From the President

Ministry Moments from the President: July 2024

By Jamar Doyle | July 10, 2024

This short, monthly video conversation highlights various CHHSM ministries and partners, as together we build a more just, equitable, caring, and compassionate world. In this month’s video, Jamar Doyle, president and CEO of CHHSM, interviews Nichelle Simmons, associate vice president of program support for UCAN in Chicago. #BeAVoiceCHHSM

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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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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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Time to Act!

By Michael Readinger | July 13, 2020

In June, the CHHSM Board and Staff released a letter in response to the pandemic of systemic racism. In the past 30 days we have been laying the groundwork for implementation of the action steps that we committed to taking. A letter is important, but actions speak louder than words and it is time to…

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Servant Leadership: Nollau

By Michael Readinger | October 12, 2017
Michael J. Readinger

During the last week of September, I was blessed to spend three days in St. Louis with the Nollau Institute class of 2017-2018 and my faculty teammates. It was an inspirational time of didactic and experiential learning, sharing of celebrations, opportunities and best practices. We dined, prayed, laughed and cried together. We encouraged, supported and…

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J. Bennett Guess: Saying Farewell to UCC’s National Headquarters, Not Its Impactful Mission

By Rev. J. Bennett Guess | June 15, 2017
The Rev. Dr. J. Bennett Guess

After 17 years as a church bureaucrat, I’m moving on. I joined the United Church of Christ’s national offices, along with 100 new hires, in the summer of 2000. It was a time of great anticipation. “Restructure” — with a capital “R” — had just concluded after a 10-year exhaustive process, overcoming massive legal and…

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Three Great Loves

By Michael Readinger | May 15, 2017
Michael J. Readinger

As summer approaches and our UCC minds start to focus on Conference Annual Meetings and the 2017 General Synod in Baltimore, I am compelled to ask you to consider participating in the UCC initiative “Three Great Loves.”  While there are many things we all love, this is the time where we are called to set…

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