From the President

One Last Time

By Michael Readinger | September 13, 2021

As I ruminate on the approach of that day when I leave my role here at CHHSM, I am struck by the reality that almost everything I do in this role may be happening for the final time in my career! The UCC General Synod in July, my gatherings with my peers at the Interfaith…

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It All Starts at Home

By CHHSM Staff | August 13, 2021

This month, Mike invited our newest employee, Essence Ellis — CHHSM and JLCM United Church of Christ Fellow — to author an article. This column originally appeared in the Justice and Local Church Ministries’ Witness for Justice. By Essence Ellis  The national eviction ban ended on July 31. While tens of thousands of people attended…

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Together, We are the Church on the Move

By Michael Readinger | July 19, 2021

The United Church of Christ meets every other year at General Synod to conduct its business. At this year’s recently concluded Synod, there were elections, resolutions of witness, prudential resolutions, speak outs, worship services and music, optional events, educational intensives, implementation conversations, hearings, and much more. But there were no cookies this year! There were…

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The Way Forward

By Michael Readinger | June 11, 2021

At the just completed CHHSM Board of Directors meeting, we held a generative session that explored the depth and breadth of the Race, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Assessment we received from the Equius Group. That session, which we called “The Way Forward,” gave the board an opportunity to dissect the report and prioritize action items…

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Emerging

By Michael Readinger | May 14, 2021

I am writing this column while I am “on vacation” in southern California. The desert environment is an amazing and beautiful landscape that contains so many surprises and unexpected wonders. Many of the miracles of nature that appear here every day make me ponder the possibilities ahead of us as we begin to emerge from…

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Together Again — What will it Require?

By Michael Readinger | April 13, 2021

I know we will be able to meet in person again someday in the near future. We have all heard the scientific research, political opinions, theories, hopes, and worries about how and when that will happen. I do not have all of the answers, but I do have some of the questions and possible answers…

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Curiosity

By Michael Readinger | March 11, 2021

While I have always been a curious person who wonders about almost everything behind the scenes, I find myself with a renewed and redirected sense of curiosity following the 83rd CHHSM Annual Gathering last week. The Annual Gathering may have been offered on a virtual, technology-based platform, but there were so many opportunities for personal…

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Heroes

By Michael Readinger | February 11, 2021

This issue of Diakonie arrives in your mailbox on the day after we celebrate President’s Day. Abraham Lincoln’s birthday was last week, the Super Bowl a few days before that. And recently, there have been so many stories of the deaths of music, movie and theater legends, sports stars, political leaders and other celebrities in…

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Resilience, NOT Resolutions

By Michael Readinger | January 13, 2021

Generally, this New Year’s column would be about resolutions for the year ahead. However, after all that has transpired in the last 10 months (and on January 6th especially), resilience is foremost in my mind as we look ahead to whatever 2021 might bring. I am not suggesting resilience works or is even possible for…

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Hope Springs Eternal

By Michael Readinger | December 10, 2020

December. A final column for 2020. A year like none ever experienced by 99.9 percent of us. Advent. As my thoughts swirl like blowing leaves of autumn and the first snows of winter; as I remember columns I have written at the end of each of the last 6 years; as I reflect on the…

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