Spiritual Life Commission

of the Maine Conference, United Church of Christ

Annual Report

2009

Sometimes, we in the church get so caught up in the life of the church that we forget why we are the Church, with a capital C. We are the Body of Christ; we are “God with skin”*; we are called to serve all of God’s people, no matter who they are or where there are on life’s journey. To help us, as a Conference, keep this in focus, the calling of the Spiritual Life Commission is: “Relating to God encompasses our listening to God who speaks to us as we journey together. Together, we worship, study, and pray, nourishing and renewing our faith, identifying our gifts, celebrating the Spirit of Jesus Christ alive in our midst.” How does this “play out” in the life of the Conference? What has the Spiritual Life Commission done in 2009 “to study and pray, to nourish and renew our faith”?

One of our most exciting endeavors is the Academy of Congregational Life and Leadership (ACLL). We are gratified that, under the direction of Rev. Peggy Dunne, ACLL opened in Sept., 2008 with a full class. People from throughout the Conference heard God’s call in their lives and signed up to participate in what our own Sue Stevens, Administrative Assistant of the Maine Conference and an ACLL student, says is an “amazing, inspiring and awesome opportunity.”

In November, the Commission joined with the Small Church Ministry Team to bring Gil Rendle, author of Leading Change in the Congregation, to Maine. Participants in this Learning Event were encouraged to “Plant Seeds of Change” within their congregations. Many clergy and laypeople were challenged and motivated by Rendle’s message.

It is the task of clergy to look to the spirits and spiritual lives of their congregants. But who looks after the spiritual needs of the clergy? Each year, the Spiritual Life Commission offers several retreats to give clergy the opportunity to take time out of busy schedules and meet with one another to “worship, study and pray, to nourish and renew their faith, to celebrate the Spirit of Jesus Christ in our midst.”

This past year, we sponsored the following retreats: New (to the Maine Conference) Pastors’ Retreat, Advent Retreat, Lenten Retreat and the Clergy Spring Retreat. Invariably, someone at each of these retreats has said, in one fashion or another, “I am glad I came. I didn’t know how much I needed this.”

We have revised the Directory of Spiritual Life Resources in Maine. This directory is a wealth of information for people seeking retreat centers, spiritual directors, spiritual counselors, workshop leaders – in other words, people and places to help foster our spiritual lives. The new directory will be ready in the fall of 2009.

Presently, we are looking for new ways of caring for the clergy of the Maine Conference. To that end, we are searching grant monies which will fund programs which nurture and nourish the spirits of those men and women who have answered the call to ordained ministry and who minister within the Maine Conference, United Church of Christ.

This commission is made up of wonderful clergy and lay volunteers who are working for you and your clergy. It is a privilege to be a part of this work, for since our calling encompasses our listening to God who speaks to us as we journey together, we are blessed to be serving God and God’s people with whom we share that journey.

Respectfully submitted,

Rev. Anne A. Roundy, Chair

*My thanks to Barbara Brown Taylor for this image