 Greetings, friends. Welcome to CTUCC Conference Cast for March 6, 2015, 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 by Emily Hale, office manager here at United Church Center. In the second chapter of Mark's Gospel, Jesus warns that times are changing and compares them to how foolish it would be to patch an old cloak using new cloth. The two will shrink differently with time, and when the patch pulls away, the tear gets even bigger. Often I will find myself walking into the kitchen with a hungry belly and a desire to cook, and then I'll notice the dishes in the sink. I guess I should wash them. Or I'll open my email to respond to a person and get caught up reading all the new messages, forgetting that older one. And I can't tell you how many times this winter I've shoveled snow around my car and then proceeded to clear the snow from the car itself, dumping it onto the freshly cleared parking space. Seems a little backwards, yes? After all, why would one cut away a new piece of fabric to mend an old coat? Perhaps they've had that coat for years and have learned to love it. They know the softness of the fabric and the intricacies of that third button. Why change it entirely when it just needs mending, right? To completely replace the coat would be much more involved. Going to the store, finding the right fit, spending the money. Why bother? Yet what works for us today is not guaranteed to work for us tomorrow. Taking the right steps to get somewhere new is assuring that we're alive, we're awake, we're paying attention, and most notably, we're moving forward. That coat may need to be hung up before improperly mended. That snow may need to come off of the roof before I shovel. That hymn may need to be revived before the youth will sing along. That new member may need to be welcomed before potluck signups. That community won't come together as one before someone reaches out. It's certainly easier to operate under the familiar, but is what's familiar what's best? While in the moment it can seem like we're taking all the right steps to do something well, it is important to be sure steps are taken in the right order, and most essentially, that we're moving forward. Here is a prayer for this week. Bless us in this time of Lent. We know that it is easy to take shortcuts, yet we recognize that it is not always the best way. We ask that you be with us and guide us through each step that will lend us to better do your work. As we move closer into celebrating the renewal of spring and Easter, let us stop to appreciate what is happening right now. We are one with you, O God, and we are kept warm with the assurance of your love. We know that with you we are alive, we are awake, we are paying attention, and we are moving forward. Amen. Please hold in prayer the family and friends of the Reverend Michael McFarlane, a talented singer, pastor, and overseas missionary. He died on February 22nd at the age of 81. Please remember as well the family and friends of the Reverend Dr. Robert Batchelder, who brought education in ethics to the local church in Middlefield, to the Academy at Hartford Seminary, and to industry as a consultant and ethics officer for Lockheed. He died last December 14th at the age of 88. In the news this week, at Second Congregational Church UCC in Greenwich, a Valentine's Day dinner raised $135,000 to support Heart Care International, an organization which provides advanced cardiac treatment in places where such care is not generally available. HCI was founded by Second Church member Dr. Robert Micler, Surgeon-in-Chief at Montefiore Medical Center and Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York. Founded in 1994, HCI has always enjoyed the strong support of Second Church. We have a deep connection to HCI, as has passed to the Reverend Maxwell Grant. Its roots are part of the ongoing life of the church. Visitors to CTUCC.org on Wednesday discovered a brand new look to the Connecticut Conference's primary presence on the Internet. The new design is the result of months of work in the proclamation, identity, and communications team. Today's wider screens can accommodate the broader, looser layout, and the navigational elements have been simplified. There is still more work to do. A mobile version is still to come along with a more usable global site search feature and a new look for Silver Lakes website. So stay tuned. We've passed the $3,000 mark in our leadership studio campaign, and we know there were gifts coming which we haven't even been able to add to the total yet. We've had some questions, though, that we're very pleased to answer here on ConferenceCast. Is the leadership studio a real place, or is it on the Internet? It's a real place, located at United Church Center in Hartford on the ground floor, just off the main lobby. Wait, United Church Center? Where is that? United Church Center is the name of the Connecticut Conference's offices at 125 Sherman Street in Hartford's West End. Our near neighbor is Hartford Seminary. What will happen in the leadership studio? Is it a playground for video geeks? Well, of course it's a playground for video geeks. But video is a tool, and it's a tool that we can use to accomplish ministry. Small groups will be able to engage in live interactive workshops and learning experiences via the Internet here in the leadership studio. Rather than travel, skilled and knowledgeable presenters can teach and inspire via video links and live interactive technology, responding directly to participants who have gathered here. That sounds pretty good, but what if travel is difficult for me? Well, then the studio will be able to stream interactive workshops as well as accommodate real-world participants. So a local presenter may come physically to the leadership studio and engage with you in your home as well as with people around the state or the nation from here. Wow, what else will you do? We'll produce audio and video resources here. In fact, we already do through Vantage Point and Conference Cast. So can local church people use the leadership studio? Absolutely. If you have a project that might benefit, if you need a video stage or an audio recording, an interactive meeting space or a place to stream a workshop, let us know. We'll work together to find the time, the equipment, and the support that you need. Cool. So what really needs to be done? You're already using it, right? We're using it for video production work, yes. We don't have the equipment now for group interactive conferencing and we really do need to fix some holes in the wall. We need to keep outside noise down and we need to make it comfortable for visitors. So we really do need and we really do appreciate your help. You can contribute to the leadership studio campaign via razu at ctucc.org slash studio. And speaking of the studio, we're delighted to have conference archivist John Van Epps visit us here with this edition of Touchstones with History. February was the 350th anniversary of the renaming of New Netherlands as New York. What does this have to do with Connecticut? Much in every way. The first European discoverer of our state was Adrian Block, who explored the entire length of Long Island Sound and after whom Block Island is named. He also went up the Connecticut River, which he named the Fresh River as far inland as what is now Enfield. In accordance with European law, he claimed for Holland all the lands between the latitudes 40 and 45 degrees west of this Fresh River from what is now New Jersey to Canada. For years, there's been debate about whether Windsor, Hartford or Weathersfield was the first European settlement in Connecticut. The answer is the Dutch, who established Fort Good Hope at what is now called Dutch Point in Hartford, also known as Adrian's Landing. Dutch forts and settlements were also made in Brantford and Sabrec Point in accordance with the Charter of the Dutch West India Company for Manhattan, which was settled in 1624. To reinforce the claim, the Dutch governor purchased land from the natives around Dutch Point in early 1633. They even invited the pilgrims from Plymouth to settle in their area. In the meantime, the English had lost course for Virginia and landed further up the coast at Plymouth in 1619. Settlers from the Bay Colony began moving into our area in the 1630s without legal standing. The only valid English claim to the Connecticut River was a Warwick patent granted for the settlement of a plantation in Sabrec in 1635. Its governor, John Winthrop Jr., considered these other English settlers in the Hartford area to be squatters. Then, from 1639 on, other English colonies were settled along the shore from Guilford to Stamford, as well as the eastern part of Long Island, which was considered part of the New Haven Colony. Greenwich and the western half of Long Island were considered to be part of New Netherlands. But the British kept a common. Continued skirmishes continued with the English settlers in Hartford objecting to the trading between the Dutch and the natives. So in 1650, there was a treaty in Hartford with the Dutch governor, Peter Stuyvesant, accepting English claims in this area, but also recognizing the Dutch rights to the fort and lands in Hartford. Three years later, the English seized the fort. Since Connecticut had no legal right to anything, it purchased the Warwick patent from Sabrec, and John Winthrop Jr. became governor of the Connecticut Colony. Then in 1660, King Charles II was restored to the throne. John Winthrop Jr. rushed to England and was able to secure a royal charter for the Connecticut Colony. In 1664, the English seized New Amsterdam, and in 1665, renamed it New York. Meanwhile, the New Haven Colony was out in the cold. Because it had harbored the regicides, there was no chance of its receiving a royal charter. New Haven was to be united with the Connecticut Colony in Hartford. Their other choice was to become part of New York. They chose Hartford. So that's how Connecticut got its shape. On this anniversary of the Dutch losing New Netherlands to the English, this is your conference archivist, John Van Epps. Learn about radical hospitality with youth to be held March 9th in South Glastonbury. Clergy and laypeople have a truly valuable opportunity to learn about the ethics of ministry and church life with the UCC's general counsel, Don Clark. There will be a workshop for clergy on the morning of March 13th in Southington. And then there's the performance of clergy ethics the musical that evening in South Glastonbury. Reviews from those who've seen it are fantastic, so don't miss it. On Saturday the 14th, Don will lead a workshop on governing boards and safe conduct policies for church lay leaders in Middlefield. So make sure to get your place reserved for these special events. Young people can prepare to be a counselor in training at Silver Lake during a weekend conference which runs March 13th through 15th. Register now for Super Saturday. This day of workshops features keynote speaker, the Reverend Ruben Duran, who promotes new church development for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and was recently featured in the Christian century. This joint venture with the Massachusetts conference will be held March 21st in Ludlow, Massachusetts. The women's yoga and spirit retreat is at Silver Lake March 27th through the 29th. The maple sugaring weekend welcomes middle school age youth for an experience of the sweetness of creation, tapping trees and boiling sap as people have for hundreds of years. That also runs March 27th through the 29th. Stepping Stones offers part one of keeping our churches safe on April 9th in Hartford. And you can also register now for stewardship in the Changing Church from consumerism to generosity. This year's Ecumenical Stewardship event which runs April 17th and 18th in Boxborough, Massachusetts. Silver Lake Spring Action Weekend is May 1st through 3rd at our outdoor ministry center in Sharon. And the conference youth revival is May 3rd in Bloomfield. Registration is also open for the New England Association of the United Church Educators event running May 5th through 7th in Craigville, Massachusetts. To learn more about these events or to register visit us at ctucc.org slash events. Our spirited Wednesday thought comes from the Reverend Timothy Hout, pastor of the Deep River Congregational Church UCC. He remembers the night when the sixth grade teacher everyone feared Mrs. Knight glided gracefully across the floor at the school dads. Her face a light with a smile none of them had imagined. He writes, she was Jesus I think. Driven by love she fulfilled a covenant of perfection embodied the commandments that would make us all better perhaps even make the world better. We trembled at such a master honored her but then ah the dancing. And that brings this conference cast to a close. Thanks to Emily Hale for her reflection and to GarageBand for our music. Thanks to Debbie Kirk for providing the voice of the questioners in our little drama today. 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 Associate Conference Minister for Proclamation Identity and Communication 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. Okay ready to roll.