Barb Powell
With much enthusiasm, the members of the 2023-2024 Nollau Leadership Institute met May 22-26 at Bellwether Farm in Wakeman, Ohio, for their first retreat of the year-long program. To say that people came away refreshed and grounded would be an understatement. “The biggest thing is we had to work on ourselves first,” said Melinda Love,…
Read MoreBeginning with the opening worship and concluding with closing worship, the UCC’s General Synod — which takes place June 30-July 4 in Indianapolis — will feature many of the gifts of the Council for Health and Human Service Ministries (CHHSM) and its members. The theme of this year’s Synod is “Making All Things New,” based…
Read MoreA rare juxtaposition of events has created an innovative blessing for the UCC’s Council for Health and Human Service Ministries and the finalists for its Rev. Jerry Paul Scholar Program, or CHHSM Scholar Program. Beginning this summer, and through the 2023-2024 academic year, the three finalists for the CHHSM Scholar Program will form a one-year…
Read MoreIn April 2022, Blessed Youth: Breaking the Silence about Mental Illness with Children and Teens was published by Chalice Press to critical acclaim. At times poignant and extraordinarily practical, the book by the Rev. Sarah Griffith Lund, the UCC’s minister for disabilities and mental health justice, helps readers remove the shame and stigma associated with…
Read MoreOne highlight of CHHSM’s 85th Annual Gathering — held March 7-9 in Denver — was the CHHSM Annual Business Meeting and Luncheon, which took place March 8. During the meeting, which included highlights of the work of CHHSM staff over the past year, the board also received the Member Report, enumerating not only the number…
Read MoreConnection. If one word can sum up three days of worship, workshops, keynotes, meetings, and social gatherings, it’s connection — at least in terms of the 85th Annual Gathering of the UCC Council for Health and Human Service Ministries, themed “Together through Mountains and Valleys” and held March 7-9 in Denver. “The 85th Annual Gathering…
Read MoreAfter a week filled with meaningful worship, learning, networking, and reconnecting with colleagues and friends, attendees to CHHSM’s 85th Annual Gathering in Denver met for closing worship March 9 in the special space of the Denver Art Museum. Prior to the service beginning, Jamar Doyle, CHHSM’s president and CEO, thanked Archway Communities in Denver, one…
Read MoreThe mood was both celebratory and purposeful as CHHSM members assembled at Kirk of Bonnie Brae UCC in Denver on March 7 for opening worship of CHHSM’s 85th Annual Gathering. While the gathering’s theme, “Together Through Mountains and Valleys,” echoed throughout the conference, the focus on justice and advocacy in health and human service ministries…
Read More“Together through Mountains and Valleys” is the theme of this year’s Annual Gathering, a reference to CHHSM members weathering the ups and downs of the past three years as they continue to struggle with the COVID-19 pandemic as well as institutional racism and equity concerns. But thanks to partners and other CHHSM members stepping up…
Read MoreThe UCC Council for Health and Human Service Ministries took a leading role in a first-ever Virtual National Gathering of UCC Rural/Small Town Churches and Ministries, held Feb. 9-11 from 4 to 7 p.m. each day. Throughout the three days, all of the keynotes and session presenters focused on the theme, “Nourishing the Seeds of…
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