Cecile Gilson's Call to Commissioned Ministry

Commissioned Ministry

The United Church of Christ recognizes that God calls the whole church and every member to participate in and extend the ministry of Jesus Christ by witnessing to the gospel in church and society. The United Church of Christ seeks to undergird the ministry of its members by nurturing faith, calling forth gifts, and equipping members for Christian service.

The United Church of Christ recognizes that God calls certain of its members to various forms of ministry in and on behalf of the church.

Commissioning is the act whereby the United Church of Christ, through an Association, in cooperation with a person and a local church of the United Church of Christ, recognizes and authorizes that member to a specific church-related ministry that is recognized by that Association.

A Commissioned Minister in the United Church of Christ is one of its lay members who has been called by God and commissioned for a specific church-related ministry.

From the Constitution of the United Church of Christ

Several years ago Cecile Gilson began to recognize that her work as the Program Coordinator for Justice/Witness and Wider Church Ministries of the Connecticut Conference of the United Church of Christ was a call from God. For her, the work of helping churches and their leaders bear witness to the compassion and justice of God in the human community was not just a job; she began to perceive it as a God-given vocation. So, in conversation with me, the Conference staff, and the members of our board of deacons, Cecile began the journey to have this "calling" recognized by the Windham Association of the United Church of Christ as a Commissioned Minister. That journey began officially in January, 2004, when Cecile asked our board of deacons to request the Windham Association to prepare a process that would lead to recognizing Cecile as a Commissioned Minister of the United Church of Christ. That process included a retreat at the Pendle Hill Conference Center (PA), a number of courses at Hartford Seminary (including a UCC polity course), readings, sessions with a spiritual director, developing connections with networks advocating justice issues in our state and nation, and maintaining a record and reflections of the various threads of this adventure. On Nov. 9, 2005 the Committee on Ministry and Church Standing of the Windham Association recognized that Cecile had successfully completed that process and voted to recommend to the Association that she be commissioned for this ministry.

What happens next is that the Association will gather at our church on Sunday, February 19, at 3:00 p.m., for an ecclesiastical council that will receive that recommendation and vote on it after Cecile presents a commissioning paper. If the council concurs that Cecile should be commissioned for this ministry, a commissioning service will be held in our church on March 26, at 4:00 p.m.

I rejoice that Cecile has officially completed this process. It has been an important journey for Cecile. This is the same journey (but with a different theme) that Debbie Pallatto-Fontaine completed two years ago. Our church can be rightfully proud that two of our members have elected to have their God-giving callings recognized in this manner. I know you will want to support Cecile through the last steps of this process. Please feel free to attend the ecclesiastical council on Feb. 19, and plan to be at the service celebrating her commissioning on March 26.

And, the latest news about Cecile's calling to support the justice and witness ministries of our church is that she has recently been appointed to be the Assistant to the Conference Minister, the Rev. Davida Crabtree. In that position she will be able to assist our Conference Minister with those ministries and activities. Obviously Davida, too, has also recognized Cecile's gifts and is looking forward to working with her in the coming years.

In God's peace,

Jamie Harrison