices. Rev. Blackmon currently resides in both St. Louis, MO and Cleveland, OH and is the proud mother of three adult children: Kortni Devon, Harold II, and Tyler Wayne Blackmon.
“I speak for the lions. And we are many!” ~ Rev. Traci D. Blackmon
Rev. Char Burch, Transitional Conference Minister, Southeast Conference
Originally from Eastern Pennsylvania, Char grew up in the United Church of Christ. She is a graduate of Davis and Elkins College in Elkins, WV; the University of Illinois, Chicago; and McCormick Theological Seminary, Chicago. Char has specialized in Interim Ministry, resulting in 36 years of serving as interim minister for local churches and interim conference staff positions in the Northern California-Nevada, Hawaii, Pacific Northwest, Illinois, Ohio, Missouri Mid-South, Penn Central, and Penn West Conferences. Char is delighted to now claim Pleasant Hill, Tennessee as her home with her husband, Larry. They are both active in their local church (Pleasant Hill Community Church, UCC) and various volunteer organizations.
Exhibitors
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About Our Hosts
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