Annual Meeting speaker will focus on young people

Conference Minister Michael Denton suggests that delegates and visitors attending the Annual Meeting April 29 to May 1 will find a different format and style to the meeting which will be held at University Congregational UCC in Seattle, a church rather than a hotel-convention-center site.

It will be the first time in 15 years that Annual Meeting will be held west of the Cascades, rather than in Wenatchee, Yakima or Spokane.  The reason is that University Congregational UCC has facilities large enough to host a meeting for 300 to 400 people.

“Connections – Reflections – Directions” is the theme.

Da Vita McCallister

To reach out to and involve youth and young adults, the featured speaker will be the Rev. Da Vita McCallister, the Connecticut UCC Conference’s associate minister for youth and young adult ministers.

As a national speaker, McCallister is known for challenging listeners to embrace their God-given gifts to share in transforming the world.

In the Connecticut Conference, she supports and equips youth workers and ministers, building a youth leadership movement that is multicultural and multiracial, and challenging local churches and the Conference in the ways God calls young people to leadership in the church.

Known as “Day,” McAlliseter has more than 20 years’ experience working in youth and young adult ministries. She was ordained in the Southeast Conference in 2004 and has served in local churches, the Southeast Conference and as minister for youth, young adult and outdoor ministries with the national setting of the United Church of Christ.

Denton said that with more UCC members living in the Seattle area, the hope is that more of them will be able to commute to the meeting and fewer people will have to stay overnight in hotels.  In order to save costs and increase participation for those who will travel from other parts of the state, the conference is asking members of local UCC churches to open rooms in their homes to delegates.  PNC will also suggest a hotels in a 15-mile radius.

Because the Conference can select caterers, planners hope to reduce the cost of meals on site and offer inexpensive meal options near the church.

Denton said that while University Congregational is “a gracious host” they do not have the same resources as a convention center.  Volunteers will be needed to do things the Conference has previously paid a convention center to do.

The church parking lot has space for many, but not all, plus there may be difficulty with traffic in Seattle on Friday.

Because of need to accommodate for normal Sunday worship attendance at University Congregational, conference delegates will be invited to visit local congregations on Sunday morning and bring greetings on behalf of the Conference.

To do that plan for worship, Annual Meeting will officially close on Saturday.

For information, call 206-725-8383.

Copyright Pacific Northwest Conference News © January 2011