 Greetings, friends! Welcome to CTUCC Conference Cast for November 21, 2013, 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 Eric Anderson, Minister of Communications and Technology, and your podcast host. In the 23rd chapter of his Gospel, Luke describes the crucifixion of Jesus and how two criminals hung on crosses to either side of him. One derided him, but the other declared that while they had been condemned justly, this man had done nothing wrong. Then he said, Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom. And Jesus replied, today you will be with me in paradise. This coming Sunday is the reign of Christ Sunday on the church calendar, yet the Scripture passage is chosen for it by the editors of the Revised Common Lectionary. Well frankly, give me pause. Two of them are relentlessly gloomy. Jeremiah's solemn denunciation of the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep, which you'll find in Jeremiah chapter 23. And then Luke's strangely vivid portrayal of Jesus' strange royalty during his crucifixion. It is perhaps the ultimate instance of Jesus' refrain, your faith has saved you. When the dying Jesus returns the confidence of the dying criminal with an eternal promise, today you will be with me in paradise. And then of course, they both die. To add irony to irony, this year reign of Christ Sunday falls near that beloved holiday but non-holy day Thanksgiving. A celebration devoid of royal figures, with the possible exception of Massa Soet, and one which praises abundance. We give thanks for abundant harvests amidst our abundant families seated around abundant tables laid with abundant food centered on the turkey, North America's abundantly sized bird. Our tables and even our bins of frozen turkeys collected with their $20 bills for food share bear little resemblance to that small hill outside Jerusalem where bored guards of few spectators and vanishingly few friends stood to watch Jesus and two other men die. And yet, with Jeremiah's condemnation of the kings who wrecked his nation in my ears, the greatness, the abundance of Jesus' royalty on Calvary starts to come clear. Jesus' majesty, his authority, his very Messiahship rests in great part on his refusal to take the ruinous road of Judah's rulers in Jeremiah's day. Jesus will do no courting of foreign allies, undertake no assassination of opponents, lead no armed rebellion against Rome. Instead, he will return faith with faith. He will give compassion for confidence. He will give life for love. And suddenly that small hill with those small people far away looks a good deal more abundance. Abundant enough, in fact, for the entire world. Compassion for confidence. Faith for faith. Life for love. This is a Christ whose reign is worth celebrating. This is a monarch whose rule is worth thanks. Here is a prayer for this week. As we celebrate the abundance of the harvest of God, we celebrate as well the abundance of your blessings upon this earth. Accept our thanks, accept our confidence, accept our faith, accept our love. For you have given us so much in compassion, in faith, and in life, in royal Jesus' name. Amen. I am truly excited to announce to you that the Reverend Mary Nelson Abbott has been called as the new regional minister for the South Central Region of the Connecticut Conference. Mary comes to us from the Malletts Bay Congregational Church, where she is serving as pastor in Colchester, Vermont. Mary has been involved deeply in the life of that congregation, but also in the Vermont Conference over the years that she has served there. She is a graduate of Grinnell College and the Candler School of Theology at Emory University. She is a lifelong United Church of Christ member, and as such she brings deep commitment to our core values as a church. Mary is a part of the 2030 clergy network, those who are in that age range, and is a UCC presidential fellow. She brings a wealth of gifts and skills to this particular position she understands, much about the changing nature of the church, those values that we stand for. She is an outstanding communicator, a deep listener, and builds relationships with those with whom she works. She has expressed a good and strong desire to work in our staff team environment, and so we look forward to welcoming Mary again. She begins on February 10th of 2014. You surely will want to meet Mary as we look forward to her ministry unfolding among us. We received a letter last week from the Reverend Andrew Sholtis, who will shortly achieve 20 years of service as the United States Navy Chaplain. He currently serves those returning from war at the Naval Medical Center in San Diego, where he helps men and women recover from what he calls moral injury. In the open letter to returning service members, which we have posted in the resources section of our website, Sholtis lists many of the potential burdens which combat experiences, including the taking of life, place on the spirit and the soul. He reminds those who are suffering of the love of God, which Jesus described in the story of the prodigal son, who received a welcome with arms spread wide. God has already forgiven you, says Sholtis. It is time for you to do the same. Just a week after Typhoon Haiyan struck the Philippines with horrendous effects, a series of powerful storm systems swept across 12 Midwestern states last Sunday, leaving eight known dead, over 120 injured, and hundreds of damaged homes and businesses. Once again, we appeal for your prayers and your gifts to assist our suffering brothers and sisters as they begin the long road of recovery. We have just learned today of the appointment of the Reverend Martin Copenhaver to become the next president of Andover Newton Theological School in Newton Center, Massachusetts. Reverend Copenhaver has been pastor of the Wellesley Hills Congregational Church used to see in Massachusetts and preached for the Sunday afternoon worship service at last summer's General Synod. He will begin his new duties at Andover Newton on June 1st. The Connecticut conference has begun the search for a legislative advocate to work with the state general assembly and the governor's office, encouraging them to implement the social teachings of the church, those which are determined by the actions of conference delegates at their meetings. Applications will be accepted until December 10th, 2013 to permit this new person to be in place during the next legislative session. For more information about the duties of the legislative advocate, to read Reverend Schulte's reflection on moral injury or to follow up on any of these stories, as well as see the new headlines, visit us at ctucc.org slash news. Have a conversation with the conference minister tonight in Litchfield. The last of those meetings will be held on December 12th in New Haven. Learn about sacred dance at a stepping stone's workshop on December 3rd in Suddington. The Middlesex Chapter of Gives Squared will hold a service event in Hartford on December 6th. Registration is open for the Christmas at Silver Lake retreats held at Silver Lake, December 6th through 8th. You can learn more and sign up at silverlakect.org. And in the new year, Stepping Stones returns on January 14th with Pastem the Football, the care and support of volunteers in Suddington. You can always learn more about what's coming up in the Connecticut conference by visiting us at ctucc.org slash events. That brings this conference cast to a close. Thanks to you for listening 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 to 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. This is Eric Anderson again with a program note and an additional blessing. I will be celebrating the Thanksgiving holiday with my family next Thursday, and I hope that you will be doing the same. Thus, conference cast will take a holiday break next week. May God bless you with what fills your body, with what fills your heart, and with what fills your soul. This week and every week. Amen.