Barb Powell

New Location, New Class Bring Renewed Energy to Nollau Leadership Institute

By Barb Powell | June 13, 2023

With much enthusiasm, the members of the 2023-2024 Nollau Leadership Institute met May 22-26 at Bellwether Farm in Wakeman, Ohio, for their first retreat of the year-long program. To say that people came away refreshed and grounded would be an understatement. “The biggest thing is we had to work on ourselves first,” said Melinda Love,…

Read More

CHHSM Brings Multitude of Gifts to UCC General Synod this Summer

By Barb Powell | June 13, 2023

Beginning with the opening worship and concluding with closing worship, the UCC’s General Synod — which takes place June 30-July 4 in Indianapolis — will feature many of the gifts of the Council for Health and Human Service Ministries (CHHSM) and its members. The theme of this year’s Synod is “Making All Things New,” based…

Read More

CHHSM Creates Special Emerging Leadership Cohort for Rev. Jerry Paul Scholar Finalists

By Barb Powell | June 13, 2023

A rare juxtaposition of events has created an innovative blessing for the UCC’s Council for Health and Human Service Ministries and the finalists for its Rev. Jerry Paul Scholar Program, or CHHSM Scholar Program. Beginning this summer, and through the 2023-2024 academic year, the three finalists for the CHHSM Scholar Program will form a one-year…

Read More

New Study Guide Leads Readers Through Book on Youth and Teen Mental Illness

By Barb Powell | April 15, 2023

In April 2022, Blessed Youth: Breaking the Silence about Mental Illness with Children and Teens was published by Chalice Press to critical acclaim. At times poignant and extraordinarily practical, the book by the Rev. Sarah Griffith Lund, the UCC’s minister for disabilities and mental health justice, helps readers remove the shame and stigma associated with…

Read More

CHHSM Annual Business Meeting Tells Good News of CHHSM Member Agencies

By Barb Powell | March 17, 2023

One highlight of CHHSM’s 85th Annual Gathering — held March 7-9 in Denver — was the CHHSM Annual Business Meeting and Luncheon, which took place March 8. During the meeting, which included highlights of the work of CHHSM staff over the past year, the board also received the Member Report, enumerating not only the number…

Read More

CHHSM’s 85th Annual Gathering Filled with Renewal, Justice, and Hope

By Barb Powell | March 17, 2023

Connection. If one word can sum up three days of worship, workshops, keynotes, meetings, and social gatherings, it’s connection — at least in terms of the 85th Annual Gathering of the UCC Council for Health and Human Service Ministries, themed “Together through Mountains and Valleys” and held March 7-9 in Denver. “The 85th Annual Gathering…

Read More

Closing Worship Renews Commitment to Working Together for Justice in Health and Human Service Ministries

By Barb Powell | March 17, 2023

After a week filled with meaningful worship, learning, networking, and reconnecting with colleagues and friends, attendees to CHHSM’s 85th Annual Gathering in Denver met for closing worship March 9 in the special space of the Denver Art Museum. Prior to the service beginning, Jamar Doyle, CHHSM’s president and CEO, thanked Archway Communities in Denver, one…

Read More

Inspiring Opening Worship Sets Tone for CHHSM’s 85th Annual Gathering

By Barb Powell | March 17, 2023

The mood was both celebratory and purposeful as CHHSM members assembled at Kirk of Bonnie Brae UCC in Denver on March 7 for opening worship of CHHSM’s 85th Annual Gathering. While the gathering’s theme, “Together Through Mountains and Valleys,” echoed throughout the conference, the focus on justice and advocacy in health and human service ministries…

Read More

Members, Partners, Friends: Everyone Steps Up to Support CHHSM’s Annual Gathering

By Barb Powell | February 13, 2023

“Together through Mountains and Valleys” is the theme of this year’s Annual Gathering, a reference to CHHSM members weathering the ups and downs of the past three years as they continue to struggle with the COVID-19 pandemic as well as institutional racism and equity concerns. But thanks to partners and other CHHSM members stepping up…

Read More

CHHSM Brings Message of Health and Human Service Collaboration to UCC Rural/Small Town Church Gathering

By Barb Powell | February 13, 2023

The UCC Council for Health and Human Service Ministries took a leading role in a first-ever Virtual National Gathering of UCC Rural/Small Town Churches and Ministries, held Feb. 9-11 from 4 to 7 p.m. each day. Throughout the three days, all of the keynotes and session presenters focused on the theme, “Nourishing the Seeds of…

Read More
Join Our Mailing LIst

Follow on Facebook

Quick Links