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ALL UCC authorized pastors
and delegates from each ISC congregation,
please mark your calendars and plan to attend
THE ECCLESIASTICAL COUNCIL
of Tarrah Vaupel

on Sunday, January 24 at 3 pm
on Zoom
The Illinois South Conference Committee on Ministry invites you to the Ecclesiastical Council of Tarrah Vaupel at 3 pm CST on Sunday, January 24.  Ecclesiastical Councils are special called meetings of a Conference and the last step in the process for Members in Discernment towards ordination.  As part of the Ecclesiastical Council, you, voting delegates of the Illinois South Conference will have the opportunity to listen to the work of the Spirit, and vote to ordain Tarrah Vaupel. YOU are an important part of this process as it is the Conference (which in our case also acts as an Association) which discerns and decides if an ordination candidate is worthy to ordain on behalf of the United Church of Christ. We will need a quorum to officially conduct our business of the day, so we hope you will make this a priority and plan to attend.
Tarrah received her Master of Divinity at Eden Theological Seminary. While in seminary she did her CPE (Clinical Pastoral Education) at Laclede Groves, and was a student pastor at St. John UCC in New Athens, Illinois. Tarrah is a member of O’Fallon UCC and prior to seminar was their office manager.  Currently, she serves as a Spiritual Care Coordinator & Chaplain at Heartland Home Health and Hospice and as a licensed associate pastor at Friedens UCC in Irvington.
The link to the Zoom, as well as Tarrah’s ordination paper will be emailed out to all UCC authorized pastors and voting delegates of the Conference. Please make sure to watch your email box.
In order to prep for the Ecclesiastical Council, please make sure to download and read a copy of her paper. After Tarrah’s presents to the gathered body (the “council”), you will have the opportunity to ask her questions about her paper, and her call to ministry.
If you are a pastor with standing in Illinois South Conference or an ISC church lay delegate or member of the ISC Conference Council, use this information to participate in the Ecclesiastical Council.

Illinois South Conference of the UCC is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic: The Ecclesiastical Council of Tarrah Vaupel

Time: Jan 24, 2021 03:00 PM Central Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85710522195

 

Meeting ID: 857 1052 2195

Illinois South  Conference shares  the  inspiring  stories  that  show the  faith-filled  lives  within  our  Conference.  We  hope this  gives  you  comfort  during  this  time  of  sheltering  in  place.

If you know of stories that show people being the church, please send it to ISCspirit@iscucc.org. Share the stories that are warming your heart. #ISCspirit.

To see all of the #iscspirit stories, click here.

Updates from your Conference about the Coronavirus-19

Conference COVID-19 Update #18

Suggested Staff, Employee & Visitor Protocol and Checklist
Previous Updates & Articles

More Worship Resources & Links about COVID

Zoom Prayer and Lectionary Lunch Hour for Pastors
The Local Church Ministries team hosts a weekly Zoom Prayer and Lectionary Lunch Hour on Wednesdays from 12:30 pm to 1:30 pm for all Illinois South Conference pastors. This is an opportunity for clergy in the Conference to get together for weekly prayer, support, and the sharing of preaching and worship ideas for the coming Sunday.  An email with Zoom link was sent to all pastors. The same link is used each week. There will be no meeting on Wednesday, Nov 25 due to the Thanksgiving holiday.

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Cultivating Generous Congregations Seminar offered jointly by Illinois South, Heartland and Indiana Kentucky Conferences offers an opportunity to explore faithful, practical, and tested ways to promoting generosity in our congregations. We will draw on current research, seek guidance from the wisdom of scripture, and discuss the best practices in church-based fundraising.
The seminar will improve the “bottom line” of your congregation. But please know this bottom line is about more than money. Mission and ministry remain the real bottom line of our work. This seminar will help pastors and leaders engage generosity as a spiritual practice.
The program will be taught by the Rev. Andy DeBraber and Rev. Andrew Warner, Generosity Outreach Officers of the UCC, and is based on materials for the Lake Institute on Faith and Giving.
We’ll meet for six online sessions over the course of the spring:
5:30 pm to 7:00 pm CST on Thursdays
Feb 11, Feb 25, Mar 11, Mar 25, Apr 15, and Apr 29, 2021.
Between class sessions, Andy and Andrew will provide materials to help you analyze the culture of your own congregation and learn how to create change. By the end of the seminar, pastors and leaders will be equipped to lead effective fundraising and you will have a strategy to guide your success moving forward.
Be sure to recruit at least a team of two for this program. Changing the culture of your congregation requires more than one dedicated leader. Success depends on engaging a team of leaders from your congregation.
The registration fee is $50 for all participants and due at the time of your online registration.
The course will be hosted on the Damascus Project Network, an online educational platform. Information on accessing the online course site and zoom connection information will be provided after your registration.
Please sign up now for the Cultivating Generous Congregations Seminar. The deadline is January 15, 2021. Click here to register.
Scholarships will be available on request. If you would like to know more, please reach out to Rev. Shana Johnson.

Changing Lives

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OCWM

Donate to
Friends of the Conference

Donate to
DuBois Center

Donate to
Ecuador Partnership

Donate to
Advent St. Nicholas
Church in Ecuador

Donate to
ISC Hunger/Food Action

Donate to
Disaster Ministries

Epiphany 2021

The Indiana-Kentucky, Illinois South, and Heartland Conferences offer you this complete worship service for your use, free of charge, all permissions granted.

Below are links to both the individual portions of the service for you to use as you like, as well as a link to the full worship video.

All the videos are hosted on Vimeo, which means that you may download them, or use the links in your communications with your congregation.

This is an Epiphany worship service, intended for use on January 3rd, but you are welcome to use it in whole or in part whenever it best serves you. Please consider sharing it with your congregation even if you do not intend to use it corporately as it is a beautiful worship service.

Note that there is a preparatory piece, if you'd like to use it. You're invited to have your congregation engage with this worship service using "Star Words." An explanation and resources are included below.

Epiphany 2021 Worship Items (Click each item to access/download)
Full Worship Video
#1 Greeting
#2 Call to Worship
#3 Prayer of Illumination
#4 Special Music Arise, Your Light Is Come
#5 Children's Sermon
#6 Scripture Reading
#7 Special Music, In the Bleak Midwinter
#8 Epiphany Sermon
#9 Generosity Message
#10 Star Words
#11 Epiphany Communion
#12 Special Music, Go Tell it on the Mountain
#13 Benediction
Link to All Videos

Other Worship Resources
Epiphany 2021 Worship Bulletin
Star Word Explainer
Star Word Ideas
Star Words Clear Label Printout