Conference Ministers’ Corner By: Associate Conference Minister, Rev. Linda Hirst 6.3.26 I got to spend Pentecost in Charleston, SC, at the Circular Congregational Church. I arrived early and spent time looking at all the Pentecost decorations in the sanctuary. I am in awe of people who can decorate and make the sanctuary space inviting, sacred, thematic, and just plain special.Over the choir loft in the front of the church, the decorating folks had created a “Holy Spirit” out of ribbon and...

Conference Ministers’ Corner By: Conference Minister, Rev. Gordon Rankin 5.27.26 The Spirit Symphony A few years ago, I was at a gathering where we were talking about mediating church conflict. At one point, our facilitator stopped us and made us engage in a more intentional spiritual task. We were given ten minutes and the writing prompt to tell the story of what we’ve learned. What I wrote that day has become my Pentecost “prayer” for the church ever since: “Once upon a time there was a...

Conference Ministers’ Corner By: Transitional Associate Conference Minister, Linda Hirst 5.20.26 We are in the season of graduations! College kids, high school youth, preschoolers, kindergarteners, and middle schoolers are all graduating and moving on to the next step: another grade, college, life, or work. Chances are someone in your life is graduating, and if you’re at the college level, someone is giving a commencement address. I graduated from the University of Rhode Island, and our...