August 2016

Dear Committee on Ministry colleagues,
 
The Ministerial Excellence, Support & Authorization (MESA) Ministry Team is pleased to invite you to sign-up for – and asks you to spread the word about – a new MESA resource coming this fall!
 
“Chapbook” will launch in September as a monthly e-newsletter to support chaplains and ministers in specialized settings, as well as those who support those ministers. This new e-newsletter, from Stephen Boyd who is MESA’s Minister to Chaplains & Ministers in Specialized Settings and the UCC’s Ecclesiastical Endorser, will share resources and connections critical to those in ministry beyond the walls of local churches.
 
Please encourage your ministers in specialized settings to sign up for “Chapbook” at http://www.ucc.org/ministers_specialized-ministry. Committee on Ministry members are also encouraged to sign up for “Chapbook” in order to support your understandings of and work with chaplains and ministers in specialized settings.
 
In your Committee on Ministry meetings and in your own devotions, MESA invites your prayers for those specialized ministers & chaplains your Committees support and oversee. Please also hold in prayer the fifty Members in Discernment who are gathering in Cleveland this week for MESA’s annual MID Gathering. Prayers are also welcomed for Conference staff – your own Conference staff and those in other regions – especially those Conferences experiencing staff transitions.
 
Blessings to you,
Rachel Hackenberg

The Rev. Rachel G. Hackenberg
Minister for Committee on Ministry Resources & Conference Support
Ministerial Excellence, Support & Authorization (MESA) Team
Local Church Ministries, United Church of Christ
ucc.org/ministers