This is to let you know of a new adult study resources on the subject of Covenant titled: Covenant, the Sacred Adventure.  It is the result of the sabbitical and other study time you have graciously granted me!  If you are seeking an Adult Church School or fellowship study resource or something different with which to open your governg board meetings, this might be of some value.  Or, perhaps it would simply be helpful to provide for your council members to read.  It is in 9 units of just 2 pages or reading each.  However it might be used, I hope you might find it of some value.  It is still admittedly a little "rough" in that it needs further editing but I have moved on to other things and want to offer it for whatever it may be worth to you and our churches.  We of the UNITED CHURCH of Christ claim covenant to be central to our lives as the church.  I hope that this resource may help us reflect on what that might mean.  Thank you for considering it.! 

With You in Christ's Service, Jane

Covenant Study

Jane's Introduction to 2005 General Synod Resolutions

Lately I have heard what is allegedly a Chinese 'curse' cited rather frequently: "May you live in interesting times....!"  Prehaps all times are 'interesting' (and with that implied addition of 'difficult' or 'challenging' I suspect) but we know for certain that these are interesting times in the United Church of Christ and in much of the Christian church in the United States.  Although all Christians whom I know affirm God's call to unity through Jesus Christ, ever new lines of division and discord seem to deepen among us.  The divisions relate to many 'issues' which have many layers of meaning.  Though the layers may begin with what we call 'social issues', they can often be peeled back to reveal differences in our understanding of scripture and even the very nature of God.  With matters of such importance, it is no wonder that our differences often generate heat and sparks when we try to engage with one another about them.  The challenge is to turn that heat and those sparks into creative energy for Christ's mission rather than to fuel fires that comsume our time, energies and will to do God's work together.

One issues that is generating 'heat and sparks' within some congregations or with some congregations and the wider UCC community has to do with a resolution approved at the 2005 General Synod on Equal Marriage Righte for All.

As I am 'out and about' in churches of the Illinois Conference, I am encouraging folks to take time to study, pray and talk with one another, both within congregations (where many assume agreement on these matters but often find that they are not all of one mind) and by participating in our creating opportunities for dialogue with others in the United Chruch of Christ.  To assist in that, we are posting on this website a few resources that we hope you might find helpful.  We are also interested in hearing from you about resources you have found valuable in such discussions.

Here you will find:

• The Problem of Prayer:  Can the UCC be "One" While Divided over Issues of Sexuality?  by Rev. Dr. Jane Fisler Hoffman.  This is the paper I wrote for my Doctor of Ministry degree, and I am honored that one of our staff suggested I offer it here.  It is dated in the sense that it lacks some current resources that would surely have enriched it, but I hope you may find it helpful in some way.
• Behavior Covenant for the Illinois Conference Annual Meeting:  This covenant of behavior has been used in recent years at our Illinois Conference Annual Meetings and has been helpful in creating a climate of honest, open and Christian conversation.
• Sermon by Rev. Kenneth L. Samuel:  This sermon was delivered at General Synod 2005. 
• God is Still Speaking,  About Marriage.  This is a link to the UCC website on this matter.
• 2005 General Synod Delegates:  These delegates are willing to come to meet with groups in your church.  You may obtain information on how to contact them by calling your association.
• Who Says What the UCC Says:  This is a bulletin insert sized mini-course on how decisions are made in the United Church of Christ.
• To facilitate converstions about Biblical authority:  Reprints of the essay by Walter Brueggemann, "Biblical Authority:  A Personal Reflection" are available (by permission) and may be obtained by contacting the Illinois Conference Office.