Requests for Workshop Proposals Being Accepted for CHHSM Annual Gathering

The 85th Annual Gathering of the UCC Council for Health and Human Service Ministries takes place March 7-9, 2023, at the Hilton City Center in Denver.

The theme for the gathering is “Together through Mountains and Valleys,” and uses Isaiah 40:4-5 as its inspiration: “Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low. … Then the glory of our God shall be revealed, and all people shall see it together.”

“We are looking forward to welcoming everyone to Denver for our 85th Annual Gathering,” said Jamar Doyle, president and CEO of CHHSM. “With inspired worship, workshops, and keynote addresses, we anticipate the 2023 Annual Gathering to be the most successful one yet.”

The theme relates to the 2023 Mile High City location, but also reflects on the ways that God has gone with us through the mountains and valleys the past several years, and calls us to work together to prepare the way for others.

“Attending the Annual Gathering is a ‘mountain top’ experience for so many of us who attend,” said the Rev. George Graham, CHHSM vice president, “but we have also seen the ways that CHHSM supports people through the valleys they face, particularly in the last several years with the pandemic and the reckoning about racial justice.”

CHHSM currently is accepting workshop proposals for the Annual Gathering. Use the submission form to submit a workshop proposal related to the theme. The deadline for submission proposals is Nov. 4.

Registration for the 85th Annual Gathering will open in mid-December. In order to make the meeting as safe as possible, CHHSM requires all who attend to be vaccinated for Covid-19 or have an approved exemption, as well as to follow other safety measures, such as a negative Covid test within 48 hours prior to the Annual Gathering.

As with past Annual Gatherings, one highlight in 2023 will be the consecration of the new graduating class of the Nollau Leadership Institute as Diakonal Ministers during the gathering’s closing worship service. In addition to the workshops and final worship service, the Annual Gathering also will include other meaningful worship experiences, not-to-miss keynote addresses, affinity group meetings, time for reflection, and time to gather socially. Mark your calendars now: March 7-9, 2023.

More information will be posted as it becomes available, on the CHHSM website and through its monthly e-news, Diakonie.