NEAUCE'S 50th ANNIVERSARY!
Join us April 30th & May 1st for our Virtual* 50th Celebration!
On Friday we'll take a deep dive with the Rev. Dr. Byron into race and ethnicity in the Bible. Saturday the Rev. Dr. Santos will lead us in a discussion on how we can take what we've learned from Dr. Byron and make positive changes in our Faith Formation programs.
Focus scripture: Jeremiah 18: 1-4 The Potter and the Clay
*Closed Captioning Available
Greetings NEAUCE Community,
The time is finally here! Registration is open for the 50th Annual NEAUCE Conference. Join your fellow colleagues for amazing worship, fellowship, and rich discussions. This year the format may be different but the experience will still be what you've come to expect from NEAUCE!
NEAUCE is featuring two keynote speakers this year, Rev. Dr. Gay Byron and Rev. Dr. Jason Santos. We will meet together Firday evening for worship and Rev. Dr. Byron's keynote address. Saturday morning we'll gather togethether for a plenary session with Rev. Dr. Santos. Later on Saturday we'll meet with Rev. Susan Townsley for a special all group innovative workshop on "Blue Sky" discussions. Make space for the joy of thinking freely and making connections beyond the usual.
Get ready to Tear Down, Tranform and Transcend!
We can't wait to see you there!
Your NEAUCE Planning Team
PS: There will be a free gift created by our guest artist, Rev. Amy Bruch, for the first 50 people to register!
The first 50 to register will receive a free gift created by our guest artist, Rev. Amy Bruch!
Keynote Speaker
Rev. Dr. Gay Byron
The Rev. Dr. Gay L. Byron is Professor of New Testament and Early Christianity at the Howard University School of Divinity in Washington, DC. Her scholarship focuses on the origins of Christianity in ancient Ethiopia. She is the recipient of several fellowships for her research, which identifies and examines ancient Ethiopic (Ge`ez) sources for the study of the New Testament and other early Christian writings. She is the author of Symbolic Blackness and Ethnic Difference in Early Christian Literature (Routledge Press) and co-editor of Womanist Interpretations of the Bible: Expanding the Discourse (SBL Press). Rev. Byron is an ordained minister of the Word and Sacrament (Teaching Elder) in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and currently serves as the Stated Supply Pastor at Northminster Presbyterian Church in Washington, DC. She preaches and leads workshops throughout the country for a variety of denominational bodies, and lectures at theological schools and universities on topics dealing with race, ethnicity, and the Bible; African American and womanist hermeneutics; Ethiopic manuscripts; and early Ethiopian Christianity. She holds degrees from Florida State University (B.S.), Clark Atlanta University (M.B.A.), and Union Theological Seminary in New York City (M.Div. and Ph.D.). She has two sons and enjoys sporting and cultural ativities.
Keynote Speaker & Worship Leader
Rev. Dr. Jason Brian Santos
The Rev. Dr.Santos is an American practical theologian and the pastor of Community Presbyterian Church, a small mountain congregation located in Lake City, CO. For the last five years, he served as the national director for Christian Formation for the Presbyterian Church (USA), where he is an ordained Minister of Word and Sacrament. He holds a Ph.D. in practical theology from Princeton Theological Seminary, where he also earned his Masters of Divinity. He is the author of A Community Called Taiz (IVP, 2008) and co-author of the forthcoming revised edition of Intergenerational Christian Formation (IVP Academic, 2012). Jason currently resides in an almost 150 year old historic church manse in Lake City, with his wife, Shannon and his two sons, Judah and Silas (aka Tutu). In his spare time, he plays and designs board games.
Blue Sky Workshop Leader
Rev. Susan Townsley
Rev. Susan Townsley is the Pastor of South Church in Kennebunkport, Maine. Formerly the Associate Conference Minister for Innovation, Leadership, and Change in the Southern New England Conference of the United Church of Christ, Suzi uses creative and playful approaches to visioning and futuring. Rev. Suzi is known for her leadership development, the creation of "Blue Sky" spaces for innovative thinking, and her work to enhance church's capacity for change. She is a graduate of Smith College (Mathematics) and Harvard Divinity School. She has been ordained for 27 years and is also a PCC certified Coach.
Music Leader
Daniel Brownell
A native of southern Connecticut, Daniel Brownell is an accomplished professional musician and trained music educator. Since 2015, he has served as Minister of Music at the First United Church of Christ, Congregational of Milford, CT, where he directs six music ensembles, serves as principal organist and accompanist for all worship services, guides the long term vision of the ministry including its community outreach, and coordinates the Annual Concert Series. During the pandemic, he has been instrumental in transforming the music ministry for online worship and programming, and helping to shepherd the whole church through this new reality.Before Milford, he served as Director of Music of Terryville Congregational Church for 4 years, after holding a number of small church positions while still an undergrad. He also holds nearly ten years of professional experience as a music educator, having taught in the public and private schools of CT in a variety of instrumental and choral positions. Daniel holds degrees from Ithaca College (BM, Music Education), and the University of Hartford’s, Hartt School of Music (MME, Music Education and Wind Conducting). He is active as an organ recitalist, and a performer of various mediums across the state.You can find out more about him from his personal website ( dabrownellmusic.com) and his professional activities on the Youtube page of First UCC Milford (Youtube search: First UCC Milford).He lives in Wallingford with his wife, and their beautiful Belgian sheepdog.
Guest Storyteller
Valerie Tutson
Valerie Tutson graduated from Brown University with a self-designed major, Storytelling As a Communication’s Art, and a Masters in Theatre. Since 1991 she has traveled the country and world teaching storytelling and gathering and sharing stories and songs. Her repertoire includes folktales, personal and historical stories with an emphasis on black traditions, and first person Bible stories. A lifelong member of the UCC, Valerie has been featured at numerous UCC events across the country both as a storyteller and workshop/retreat leader. Valerie has also shared her gifts in interfaith gatherings and settings for other denominations. She volunteers each summer at Silver Lake, the Connecticut Conference Outdoor Ministry Program, as one of the deans of SING PRAISE, a conference during which 40 middle schoolers write and perform an original Biblical musical in 5 days. In addition to telling stories herself, Valerie provides opportunities for others tell their stories, as well. For 12 years she hosted Cultural Tapestry, an award winning show for COX Communications. Valerie is a founding member of the Rhode Island Black Storytellers, director of FUNDA FEST: An Annual Celebration of Black Storytelling, and serves as the Executive Director. Valerie served on the board of the National Association of Black Storytellers and twice was Co-Director of its annual Festival and Conference, once in Providence, RI. Valerie has been a featured teller and EMCEE at the National Storytelling Festival in Jonesboro, Tennessee and the National Black Storytelling Festival and Conference. In 2013 Valerie received the Legacy Award from Big Brothers and Sisters of the Ocean State, and, in 2014, she received an Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts from Rhode Island College, where she was also the Commencement Speaker.
Notable Appearances:
- Storyteller/Presenter: Food for the Journey with John Bell
- Keynote Presenter with Walter Brueggerman, Awakening Soul Conference
- Worship and Workshop Presenter, United Theological Seminary
- Keynote Presenter, Episcopal Church of Minnesota Convention
- Northfield Conference, an intergenerational, interdenominational women’s conference in New Wilmington, PA
- Program Presenter for youth and adults on Star Island for both the Unitarians and the UCC
- Storyteller at National UCC Women’s Conferences in Boston, and regional conferences in New Hampshire, Maine and Vermont
- Appeared at UCC Synods in Providence, RI, Minneapolis, MN, and co-hosted the 50th Anniversary Synod In the City with Phil Porter in Hartford, CT
- Storyteller and Workshop presenter at regional UCC conferences nationwide, including Hawaii, Iowa, Ohio, New York, Southern California, Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut
- Featured storyteller and the Bible Study leader at the UCC National Youth Events in Tennessee in 2004 and 2008, RYE in 2019
- Appeared as part of the UCC Easter Special, and on the UCC Stewardship DVD
- Storyteller for CT UCC Amistad Celebration at Mystic Seaport, and MA UCC event in Boston, MA
Guest Artist
Rev. Amy Bruch
Rev. Amy A. Bruch has served both churches and preparatory schools as an ordained UCC minister and teacher for almost 30 years. Throughout her life and ministry, Amy has felt called to be a “maker,”specifically working in clay, primarily on the wheel. Amy feels profoundly grateful for the gift of her hands. One of Amy’s favorite quotes comes from a fellow potter named Carla Needleman, who said, “the work of craft is a preparation, one of many.” Amy believes that her many years spent in studios of all kinds, making objects from clay, wood, paper, straw, metal and more, have had a profound impact on her life… in the ways she has learned to express creativity, to problem solve, to develop habits of skill, to teach others and to minister to communities of faith. She believes we are all makers at heart.
The first 50 to register will receive a free gift created by our guest artist, Rev. Amy Bruch!
Contact
Jessica Moore
NEAUCE Registrar
pastorjessica@firstcongregationalstalbans.org