Articles

Conference Ministers’ Corner By: Transitional Associate Conference Minister, Linda Hirst 5.14.26 Ezekiel 37:5 “Thus says the Lord God to these bones: I will cause breath [a] to enter you, and you shall live.” One day, while living in Richmond, VA, my husband Brad brought home a tree he had bought at Krogers (the local grocery store). It was a sad, sickly twig of a tree, and as he walked past me to dig a hole for it, I said to him, "That tree is dead. You know that, right? Y

Conference Ministers’ Corner By: Transitional Associate Conference Minister, Linda Hirst 5.6.26 While sitting outside last week, my friend and I noticed that a couple of bluebirds had claimed residence in her newly constructed bluebird house. So exciting! We sat outside in lawn chairs (it was a rare warm day) and watched as the female bluebird zipped from the birdhouse, across the yard to a tree where she'd gather a few pine needles, then zip back to her "home." Once there sh

An Anniversary Appeal Conference Ministers’ Corner In 2026, the New Hampshire Conference celebrates its 225th anniversary. Formed in June 1801 in Hopkinton as the “Missionary Society”, we came together to “fill empty pulpits, organize churches where needed, and in other ways minister to places destitute of religion”. Through the years there were many name changes, with the vote to officially become the New Hampshire Conference of the United Church of Christ occurring in 1961

NH Article – April 22nd, 2026 The Impact of Words Rev. Gordon Rankin | Conference Minister When I was young, there was a saying that I always took as containing some wise truth. I suspect many of you know the one: "Sticks and stones can break my bones, but words will never hurt me." It was sort of our cultural way of saying "toughen up." Here is the problem with that teaching — words do cause harm. Words cause emotional, spiritual, and societal harm. If we don't recognize t

Discernment I have been talking a lot about the practice of discernment lately. The more conversations I have had about discernment, the more I have realized it is not a commonly understood concept. My experience is that some people consider discernment to be the “church word” for decision-making. For me, there is more to discernment than that. So, I thought I’d write this week about what, for me, the essence of discernment is. For me, discernment is never just about figuring