 Greetings, friends. Welcome to CTUCC Conference Cast for April 10, 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 from Charlie Cooke-en-Brod, with Associate Conference Minister. In the fifth chapter of Matthew, during the sermon on the Mount, Jesus told his givers to do this very simple and very challenging thing. But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. This year I received a list of 40 things to do for Lent. The suggestion for day two was to pray for your enemies. I embraced this suggestion and made time for intentional prayer during my day. Later that evening, as I was reading before going to bed, not thinking about this at all, a thought popped into my head. What about the enemy within? The suddenness and clarity of this question surprised me. It was as if God was asking me a question. Perhaps God was. But that is for another reflection to explore. Do I have an enemy within? My first thought was that I am quick to anger over small things that offend my sense of how things should be, and that this robs me of my appreciation for my many, many blessings. Does this impulse arise from an enemy within? Wow, I thought. Where does this lead to? I recalled Alexander Solzhenitsyn's words about the evil we all have in our hearts. Here is what he wrote in the Gula Gakpelego. If only it were so simple, if only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the lying, dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being, and who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart? Is this the enemy within? Does this mean that when I pray for my enemies, I need to pray for myself? Jesus said to love our enemies. Jesus said to love our neighbors as ourselves. Jesus said to let the person who is at sin cast the first stone. Didn't Jesus spend 40 days in the wilderness coming to terms with the enemy within? Oy. Suddenly Easter is in this. Easter is about facing the choice between slow death and radical transformation and choosing radical transformation. Dividing the world into allies and enemies is the road to slow death. Praying for our enemies, whether without or within, seeking reconciliation rooted in justice. This is to die to an old way of being and to be resurrected in new life. Hallelujah. Christ is risen. Here is a prayer for this week. God help me to love my enemies, even and especially the enemy within me. Amen. On hillside overlooks and on coastal beaches, in cemeteries and on church lawns, on riversides and on the banks of ponds, they greeted Easter day as the sun's first light cascaded over the land. With morning well advanced, they streamed into meeting houses around the state. The perfume of lilies, daffodils, tulips and a wealth of other flowers filled the sanctuaries. The joyful melodies of organs, strings and brass swelled the assembled voices. The celebration of Christ's resurrection had arrived. There were more Easter messages on Sunday than there are congregations, since some churches hold multiple services and more than one preacher could give the sermon. Here are just three excerpts graciously given us from around the Connecticut Conference. From the Reverend Rachelle Stackhouse at Church of the Redeemer UCC in New Haven. Maybe this story isn't as silly and unbelievable as it seems. Maybe amazement needs to overcome terror. Maybe we need to believe again in love. That is the world changing power of resurrection. From the Reverend Matthew Emory of the Stores Congregational Church UCC. The power of God does not depend on our expectations. The glory of God does not wait for our expectations. The love of God does not even abide our expectations. The power, the glory, the love of God is to bring all things to life. All things to new life. All things to resurrected life. And from the Reverend Gordon Bates, one of our retired pastors, this comment on worshiping in a pew of the First Church of Christ Congregational UCC in Glastonbury. Sunday service strengthened my desire to follow Jesus' way of compassion at living and service. In this resurrection season, we wish you joy, inspiration, and power, so you might be renewed in your spirit and better able to engage in compassion and service. That makes space sacred. And do our church facilities assist us or restrict us in the work of ministry? Associate editor Drew Page took up those questions in a comprehensive article on church buildings posted to our website late last week. The people are the church, says the Reverend Zachary Mabe of the Terryville Congregational Church UCC. But the people come together in a space regularly, and that space becomes an important part of their faith story. From the Sorghita Congregational Church UCC in Westport, the Reverend Allison Butrick Patton described some of the ways they tried to anticipate community needs as they rebuilt after a fire. A building needs to be used right to the edge of its capacity, she says. A church covered in fingerprints is a church that's well loved. House Minister the Reverend Kent Solati and Legislative Advocate Michelle Butrick issued an urgent call for support from church members this week, as a bill to add three new casino licenses in Connecticut makes its way through the State General Assembly. Connecticut Conference delegates have repeatedly voted to oppose expanded gambling in the state, and Butrick reports that opposition to the current bill has so far been quiet. The conference believes that the long-term bad effects of expanded gambling, particularly on those subject to gambling addictions, outweigh the short-term financial gains. So we invite you to call or write your State Representative and Senator, and to let them know you would like them to vote against Senate Bill 1090. For more on these stories, and for the recent vantage point interview with Reverend Allison Butrick Patton, be sure to visit us at ctucc.org slash news. The Ecumenical Stewardship event, Stewardship in the Changing Church from Consumerism to Generosity, runs April 17th and 18th in Boxborough, Massachusetts. Learn about sharing the message safely and effectively through new technologies on April 19th in Milford. Part 2 of the Stepping Stones Workshop Keeping Our Churches Safe is April 21st in Hartford. The annual Church Historians Workshop is April 25th in Rocky Hill. Looking both ways of workshop on end-of-life issues for caregivers, family members, and professionals will be the same day in Essex, and also on that same day, CT women of the UCC meet in Hartford. The Silver Lake Spring Action Weekend is May 1st through 3rd. The weekend will prepare our outdoor ministry center for the summer camping season. The Conference Youth Revival is May 3rd in Bloomfield. Register now for the New England Association of the United Church Educators event, which runs May 5th through 7th in Craigville, Massachusetts. Boundary training for authorized ministers will next be held on May 7th in Tolland. Clergy camp returns for its second season May 12th through 14th. A time for busy ministers to take a step into being a camper once again out at Silver Lake. Registration is open. Silver Lake's Spring Open House is May 17th, a great opportunity for first-time conferees and their families to get to know the blessings of the place we often call God's Backyard. Silver Lake will host the Environmental Justice for All retreat the weekend of May 29th for high school-aged youth of color to explore the environmental concerns of their own neighborhoods. And registration is open for the 9th annual Silver Lake Golf Tournament, which will be held June 8th in Wallingford. To learn more about these events or to register, visit us at ctucc.org slash events. Our spirited Wednesday thought comes from the Reverend Kate van der Zee Glidden, associate pastor at the First Church of Christ Congregational UCC in Glastonbury. She tells the story of a man who found his heart healed from a deep loss as he viewed the dawn from the rim of the Grand Canyon. She writes, even the most skeptical among us, long for the peace the Holy Spirit can bring. In those moments when we feel the Holy Spirit, we are reminded that things will be okay and that we are not alone. For God is with us through the valleys, peaks, and all the in-between moments of our lives. That brings this conference cast to a close. Thanks to Charlie Cooke-And-Brod for his 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 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.