 Greetings, friends. Welcome to CTUCC Conference Cast for May 22, 2014, the regular podcast of the Connecticut Conference of the United Church of Christ. Whoever you are and wherever you may be on life's journey at this very moment, you are welcome here. We begin this week's conference cast with this meditation from the Reverend Tamara Morland, Northwest Central Regional Minister. In the 10th chapter of his second letter to the church in Corinth, the apostle Paul had this to say about how Christ's followers should live by a different standard. For though we live in the world, we don't wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power. A few days ago, I went to the public library with my 11-year-old daughter to complete a homework assignment. On the way to the computer lab, we walked past people reading books and magazines amidst the serenity that is unique to libraries. The computer lab was nearly unoccupied, so my daughter and I settled in. It took us a bit longer to get started as we had some trouble with the flash drive. We managed to solve the problem, but not before we noticed a man in the computer lab who was having an intense conversation. He was neatly dressed and well groomed and wore a blue cap that had USA on the front. My daughter and I assumed he had a cell phone or a Bluetooth device in his ear because his conversation was quite emphatic. After a while, I realized that he did not have a Bluetooth device or a cell phone. He had been in dialogue with himself about a variety of things, including war tactics. No wonder the computers in that area were available. It was amazing to me that this man, who did not look out of the ordinary, was in a world of his own. I'd wondered if this man had served our country and a branch of the armed forces in the not too distant past. If he was a veteran, what had he seen and what haunted him now? This encounter stayed with me longer than usual because it involved my daughter. It required a lengthy conversation on the way home and ultimately some bedtime prayer for the man in the library. As we prayed, I was reminded of a song I learned in my grandmother's church. I am on the battlefield for my Lord. This African American hymn is about life in Christ and spiritual warfare. Many followers of Christ are indeed in a battle over the gospel, religious freedom, full inclusion of all people, social justice issues, and equality for women beyond pay and the pulpit. Yet some of us have grown weary. Some of us are tired of fighting what seemed to be perpetual and cyclical battles. Some of us have laid down our weapons and entered a world of our own making. Some of us have become casualties of war, perhaps injured not physically but spiritually, and find ourselves far away from Christ who first called us softly and tenderly. Thank God our story doesn't end there. We, my friends, are an Easter people who are known for rising anew, worshipping God, and serving humanity. Here is a prayer for this week. Let us pray for men and women and children who have become casualties of some kind of war, and for those who serve our country and our God faithfully. Amen. This is the sound of more than 100 youth and adults from all around the conference seeking renewal and finding it at the fourth annual youth revival last weekend at Dixwell Avenue, United Church of Christ in New Haven. Speaking on the theme of vitality, Josiah Strickland of Faith Church UCC in Hartford, and Lily Appleton of the Mystic Congregational Church UCC, spoke of finding strength in the face of bullying and in taking a cross-pacific journey to meet people from another culture. Associate Conference Minister for Youth and Young Adults, the Reverend Day McAllister said she had just three words for the assembly, and they were good ones. So if we want to be vital, if we want to be true, and we really want to do this thing called faith, I'm just suggesting that maybe, just maybe, we could pick up these, maybe just maybe we could agree today that we're going to be, and not just show up. Maybe we could agree today that we're going to keep it real. Forget faking the fall. Dr. Street said it the best way. Sometimes we're just going to have to be okay with it. Put a little dirt on it. If we're willing to do those two things, we'll experience in a new way starting today what it feels like to be both with and with children. That's the only two things me and my actual annual sky. Next year's fifth annual Youth Revival will be held at the First Congregational Church UCC in Bloomfield, and we've just published a summary video of the revival to our YouTube channel. So be sure to check it out at youtube.com slash ctucc. Last Sunday, the Summers Congregational Church UCC dedicated their fourth meeting house built in the 29 months after fire claimed their previous house of worship on New Year's Day in 2012. Let this be a place for gathering the people of God, they prayed. A place for proclaiming the gospel for word and sacrament. A place for bringing life and hope to us and to this community. We released a new edition of Vantage Point this week. Conference minister, the Reverend Kent Solati talked with the leadership team from clergy camp, celebrating that event in which 26 pastors and ministers renewed themselves last week with a couple days of prayer and play, rising to new heights on the ropes course and singing from the heart. Reverend Solati also interviewed Ann and Tim Hughes, Silver Lake's co-directors to learn more about that summer program and how it changes lives. Check it out. You'll find it online at youtube.com slash ctucc or on our own website at ctucc.org. We also have an essay on our website from the Reverend Dr. Robert LaRochelle, who has literally written the book on what it means to be a part-time pastor of a full-time church. As an increasing number of congregations call clergy on a part-time basis, he urges more conversation and adaptation to meet the special needs of those pastors and those churches. The full-time church with a part-time pastor is challenged to confront directly what all churches really must, he writes. What does it mean to be a shared priesthood of all believers, a faith community not relying on the minister to do minister things? This is the key shift that must occur as a congregation envisions the move from full to part-time ministry. You'll find more on these stories, including the Youth Revival and Vantage Point videos on our website. Plus these, Hartford Seminary presented an honorary doctorate to the Reverend Don Steinle, retired Executive Director of the Christian Activities Council at their graduation ceremonies last week. And you'll also learn about how we'll slow down the conference's communications ministry this summer as I go on sabbatical. To learn more, and to see all the headlines, you can always visit us at ctucc.org slash news. That pushes my buttons. A workshop on handling difficult behavior in ministry is May 28th in East Hampton, Massachusetts. The Connecticut Conference Choir, which includes you or anyone else who'd like to come and sing, will enjoy a musical retreat at Silver Lake May 30th and 31st. Learn about environmental hazards, keeping our churches and homes safe on May 31st in Deep River. An online book discussion, Children's Ministry in the Way of Jesus, begins on June 2nd. And golfers, go get your clubs ready for the 8th annual Silver Lake Golf Tournament on June 3rd in Waterbury. You can always learn more about what's coming up in the Connecticut Conference by visiting us at ctucc.org slash events. We conclude today with this spirited Wednesday thought from the Reverend Eric Anderson, Minister of Communications and Technology for the Connecticut Conference. Things don't always go as planned, and that was true of this week's spirited Wednesday reflection. Sometimes a little more effort and a little prayer will cover the gap, but sometimes it takes more than that. Sometimes renewal and revival cries out for nothing less than resurrection. And so Jesus' assurance means so much to me. I will not leave you orphaned. I am coming to you. And that brings this conference cast to a close. Thanks to Tamara Morland for her reflection and to GarageBand for our music. Primary funding for conference cast comes from your congregation's gifts to our church's wider mission, Basic Support, changing lives through the United Church of Christ. This is Eric Anderson, the Minister of Communications and Technology for the Connecticut Conference of the United Church of Christ, praying that your days this week may be filled with the presence, the guidance, and the grace of God.