2010 Metro Association Fall Meeting

Saturday, November 20, 2010

The Bowne Street Community Church
Host Pastor David A. Westcott
143-11 Roosevelt Avenue
Flushing, NY 11354

Note:  Within this page are links to these documents for your reference:

2011 Metro Association Budget (as a .pdf document)

Proposed Changes to Metro Association By-Laws (as a .pdf document)
Please e-mail your comments to iservehim4u@yahoo.com or uccnymetro@aol.com

Freeman Palmer's Sermon - "New Look,  New Day. Who Knew? (as a .pdf document)

We must be ready to do new things.

With his Fall Meeting sermon, “New Look, New Day, Who Knew?”, Interim Regional Conference Minister Freeman L. Palmer reminded us that God is in the business of doing new things – and that must be our business, too.  We must work hard to perceive what God would have us do in the 21^st Century.

The whole meeting was filled with new things and plans for even more.  The meeting began with:

Welcome to the Fall Meeting of the Metropolitan Association.

Opening by Peg Mainusch
Call to Order by Metro Board President Martha Jacobs
Welcome and Opening Prayer by host pastor David Westcott
Declaration of a quorum by Registrar David Tucker

We learned from Freeman Palmer that two churches will be welcomed into the Metro Association:

The Least of These Church – A Korean church working with Judson Memorial Church

Temple of New Beginnings

Freeman also announced two “summits” in the NY Conference – Church Revitalization and Financial Stability.

And he urged us to mark our calendars for the June 3 – 5, 2011 Annual Meeting of the NY Conference at Silver Bay.

Form follows function; let us examine the Conference form.

Interim Conference Minister Rita Root reported two dynamic speakers for the Silver Bay meeting:  Lillian Daniel, currently pastor of the First Congregational Church of Glen Ellyn, IL and Michael Piazza, dean of the Cathedral of Hope in Dallas, TX.  She also announced that the Executive Council of the NY Conference will soon name a search committee for the NY Conference Minister with the goal of having a candidate for election at the June 2012 NY Conference Annual Meeting.  Brain-storming and focus groups, including those at this November 20 Metro Meeting will seek to identify what is the appropriate work of the Conference so the form of the staff and Conference organization can follow the functions identified.

The committees for Ordination & Ministerial Standing and Congregational Development oversee standing for clergy and for local churches.

Registrar David Tucker’s report included the fact the Metro Association now has 27 persons in care, of whom five are near ordination.

He also reported, on behalf of the Committee on Congregational Development and Standing that ten church “carried on the books” of the Metro Association were now dissolved or inactive.  After assurance that appropriate care had been taken to verify this status and that legal counsel approved removing these churches from the rolls of the Association (and thus of the UCC), the delegates voted to terminate these churches.

Metro Board Chair Martha Jacobs, reporting for Treasurer Harold Chapman, presented the budget proposed for 2011. After clarification that the salary and benefits for the Interim Regional Conference Minister come from the NY Conference budget, the delegates approved the Metro Association 2011 Budget.

Our January 17 workshops will provide tools to support food programs in Metro churches.

Cheri Kroon of the Church and Metropolitan Community Committee invited all to the Martin Luther King Celebration and Workshops on Monday, January 17, 2011 at Church of the Evangel in Brooklyn.  The focus will be Hunger and Economic Justice. Preachers will be Lisa Robinson and Osagyefo Sekou.  Three workshops will give participants tools to create food programs at their churches.

On behalf of the Church and Metropolitan Community Committee, Elise Higginbotham presented a resolution on Hunger and Economic Justice.  After a lively discussion of how churches are already supporting food programs, delegates voted to table the resolution so its action elements could be stated more clearly.

It has been 20 years since our by-laws have been revised.

Board Vice President Lennox Grant introduced the proposed changes to the Metro Association by-laws.  He urged careful reading of the draft and submission of comments to him via e-mail at iservehim4u@yahoo.com or uccnymetro@aol.com.  The changes will be discussed and voted upon at the Metro Spring Meeting.

The NY Yarem Church is considering affiliation with the UCC.

Host pastor David Westcott introduced three members of the NY Yarem Church, a Korean congregation that has been worshipping in the Bowne Street church facilities for three years.  Yung Lee, the pastor of the Yarem Church explained the word “Yarem” means “Jesus People”.  The NY Yarem church will be discussing possible affiliation with the UCC.

My work is a ministry, not a job.

As the business meeting concluded, we rejoiced that Louise Manigault has been nominated for the UCC “Honored Lay Women” award which will be presented at the Tampa Synod July 1-5, 2011.  Board Chair Martha Jacobs asked that we consider ways to raise money for Louise to attend Synod.  In accepting the nomination, Louise said her work is a “ministry, not a job.”

The business meeting concluded with:

Boundary Training helps us address the messiness that is inevitable in daily life.

Toni Walrond inviting all to the January 29 Boundary Training to be held at Judson Memorial Church

Martha Jacobs reminding us of the December 13 leadership seminar at Broadway UCC

Ecumenism must include our brothers and sisters who are Muslim and who are conservative evangelists.

David Seiple inviting us to a March 31 seminar on “Theology, Ecclesiology, and the Social Gospel” at Union Theological Seminary.  David also is working to broaden our understanding of ecumenism to include Muslims and conservative evangelists.

Deborah Dee Brayton announcing the March 11 – 13 NY Youth Event at Watson Homestead, Painted Post, NY

Mark Lukens inviting us to a multi-faith service at the Islamic Center in Westbury Long Island on Sunday afternoon, November 28.

Five lively groups looked at the changes in their congregations and how this affects their desire for services from the NY Conference.

Following the business meeting, participants broke into five focus groups to brain-storm what local church members believe to be the most important services of the NY Conference.  These thoughts will be compiled with thoughts from other sources including an online survey to help develop a Conference staffing and organizational structure that supports the functions local churches need from the Conference.

Worship in the Bowne Street Sanctuary followed the focus groups.  It included:

We remember and offer prayers.

Lighting three Candles of Remembrance for

George (Bill) Webber

Barry Keating

Those who recently died or were injured because of their sexual orientation or ethnic heritage

Music enhances our worship.

Music by the Metropolitan Association Choir, led by Elmer Hammond

We experience God in the movement of dance.

Music and dance by the youth of Christhava Tamil Koil UCC

Our offering, half of which will help support Ava Blackwell

Sermon by Freeman L. Palmer

Hymns, prayers and scripture

And how did the meeting end?  With food and fellowship – without which no Metro Meeting would be complete.

Reported by Lucy Werner
Photos by Tom Matinez and Lucy Werner

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