Central Atlantic Conference United Church of Christ

06/08/2026

💚🖤❤️ Join us for the 2026 Juneteenth Commemoration: In Troubling Times, Consult the Ancestors!

Juneteenth is a sacred day of remembrance and hope—a celebration of freedom, resilience, and the ongoing journey toward justice. Today, we honor the legacy of those who fought for liberation and the ancestors who guide us still.

In these challenging times, the Racial Justice Ministries of the United Church of Christ invite you to gather in prophetic remembrance. Let us draw wisdom from the prophets of scripture and the modern-day leaders who inspire us to resist injustice and nurture a just world for all.

🗓️ Thursday, June 18th | 3:30 PM Eastern
✨ Featuring Rev. Dr. Velda Love, Rev. Dr. Cheryl Lindsay, and Rev. Trayce Potter

👉🏾 Register to join us: https://ow.ly/knQu50Z8vJR


Sermon Seeds (United Church of Christ)

06/03/2026

UCC- EKD FORUM

Monday, June 15, 2026 , 12P-2P (Online)

You are invited to 37th Ecumenical Forum

Topic: "German-American church relations in times of Christian nationalism - the example of the church fellowship of UCC and EKD" with

• Pastor Eleanor McCormick, EMS/UCC, Stuttgart
• Senior Church Councillor Ute Hedrich, Church Office of the EKD, Hanover
• Pastor i. R. Riley Edwards-Raudonat, Ludwigsburg

Christian nationalism has gained significant importance in the MAGA movement in the USA. Christian nationalist and ethnic thinking also plays a significant role in Europe. How do we, as Christians, position ourselves? The United Church of Christ (USA), with which the EKD (Evangelical Church in Germany) is in full communion, takes a firm stance against ethnic nationalist ideology, white and male violence, and anti-Muslim crusading thinking, and is a consistently inclusive church. How can the EKD's communion with the UCC and the partnerships of many EKD member churches be made fruitful for debate and action in Germany and Europe?

As the Ecumenical Forum is being held internationally with participants from the USA, the language of the presentations will be English . German translation will be provided. The discussion will be conducted in both languages with translation.

Registration via [email protected]. The Zoom link will be sent after registration.

Further information can be found here:https://files.constantcontact.com/6a289007601/1c4c55d8-9a07-4f31-92b2-0cca679172be.pdf

06/01/2026

We are proud to spotlight Central Atlantic Conference Board Member, Rev. Roberto Fois! 🌟

From a successful first career in advertising and market research to over three decades of ordained ministry, Rev. Fois brings an incredible wealth of experience, leadership, and heart to our conference.

Currently serving as the Senior Pastor and Head of Staff at Trinity Presbyterian Church in East Brunswick, NJ, his ministry is defined by a deep commitment to community.

We are so grateful for his dedicated voice on our Board of Directors. Please join us in thanking Rev. Fois for his leadership and service! 🙏✨

Read his full bio here: https://www.cacucc.org/roberto-fois

05/28/2026

CAC Conference Minister, Freeman Palmer's Reflection from today's edition of Happenings...

“And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching (Hebrews 10:24-25 NSRVUE).”

Three weeks ago, today (Thursday) I attended an arts show presented by the residents of Earl’s Place, one of two housing programs for unhoused men operated by Cornerstone Community Housing (“CCH”) . According to its’ website, “we are dedicated to helping men experiencing homelessness rebuild their lives and to changing attitudes toward homelessness through outreach and education.” Incorporated in 1993, CCH was the vision of a longtime minister in the Chesapeake Association and former CAC Board of Directors member Rev. Eugene (“Gene”) Bartell. The ministry was birthed out of a feeding program at First United Evangelical UCC called the Supper Club. The program’s namesake, Earl Johnson, and other guests inspired Rev. Bartell and other volunteers to create Earl’s place as a transitional housing program. It is based on the awareness that the unhoused needed not only food, but shelter and supportive services such as health care, education and job training, and assistance in securing housing. Founded in 1997, Earl’s Place is still going strong under the faithful and committed leadership of Sheila Helgerson, a Commissioned minister in the UCC and member of Immanuel UCC in Catonsville. If you want to know more about Cornerstone Community Housing or support its good work, you may go to its website here: https://cchbaltimore.org/

Thursday was the thirteenth year of this Art Show, held at a bookstore very close to my home in Baltimore. It was a wonderful event, with a crowd to capacity, good conversation , ample refreshments, and artwork including paintings, drawings, and sculptures from the residents of Earl’s Place. The event began with a rousing rendition of Martha Reeves and the Vandellas classic “Dancing in the Streets” by a live band, which, true to form, transformed the patio into an impromptu dance floor. Following the music, William Freeman a former student with the Goucher College Prison Project and friend of Earl’s Place, stepped to the microphone as the emcee for the program.

Freeman was very able to fulfill the task assigned. In fact, I think he could have hosted any event in Baltimore and beyond. Yet as great as he was in his role, Freeman’s own story was greater. Freeman shared that he had been incarcerated, sentenced to a life imprisonment and twenty years if memory serves correctly. Remarking on his own journey to that microphone thanks to his experience at Earl’s Place, Freeman made the following statement that hit to the heart with its profundity: “When people are resourced by community, they can come back from anything. (Please excuse typographical or wording errors as this was sent from my iPhone).”

Freeman’s declaration reminded me of the power that lies in supportive, empowering, and beloved community. And it’s not just power. It is resurrection power. I have seen, and you more than likely have seen as well, people who have come back from all kinds of trials and tribulations of life thanks to those around them who were sources of comfort, encouragement, and restoration. In fact, thanks to the community at Earl’s Pace , William Freeman experienced resurrection in his life thanks to people who saw his potential. His testimony reminded me to never underestimate the salvific power found in community, whether gathered in churches, synagogues, mosques, streets, in person or online.

Last Sunday we celebrated the coming of the promised Holy Spirit and liturgically, the birth of the Church on the day of Pentecost. That day contained several miraculous events – rushing wind - tongues of fire – uneducated and ‘uncultured’ Galileans suddenly fluent in other languages. Yet at the end of Luke’s Account of Pentecost in Acts 2 is an event I have always found equally miraculous. That miracle was community. Following Peter’s eloquent and compelling sermon, Luke writes that “All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds[j to all, as any had need. Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home[ and ate their food with glad and generous[ hearts.(Acts 2:44-46 NRSVUE).” What was the impact of communal witness? Luke writes further that “And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved (Acts 2:47a).” It was the witness of community that saved lives, and later that flawed but faithful community of the early Church changed the world. May we remember that when we gather together in Beloved community, however flawed but faithful, we still have the power of the Holy Spirit to do the same.

Faithfully yours,

Rev. Freeman L. Palmer
Conference Minister
CACUCC

05/26/2026

Last Call, folks!

“The Ethics of Music, Musicians, and the Music Ministry” Specialized BAT | May 28, 2026 (1-3pm)

We dive in to take an informative in-depth look into the engagement of musicians and musical ministry as it pertains to the ethics of our clerical work in pastoral ministry. If you are a chaplain in any setting where you are expected to manage musicians in worship, this is for you as well. Topics include how musicians function as a part of worship, the relationship expectations between clergy, musicians, and the congregation, financial matters, and conflicts of culture and roles.

“The Ethics of Music, Musicians, and the Music Ministry” Specialized BAT Rev. Dr. Kendall Moore leads an informative in-depth look into the engagement of musicians and musical ministry as it pertains to the ethics of our clerical work in pastoral ministry. If you are a chaplain in any setting wh...

05/20/2026

New Disaster Response Resources Online

Is your congregation prepared for the unexpected? The CAC website now features a dedicated section for Disaster Preparedness and Response. From document checklists for personal and church safety to workbooks for local planning, these resources are designed to help our community prepare, respond, and recover together.

Explore the resources here: https://www.cacucc.org/disaster-response

05/19/2026

🙌🏾 Join us as we explore resilience, faith, identity, and the ways new generations are imagining spiritual community beyond traditional walls, with Raven Trammell!

Raven is a storyteller, speaker, and founder of Culture Shift, a creative project exploring spirituality, identity, and purpose through storytelling. He will share his journey, including his experience as a trans person navigating faith and identity to encourage others, especially young adults, LGBTQ+ people, and Black and Brown communities, to live fully into who God created them to be.

👉🏾 Register: https://ow.ly/IRpO50Z1bAt

05/15/2026

Get to know more about Rev. Dr. Sushama Austin-Connor, a key member of the CAC Board of Directors. Rev. Dr. Austin-Connor brings a powerful blend of public ministry, community advocacy, and deep faith to our conference.

Her roots in the UCC run deep—beginning at Peoples Congregational UCC in Washington, D.C. Beyond her leadership on our Board, she serves as the Director of the MOSAIC Storytelling Initiative at the National Council of Churches, amplifying diverse faith narratives.

We are incredibly blessed by her vision, wisdom, and heart. Learn more about Rev. Dr. Sushama Austin-Connor and our incredible Board!

https://www.cacucc.org/sushama-austin-connor

05/14/2026

“The Lord was standing by a wall that had been built true to plumb, with a plumb line in his hand … Then the Lord said, ‘Look, I am setting a plumb line among my people …”

Amos 7:7-8 (NIV)

As I look back on the challenges of pastoring local churches for twenty years, I realize one of the greatest challenges was keeping an accurate sense of perspective on what was happening within the churches I served. I was often so close to important matters that I couldn’t step back and see what was really going on.

If I ran into difficulties with a council member, for instance, it was easy for me to look at past experiences and say the member was just stubborn and oppositional - instead of objectively considering if there were genuine merits to the council member’s concerns on this matter. Or if a member of the church approached me with excitement about a new mission effort, I might tell myself, “The idea sounds good, but we’ll never be able to generate volunteers needed to pull it off.” Years of service in a ministry setting often made it difficult to address the situation objectively.

That’s why I love the imagery of a plumb line shared in the passage from Amos. For, as my AI assistant told me, “Plumb lines are tools consisting of a cord with a weight that uses gravity to help establish a perfectly vertical line. It provides an accurate, non-moving vertical reference point.”

Plumb lines, in our lives, can come in many forms. They can come in the form of a therapist or spiritual director that helps you see beyond the baggage you carry from past experiences and approach a matter with new eyes. This year, our congregations have been given another plumb line in the form of a document called The Manual on Local Church.

Our conference rolled out the manual through a monthly Manual on Local Church gathering on the first Sunday of each month. The gathering helped participants figure out how to use the “Eight Marks of Faithful and Vital Local Churches” and the “Congregational Code” to help communities better assess and strengthen their ministries and make their congregational dynamics healthier.

In the network gatherings, I encouraged local church leaders to use the Eight Marks to regularly evaluate the life of the local church. One of my favorite options for doing so was to invite local councils or consistories to open their monthly meeting with a 20-minute reflection on one of the Eight Marks. Each of the Eight Marks has six subpoints to help flesh out the mark. During the 20-minute period of reflection, the moderator could ask members to identify which of the six subpoints do we do best, and which of the six subpoints is our growing edge.

If a council/consistory did this each month from September 2026 through May 2027 (taking the month of December off for Christmas), by the time they reached May they would have had an objective plumb line that would have identified eight areas of strength and eight areas for growth. These lists could be used at a Summer or Fall retreat in 2027 to help a local church tweak its mission statement (using its list of strengths) and target their top three areas to work on in the upcoming year (using its list of areas for growth).

As you wind up one program-year this month and look toward the fall, my prayer is that you and your governing body will consider using the Eight Marks of Faithful and Vital Local Church to guide you in the year ahead. You can find the Eight Marks, contained in the Manual on Local Church, here:https://www.ucc.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/2025-molc-final-digital.pdf

Grace & Peace,

Rev. Craig Peterson