by Rev. Kenneth Young, Associate Director & Lydia Fellows Program Director   Church, we are so excited to report that the Lydia Fellow Program is back! Lydia Fellows Program is funded by the Lilly Endowment. We received the funds to work with bi-vocational or multi-vocational pastors and clergy. The Lydia Fellows Program started in 2019. The Massachusetts Council of Churches is grateful to work with the bi-vocational clergy. New England churches are seeing a rise in bi-vocational pastors and clergy. Massachusetts Council of Churches is looking to learn and grow from listening to the n ..read more

November 2023 Rev. Kenneth Young, Associate Director   “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” — Theodore Roosevelt   Roosevelt’s thought about life and leadership resembles many leaders in the country. Bivocational pastors may feel that the quote sings to their hearts. New England is known for education, history, and sciences but not so much for active churches. How do the churches in New England respond is vital to the institution of the church? “The least religious states are Massachusetts and New Hampshire, both of which have only 33% of adults identi ..read more

COVID Ministries Across Massachusetts By Rev. Bria Belim, COVID Grant Coordinator Three long years ago, in March 2020, the president at the time declared a national pandemic. For almost the first eight months to a year of the pandemic, the amount of deaths daily were atrocious. As you may recall, there were no vaccines and it was hard to get COVID tested. .From Left: Rebecca, Pastor Sandra Whitley, Rev. Bria Belim, COVID Grant Coordinator (Center), Toni, Angelina at Bethel AME Church, New Bedford A year into the pandemic, the Massachusetts Council of Churches was invited to apply for, and re ..read more

February 1, 2024 By Rev. Kenneth Young, Associate Director What is a day in the life of a bi-vocational pastor? Have you ever thought about what it means to work seven days per week and at least twelve hours a day? Can you imagine taking a day off to work your other job? Imagine never seeing a sabbath or knowing how to fit a day off during the seven-day week. The fatigue and weariness must be high because the pastor cannot get time to breathe. Bi-vocational pastors across the Commonwealth and beyond have struggled to answer the questions above. A few of the 2023 Lydia Fellows gather in person ..read more

Ministry and Stress Update on Lydia Fellows from Associate Director Rev. Kenneth Young “Fewer than two-thirds (62.2 percent) of churches in the United States have a full-time pastor, according to the 2015 Faith Communities Today survey. That’s down from 71.4 percent in 2010.” The increase of bivocational pastors is becoming more of a norm in today’s church. How will the church function without a full-time pastor? Will the church continue to be impactful if there are more part-time pastors than in the past, or will the church begin to fizzle out? Can pastor tend to the flock and maintain a heal ..read more

Overflow: Faith Leaders Respond Thursday February 1, 2024 1pm Via Zoom, with Registration Required co-hosted by Massachusetts Council of Churches, Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Boston, Boston Faith & Justice Network This week, the state of Massachusetts will set up a new emergency overflow shelter at the Melnea A. Cass Recreation Center in Roxbury to temporarily house those seeking refuge at Logan Airport. Join your clergy colleagues from around greater Boston on Thursday February 1 at 1pm via for a briefing on the current situation of those migrants seeking refuge in Mass ..read more

A reflection by the Rev. Dr. Diane C. Kessler, former Executive Director of the Massachusetts Council of Churches Eden Grace passed away on May 26, 2023 at a hospice center in Scarborough, Maine with complications from her chemotherapy treatment.  She was well known to many in among the New England Yearly Meeting of Friends (Quakers) and the Massachusetts Council of Churches.  Please watch for an announcement of a memorial service for Eden, under the care of Beacon Hill Friends Meeting in Boston. God bless her, she was a gift not only to the Religious Society of Friends, but to a ..read more

Dear Church, With great joy and thanksgiving to God, I am thrilled to announce with the Executive Board that Rev. Kenneth Young has been promoted to the role of Associate Director of the Massachusetts Council of Churches. You know this, Church, but Rev. Kenneth is a gift to the whole body of Christ. Over the past two and a half years of his leadership at the Massachusetts Council of Churches, he has led major initiatives that have both dug deep into our history and pushed into God’s expansive future. Rev. Kenneth had the prophetic vision and the pastoral insight to know, far before anyone was ..read more

By Rev. Bria Belim, Covid-19 Grant Coordinator October was a busy month for the churches that are part of the Covid-19 Grant. We know that Covid-19 has a long and intense effect on so many parts of our common life, especially on communities that have historically been denied economic resources. These churches, through a Mass. Council of Churches supported grant, lead ministries that support health and well-being in the local communities in a variety of creative ways. I am incredibly proud of the work that our churches have been doing as it relates to covid and mental health. Bethel African Me ..read more