Birth of the Granite State Association

This very day we have birthed a new Association. The Granite State Association has come into being and will carry forward the faithful work of our seven legacy associations. There is a lot of work to be done and a lot to learn as we do the work of associations in a new way. Yet it is clear that the Spirit has been guiding our journey and we are confident that God’s grace will be ever present in the days ahead.

I been asked by some of you if I can provide some education about how the Granite State Association will work. My current plan is to provide an educational piece on approximately a monthly basis.

It seems like the best place to start is by talking about the “Conference acting as Association” model that we’ve adopted. In the UCC by-laws, there are certain tasks of ministry that are delegated to conferences and certain tasks to associations. The tasks that are delegated to associations are those related to the authorization of ministers and local churches. What the “Conference acting as Association” model does, is it says that it is the ultimate responsibility of the Conference to ensure that both the work that is delegated to the Conference and the work that is delegated to the Association is done to the best of our ability.

For all intents and purposes, the Granite State Association is fully a part of the Conference. It will have unique work to do and a committee structure to support that work. It will also have all the resources of the Conference available to it in carrying out that work. Perhaps the most analogous way to think of this is to liken it to Horton Center. Horton Center is a ministry of the New Hampshire Conference which carries out the work of outdoor ministries. The Granite State Association is a ministry of the New Hampshire Conference that carries out to work that is delegated for associations to do.

The way this impacts structurally is most clearly seen in the fact that the Conference Board of Directors acts as the Executive Committee for the Granite State Association. In other words, the Board of Directors will handle the governance and executive oversight matters for the Granite State Association. The actual tasks of authorization will be handled by four new Committees on Ministry (I’ll share more about all of these in upcoming months). The UCC Manual on Ministry is quite clear that our Committees on Ministry have final say on all matters related to authorization. So, the Board of Directors will be making sure the needs of the Association are resourced and our four Committees on Ministry, along with the Committee on Covenant and Connection, will be doing the work of the association.

There will most certainly be times when we speak of “the committees of the Granite State Association” or “the budget of the Granite State Association”. These are distinctions being made for clarity of function, not to be descriptive of structure. Particularly in these early days we will want to make sure that we are intentional in faithfully stewarding all the functions that are the works of associations

Oh, there is so much more that could be said, but that is for upcoming months. For today, let me simply say, Happy Birthday Granite State Association. Happy Birthday.

Gordon