Unified presence at Synod to bolster CHHSM-member ministries’ visibility

The United Church of Christ’s Council for Health and Human Service Ministries will elevate its visibility in the exhibit hall of the denomination’s General Synod this summer in Baltimore, Md., through two unique approaches: a 12-table exhibit area for member ministries and subsequent unified approach to reaching out to attendees.

The CHHSM Exhibit Hall space will be given over almost exclusively to member ministries. “We are sharing the space with CHHSM members who always display at Synod,” said the Rev. Danielle Bartz, CHHSM’s associate for program and leadership development. “It’s a cost savings for our members, and we’ll be all together.”

“We’ll meet before the hall opens to do information sharing at the tables,” Bartz adds. “It will be a chance for all of us to do the Exhibit Hall as a group, as opposed to everyone doing their own thing.”

One of the main features in the area will be a 65-inch LCD computer and monitor set-up so that Synod goers can find CHHSM-member ministries in their own geographic areas, and then email the information to themselves. The goal is to make access to CHHSM-member ministries across the country an easy process for Synod visitors.

The exhibit will be bordered by a series of banners depicting the life and work of Louis Edward Nollau, a 19th-century missionary, preacher and founder of several St. Louis-area CHHSM ministries. Created by the Reichenbach church in Germany, the banners are in English and German. One of CHHSM’s most well-known programs is its Nollau Leadership Institute, a training program for pastors that emphasizes the kind of integrated leadership that its namesake modeled –– professional excellence rooted in faith-based purpose.

For the first time, the CHHSM space will have “swag” in the form of umbrellas, says Bartz. “You can’t just come by and get one,” she cautions. “You have to engage in the space and you’ll be given an umbrella.” About 50 per day will be available.

The ministries occupying the CHHSM Exhibit Hall space include Earl’s Place, the local Baltimore CHHSM agency; Uplands Retirement Community, Advocate Health Care, Back Bay Mission, Crossroad Child and Family Services, EHM Senior Solutions, Embrace Living Communities, Emmaus Homes, Retirement Housing Foundation, United Church Homes, and United Church Homes and Services.

OrgStory, a strategic planning, marketing, and communication consulting firm that works exclusively with nonprofits, also will be represented in the CHHSM space. OrgStory has helped CHHSM, some of its member ministries, and the UCC national offices increase their impact through new communication and development strategies.

Lunch provides opportunity for CHHSM ministries to shine

For the third Synod in a row, CHHSM is partnering with other UCC-affiliated health ministries in sponsoring a UCC Health, Wholeness, and Human Services luncheon at this summer’s event. The luncheon is Sunday, July 2, at the Baltimore Convention Center.

CHHSM President and CEO Michael J. Readinger will keynote the event, which will be emceed by the Rev. Traci Blackmon, executive minister of the UCC’s Justice and Witness Ministries. In addition to CHHSM, sponsors include the UCC Health and Wholeness Advocacy Office, UCC HIV & AIDs Network, UCC Disabilities Ministries, UCC Mental Health Network, and UCC Faith Community Nurses.

Register for the UCC Health, WHoleness, and Human Services luncheon.