In Case You Missed It - Church Conference Nov. 19th

Whew! What a full day for our clergy on Sunday, November 19th! I was pooped out, and I only did a portion of the activities that Pastor Gene and Deacon Deb did! They both showed up at SUM at 7:30 in the morning for our normal three services. Then, at 1:30, we started welcoming guests from other churches in our Farmington River Parish as we gathered for our annual church conference with our district superintendent, Rev. Alpher Sylvester. Immediately following that, Gene and Deb headed down the street for the town-wide Interfaith Thanksgiving Service at First Church at 6:00. That was a very long day for them, and I hope they’ve had time to recover.

So, back to our church conference. Our fellow parish churches contributed snacks, and I was pleased to see that everyone really mingled and didn’t just clump together with their own church groups. It’s nice to see some of the parish-wide activities start to pay off with familiar faces and people greeting each other by name.

At 2:30, we went up to the sanctuary for a brief service, where we were delighted to have Asher Scarlato playing the organ prelude and hymn for us. All clergy present participated in the service. Eileen Brogan shared our “One Great Thing” (it was really hard to pick just one, but I asked her to talk about the Adult Confirmation Class since she was a part of that). John, a member from Pleasant Valley, shared their success merging with the congregation from Winsted and how both churches have benefited from their joining. Mary from North Canton was effusive with her praise for the parish model and how much support they received from SUM from January through June while they were without a pastor. Copper Hill’s member, Judy, listed the many community events they have successfully resurrected after Covid even if they do them differently now. We were served communion, and Rev. Sylvester spoke briefly, commending all the laity for their continued support and efforts as we navigate the challenges before the church as a whole. Then all the churches split into separate spaces around campus for their individual church conference meeting.

Please read the minutes and reports here and the packet that was distributed for the meeting here. I want to draw your attention to three sections in the packet, specifically the SPR Church Evaluation Report, the Deacon Report, and the Nominations Report. The Church Evaluation Report (thanks, John Thomson, for all your work on it this year) serves as our own self-assessment “report card.” In my humble opinion, this could be given to anyone as an example of why they should come to SUM! Deacon Deb’s report was done in an interesting format, outlining various areas of interest by “looking back” and then “looking ahead.” This is another example of why everyone should join us at SUM! The Nominations report is a complete list of all committees and teams at SUM, including the chair/lead and the members, and serves as a great reference document for the upcoming year.

Thank you to the Hospitality Team for helping transition from church fellowship time to parish fellowship time! And thanks to all SUM’ers who were present to help move tables and chairs, provide a safety presence, greet visitors, and contribute to our SUM meeting. Most of us left by 5:00, and I consider the day a success. And it’s my last one since Sue Lemke will be taking over as Church Council Chair next year – thanks, Sue!!  (Just kidding – I’ll still be around to help 😊)

Jen Acheson