 Greetings, friends! Welcome to CTUCC Conference Cast for December 12, 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 Cecile Gilson, assistant to the Conference Minister. The 61st chapter of Isaiah begins with one of the Bible's great proclamations of a world soon to be transformed by the grace of God. God has sent me, says the prophet, to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and release to the prisoners, to comfort all who mourn, to give them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit. As I was reading words about proclaiming liberation to the captives, I was struck by how similar it sounds to Mary's Magnificat. Mary's song is one of my favorite passages, so it would come to mind quickly. I often find themes from the Hebrew scripture in the gospels and the stories of the early church. The traditions and stories that were passed from generation to generation told the story of a God who calls us to do great things. God has chosen us to do justice and to witness to God's love and power. It is a powerful story, one that is both awe-inspiring and overwhelming. The essence of the words and traditions that are passed on do not change, but the culture and environment that I experience caused me to reinterpret what I hear. These same words remind me that I cannot sit idly by while racism is still present in society. These words call upon me to have difficult conversations and to search my own soul as I find my way to true inclusion. These same words remind me that I cannot sit idly by while my neighbors are hungry or unemployed or lonely or in need of a friend. These same words remind me that I cannot sit idly by while the government and political bodies find it difficult to work together for the common good. These same words remind me that I cannot sit idly by while the earth is crying out in pain. In this season of Advent I await the birth of the one who has come to bring good news. I have hoped that this birth is a reminder of the ministry of engagement and presence that God has defined for me in the life and ministry of Jesus. I have hoped that our traditions and our new stories will help me find a way to do the work God has called me to do. Our prayer for this week is an ancient Latin proverb, one well-suited to this Advent season. Dumb spiro sparrow, while I breathe I hope. Amen. We offer our prayers this week for all who cry for justice around this nation and around the world. And as we approach the second anniversary this Sunday of the tragic shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School here in Newtown, Connecticut, we pray that God's peace might come to those who grieve as we continue the work to make this a world in which children need not fear. In the news this week, nearly 2,000 years ago Christians in Greece sat at table together for something they called an agape meal, sharing simple bread and wine in the spirit of agape, one of the Greek words for love. Last Sunday evening, the first congregational church UCC of Atlantic recalled those ancestors and those of the Moravian Church, the oldest Protestant denomination, as they held a love feast in the Moravian style. There were hymns and prayers in the sanctuary and there was bread and coffee shared in the pews with all. Pastor the Reverend Richard Haverly emphasized that Jesus in his ministry regularly shared meals with all kinds of people. Having table fellowship is a way of overcoming differences and just being with people, he said. I think you relate to people on a different level, so this is an opportunity to do that in church. So there in Willimantic, a gathering of all people, open and welcoming to share in the love that Jesus taught us. Last week, 140 UCC leaders gathered in Savannah, Georgia for an annual conference on the authorization of ministry. But events in Missouri and New York summoned them to speak out on the heartbreaking realities and ongoing challenges of racism. Their open letter to the United Church of Christ reads in part, In the season of the year that is intended to be joy filled, we weep because we live in a culture that tolerates senseless acts of violence that unjustly target certain sectors of our communities. Benjamin Franklin said, Justice will not be served until those who are unaffected are as outraged as those who are. We are outraged. On Christmas Eve, we lift the Christ candle in the midst of our people, proclaiming the birth of the one who is the light that shines in the darkness. The one who calls us to be the light that shines in the darkness of a world still filled with hopelessness, hatred, sorrow, and violence. With arms open and hands up, we welcome the one who brings hope, love, joy, and peace. It is our prayer that the grace given freely by our Savior Jesus Christ is personally yours. This coming June will be the 30th General Synod of the United Church of Christ, the Denominations Biennial Gathering. In addition to its delegates, the Connecticut Conference will send a group of 15 young people between ages 13 and 18 to participate in the Youth at Synod program, which runs parallel to the meeting. Youth at Synod will participate in worship and plenary sessions, follow the processes as Synod delegates consider their actions, and join in work and justice projects. This trip is perfect for youth who are leaders in your congregation, such as gift-squared participants or those who are thinking about working for God, said Debbie Kirk, a member of the conference's Youth and Young Adult Ministry team. I hope you will identify a candidate and share this exciting information today. And so do I. It's been a while, but we're delighted to revive a conference cast feature by welcoming conference archivist John Van Ips to the studio today with a new edition of Touchstones with History. Connecticut secedes from the U.S. Sound far-fetched, but that was a possibility in 1814. Our country was in the midst of the War of 1812 against Great Britain and on the side of Napoleonic France. New England's shipping and commerce had suffered greatly with the entire coast subject to a British blockade. Here the war was derided as Mr. Madison's war. The Connecticut governor even refused to call out the militia for a proposed invasion of Canada. Now with the defeat of Napoleon, the British could focus its forces against the U.S. Washington was burned and Baltimore was bombarded in the fall of 1814. In Connecticut over 100 merchant ships were burned in Essex and there was the Battle of Stonington. In this climate there was a call for the states to convene in Hartford to discuss their grievances and to seek redress, even changes to the U.S. Constitution. Some had opposed the Louisiana purchase with its extension of slavery and the embargo act of 1807, which was seen as the president exceeding his executive authority. Sound like today? The call for this meeting stated that there was to be nothing repugnant to the obligations of the Union and no disloyalty to the Union's interests. There were a few delegates, especially from Massachusetts, who did favor secession. However, what most delegates sought was to determine a proper course consistent with their obligations to the U.S. They met in Hartford in December 1814. The result of this Hartford Convention was a document which condemned President Madison's policies, stated their grievances, and proposed several remedies and constitutional amendments. At no point did they approve secession from the Union. Several of these proposed amendments make sense today or have been adopted. These proposals were only one term for the president, no two successive presidents from the same state, for representation to be based on free persons rather than including three-fifths of the number of slaves who could not vote, but were included to boost their state's representation in Congress. This was later approved. Other proposals were that the state militia of the Guard be under the control of the state, not the federal government, and that war could not be declared without a two-thirds vote by Congress. These sensible proposals were to be presented to Congress in early 1815. However, in the meantime, General Andrew Jackson had a resounding victory over the British at the Battle of New Orleans, and word was received on this side of the pond that the British and U.S. had agreed to peace with the Treaty of Ghent. So the country hailed this resolution and derided the Hartford Convention as an unpatriotic act of treason. In Connecticut, this led to a rapid decline in the Federalist Party which supported our standing order and the rise of those Jeffersonian Republicans and the Toleration Party. This resulted in a new constitution and the abolition of our church's status as the established church in 1818, so much for being on the wrong side of history. You'll find more on all these stories at ctucc.org slash news. Interdependence is a pre-existing condition. We need one another. We believe that together we can accomplish more than we would as individual churches working in isolation from one another. This is our vision, and we invite you to become a partner in helping this vision come alive in new and dynamic ways. Become a friend of the conference. You can give online at ctucc.org slash donate. Consider joining the Farmington Valley Association's mission trip with Simply Smiles to the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation in South Dakota. The trip is in May, and there's an information session in Avon on January 7th. Stepping Stones returns on January 15th with Lenten activities for all generations in Tallinn. If you're a high school age youth who's thinking about working for God for a living, there's a retreat for you at Silver Lake the weekend of January 30th. There are still openings in this year's confirmation retreats. If you're leading one of these classes, consider bringing your group to Silver Lake for a weekend with other young people. They'll be held in January, February, and March. Get ready for summer with a workshop called Unpacking Vacation Bible School on February 10th in West Hartford. The Stepping Stones Workshop Church Asset Mapping for Faith Formation will be February 26th in Milford, and you can learn more about all the Stepping Stones workshops at ctucc.org slash Stepping Stones. Young people have an opportunity to prepare to be a counselor in training at Silver Lake with a weekend conference March 13th through the 15th. Get Super Saturday on your calendar. This day of workshops features keynote speaker, the Reverend Ruben Duran, who works on promoting new church development for the evangelical Lutheran Church in America. This joint venture with the Massachusetts Conference UCC will be held March 21st in Ludlow, Massachusetts. And there's lots more on the calendar. Maple sugaring, stewardship, spring action, and even the next youth revival in May. You can learn more about these events or register for many of them at ctucc.org slash events. Our spirited Wednesday thought comes from the Reverend Paul Bryant Smith, director of spiritual care at St. John's Riverside Hospital in Yonkers, New York. Two years ago, he found himself as the guest preacher for the day, leading worship on the third Sunday of Advent, the Sunday of Joy, at a church which was grieving the loss of one of their members killed just two days before at Sandy Hook Elementary School. He writes, amid such tragedy, joy felt a long way off. But the church came together to hear ancient words of assurance and sing hymns of expectant joy. We were reminded that the rejoicing of the third Sunday of Advent comes to us in the midst of sorrow. Joy is not marred by sorrow, but joy breaks into our sorrow, even as the light breaks into our darkness and is not overcome. And that brings this conference cast to a close. Thanks to Cecile Gilson for her reflection, and to GarageBand for our music. Additional music this week from Valerie Timmons, John Hinckley, and David Jarvis. 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.