Nebraska Conference Board of Directors
February 15, 2020 Meeting Summary
For our February board meeting we gathered on Zoom. Board chair Scott Jones opened with a reflection on love motivating our decisions and actions. We shared about the needs and celebrations of our congregations and leaders. Among those was the good news that Harvard UCC had received a Neighbors in Need Grant for a new ministry in community. And the Board voted to match it with a Conference grant.
Our Climate Change Toolkit had gone out to all the churches via our Conference Newsletter. Rev. Jessica Palys did great work on this. We heard that it has been shared by other conferences and is also being promoted by the national church. The Board will be following up with each church. Board members were assigned churches and clergy to contact.
Board Chair Scott Jones had to leave the meeting to conduct a funeral, so Vice Chair Lisa Hadler took over and sends the following report:
I had the pleasure of leading the February 2020 meeting of the Nebraska Conference Board of Directors, in my role as Conference Board Vice Chair. It was a great reminder of all the remarkable things happening in our conference, as we live out the gospel together. Here are some highlights:
We were reminded of the importance of supporting our larger church through our giving to Our Church’s Wider Mission. We sometimes need to be nudged to remember that in supporting to OCWM we are giving to our own work of mission. We are the Conference, and the National Setting—these are not entities to which we “send our money away”, but rather ways in which we, as the whole church, are doing the work of Christ in various settings. Churches are encouraged to give generously to OCWM and other offerings.
I was impressed with many of the initiatives taking place across our conference. There are congregations and individuals taking up the work of medical debt forgiveness, as has happened in churches in other parts of our nation. There will be more to come about this important work.
Some years ago, a fund was set up in honor of Clip Higgins, to help with financial assistance for seminary students, in hopes that they would begin their ministries serving Nebraska churches. That fund has been used recently, but efforts need to be made to clarify the criteria by which candidates qualify for funding. Barry Hemmerling and others are working to document these efforts, and make the Clip Higgins Fund better able to meet the needs of students and the churches of Nebraska. Many thanks to Barry for this work.
Annual Gathering is coming up, and I hope you’ve all got that on your calendar. We will meet in Grand Island this year, on June 12-14. Rev. Goodwin and Rev. Steve Mitchell, pastor of our congregation in Grand Island report that things are shaping up nicely for that event. Having hosted an Annual Gathering, I know how much time and energy goes into the planning and advance work, and I am grateful to Darrell and Steve for their efforts.
I’m very excited that we can welcome our new Conference Disaster Coordinator. The Rev. Coral Pamenter has agreed to take on this work, and we in Nebraska have learned in recent years just how important disaster relief efforts are. Coral lives in Thedford, where her husband, Les, is pastor of the Thomas County Parish. At our meeting, the Board voted to support her travel to Chicago for Disaster Coordinator Training. We also made our annual payment into Nebraska Volunteer Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD), a group community and government organizations who work together in situations of disaster. Coral will be our representative to the statewide VOAD, and to local VOADs as they are formed in response to local events of flooding, tornadoes, and other disasters. I’ve served on a VOAD in response to flooding in the community where I once served in Illinois, so I know how important this work is. Thank you, Coral, for being our voice, and hands, when and where we are needed.
We closed out our meeting with a discussion of where we are as a conference in terms of our living into the new Tri-Conference structure. Some disappointments were voiced about the locations of staff and offices. Staff explained the reasons why things may not be exactly what some were expecting. And we all agreed that there is more conversation to be had. Please remember that you are welcome to be in direct contact with Rev. Brigit Stevens, or Rev. Darrell Goodwin, with your own concerns—or, yes, joys—about our Nebraska Conference. We’re all still learning and growing together.
I’m grateful for the opportunity to serve as your Vice Chair. Having now led my first meeting, I am also grateful for the leadership of our Chair, Scott Jones. And I think I need more practice before I step into the Moderator’s seat. We are fortunate to have the professional and volunteer leadership that we have in the Nebraska Conference. Thank you all, for your support of all these efforts!
Peace,
Lisa
The Rev. Lisa A. Hadler
Vice Chair
Also note our other upcoming meeting dates (all Central Time):
April 4th – 10am-3pm, Kamp Kaleo, 46872 Willow Springs Rd, Burwell, NE
June 12 – Noon-?, meeting before the Annual Gathering at Grand Island UCC
Sept. 11-12 – Retreat from 3pm-3pm, Camp Comeca, 75670 Rd 417, Cozad, NE
Nov. 7 – 10am-3pm, Goehner Friedens UCC, 1010 Bessie St, Goehner, NE
At our April meeting we are preparing to discuss the education and training of ministers, youth and outdoor ministry, disaster response preparedness, and bylaws changes. Please let me know if you have a report for or request of the Board.
And please keep your conference staff and board of directors in your prayers, as we strive “to live into God’s extravagant welcome and advocate for justice, so that all know love, safety, belonging, and dignity.”
Peace,
Scott Jones
Conference Board Chair