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2026 Clergy Conference: Know Before You Go

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Faith, Hope & Love: 2026 Clergy Conference

May 18–19, 2026 (optional Sunday, May 17)
The Heritage Hotel & Conference Center, Southbury, CT

Your Clergy Conference planning team and Bishops are looking forward to seeing you in Southbury! We are praying for you, as you prepare to join us at the Heritage Hotel & Conference Center (522 Heritage Road, Southbury, CT). Here are some things to know before you go. Please read carefully.

PARKING AND ACCESSIBILITY

  • Parking is available at no charge for commuters and overnight guests.
  • Designated accessible parking spots are available and marked with the appropriate signage.
  • A limited number of EV charging stations are available for a fee.

CONFERENCE & HOTEL CHECK-IN

  • Monday morning Clergy Conference registration begins at 8 AM. Hotel check-in is at 4 PM. Participants arriving Monday may check into their hotel rooms before dinner.
  • You may inquire about early check-in by contacting The Heritage Hotel directly.
  • Please follow signage to Clergy Conference check-in on Monday morning. We’ll begin Monday in the Timbers Ballroom.

WHAT TO BRING

  • Bring something to write with and something to write on.
  • Dress in layers, you know how these venues work, temperature-wise.
  • Bring a water bottle/reusable drink container.  

ECCT MERCHANDISE & BOOKS

  • ECCT-branded merchandise will be available (sweatshirts, t-shirts, tumblers, socks, etc.) for sale. You can pay via card and cash.
  • We have a limited number of our speakers’ newest book, “Embracing the Mixed Ecology: Inherited and New Forms of Christian Community Flourishing Together,” to giveaway.

FOOD ARRANGEMENTS

  • A light breakfast for commuters will be available on Monday morning beginning at 8:30 AM.
  • Those staying over Sunday night may enjoy the hotel-provided breakfast. Tables will be reserved for our group.
  • Lunch and dinner are provided on site on Monday.
  • Tuesday’s breakfast will be available at 8 AM for those staying overnight or those who have purchased a voucher.
  • Tuesday’s breakfast vouchers will be available at Conference registration for pick-up or, if you haven’t done so already and would like to do so, for purchase.
  • Water will be available throughout the day.
  • Heritage Hotel & Conference Center is making arrangements for dietary restrictions and food allergies.

EVENING FUN

  • For those staying Sunday night, join members of the Clergy Conference planning team and our Conference presenters, Dwight Zscheile and Blair Pogue, for an informal gathering at 6 PM in the Heritage’s on-site restaurant, The Tavern. We’ll cover the cost of appetizers and non-alcoholic beverages. Larger entrees and other beverages are at your expense.
  • Monday evening, we’re providing dinner on site, making it easy for you to gather with colleagues from around your region. Regional seating will be marked with signage in the Garden Room. Following Dinner & Compline, “Clergy Conference After Dark” commences with karaoke, board games, and time to catch up with friends!

AGENDA

Subject to change, but meal and start times are fixed.

Sunday, May 17

6 PM: Meet at The Tavern for informal fellowship, food, conversation

8:30 PM: Compline

Monday, May 18

8 AM: Conference Check-in

8:30 AM: Breakfast

9 AM: Bishops’ Welcome & Morning Prayer

9:30 AM: Morning Sessions with Speakers, breaks included

12 PM: Lunch

1 PM: Afternoon Session with Speakers, breaks included

5 PM: Break & hotel check-in time

6 PM: Dinner

8 PM: Compline then “Clergy Conference after Dark” (games & Karaoke)

Tuesday, May 19

8 AM: Breakfast

9 AM: Worship

10:30 AM: Break & hotel check-out time

12:30 PM: Lunch

1:30 PM: Bishops’ Time

3:30 PM: Depart

Spring Training & Gathering: We want to hear from you!

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Living in Hope: Spring Training & Gathering 2026
Attendee Survey

We want to hear from you! Take a few moments to share your thoughts with us about your sessions at this year’s Spring Training & Gathering as well as your preferences for next year. Survey is open to all attendees.

Take the survey

OFFERING

This year, we will direct Spring Training & Gathering offering to the Bishops’ Discretionary Fund. The bishops use these funds to assist those in need on a regular basis and those needs, including housing, legal and medical expenses, have and continue to increase with on-going funding cuts in social services. The bishops are grateful for the opportunity to be able to respond through the distribution of these funds and for your geneorisity in supporting those in need with your gifts.

Give online

Spring Training & Gathering: Know Before You Go

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Living in Hope: Spring Training & Gathering 2026

May 2, 2026
Berlin High School

Spring Training & Gathering 2026 is underway, with 22 virtual courses and 35 in‑person offerings. This message includes everything you need to know before attending the in‑person trainings at Berlin High School (139 Patterson Way, Berlin, CT 06037) on Saturday, May 2.

Doors open at 8:00 AM for check‑in. The program begins at 8:30 AM in the auditorium.

Here are some additional things to know before you go. If you have questions about Spring Training & Gathering 2026 that aren’t addressed below, please contact STG@episcopalct.org. We look forward to seeing you soon!

PARKING

  • Parking is free and plentiful at Berlin High School.
  • If mobility is a challenge, please flag down an ECCT staff member at the front entrance of the school. They will be wearing green shirts and will be happy to assist you.

CHECK-IN

  • All attendees must check-in to receive a nametag.
  • The back of your nametag lists your course selections.
  • Wear your nametag throughout the day.
  • At the end of the event, please return your nametag at the check‑in desk so it can be reused for future diocesan gatherings.

FOOD & DRINK

  • Please bring a reusable water bottle. Bottle‑filling stations are available in the cafeteria.
  • Berlin High School will provide breakfast, lunch, snacks, and warm beverages.
  • Lunch will be served buffet‑style and will include gluten‑free, vegetarian, and vegan options.

TECHNOLOGY

  • Please bring a laptop, tablet, or phone to access course materials.
  • Course materials can be emailed to participants after the event, if desired.
  • WiFi is available. Participants can connect to the BHS guest network:

SSID: Redcoats
Password: Craftsman-Genetics-Frenzy4-Proving

OFFERING

This year, we will direct Spring Training & Gathering offering to the Bishops’ Discretionary Fund. The bishops use these funds to assist those in need on a regular basis and those needs, including housing, legal and medical expenses, have and continue to increase with on-going funding cuts in social services. The bishops are grateful for the opportunity to be able to respond through the distribution of these funds and for your geneorisity in supporting those in need with your gifts.

Give online

AGENDA

Subject to change, but meal and start times are fixed.

Saturday, May 2

8 AM: Check-in at the Lobby

8:30 AM: Opening Program & Worship in the Auditorium

9:30 AM: Break

9:45 AM: Session One

11:15 AM: Break

11:30 AM: Lunch

12:30 PM: Session Two

2:00 PM: Break

2:15 PM: Session Three

3:45 PM: Transition back to Auditorium

3:50 PM: Closing Program in the Auditorium

The Rt. Rev. Jeffrey W. Mello’s Sermon from on January 11, 2026

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The Rt. Rev. Jeffrey W. Mello’s Sermon from Christ Church, Middle Haddam on January 11, 2026, includes the following powerful quote. You can read the entire sermon below.

Though the carols and celebrations of Christmas were just over two weeks ago, it feels as though in that time the world has lived a year’s worth of pain.

Regardless our political affiliations, we must agree that how the children of God are treating each other right now is not what God intends. It is not how a beloved child, who knows that they are beloved, treats another they believe to be beloved.

On this matter, I am not willing to agree to disagree.

So if this is how we are treating each other, it must be for one of two reasons. Either we do not understand ourselves as beloved children of God. Or we must not see the other as one.

But we are beloved children of God. You are a beloved child of God. They are beloved children of God, whoever “they” are for you.

I wonder if we have simply forgotten who we are.

Have we forgotten that God saw us exactly as we are and came to be among us, as one of us, anyway?

Have we forgotten that Jesus stood on the bank of the river, saw humanity unfold before him, and he got in the river anyway?

Have we forgotten that getting in the river is where God calls us, and where Grace is to be found?

It is tempting to stay up on shore, safe in our groups of those who think like us, look like us, pray like us, love like us.

But that is not where we will find God. It is not where we will experience the transformative power of God’s love.

You simply cannot look into the eyes of someone you know to be a beloved child of God and end their life, or let them starve, or tolerate their suffering.

We can only do that if we see them as something less than who God made them to be and think of them less than God does as God’s own beloved.

We can only do that if we refuse to go where Jesus went; If we refuse to go where Jesus calls us.

The news if filled of late with story after story of the worst we humans can do to one another.

It is tempting to want to stay up on shore, shaking our heads and throwing our arms up on the air.

But, if we call ourselves Christians, if we claim to be followers of Jesus Christ, that includes following him wherever he goes.

January 11, 2026

Epiphany 1A: Isaiah 42:1-9; Psalm 29; Acts 10:34-43; Matthew 3:13-17

I am the last one in the water at the beach or a pool. Though raised in New England, it takes me forever to get in, if I get in at all.

I am happy to sit and watch others in the chilly water from the comfort of my beach chair or towel.

And you’re not getting me by using euphemisms like “refreshing” or telling me it’s “fine, once you get used to it.” I don’t want to get used to it, thank you very much. Your blue lips and chattering teeth don’t exactly entice my plunging in, either.

In sharp contrast, Jesus wades right into the water.

At his baptism by John the Baptist in the River Jordan, God in Jesus comes to the world, yet again.

It is at this moment that Jesus’ public ministry begins.

Jesus chooses to begin his ministry to the world, in front of the whole world, by getting in the river with the whole world.
The scene at the River Jordan was not like Baptism as we know it today. Imagine the whole of humanity coming to the River to get themselves ready for the coming Messiah.

People of all sorts and conditions coming to John to repent of their sins and start life again.

It is this scene that Jesus comes upon on the bank of the Jordan. The chaos and brokenness of the world was in the river, and Jesus chooses to get in.

Jesus did not watch from a distance, up on shore. Jesus did not agree with John that it was John who should be coming to Jesus, not the other way around.

Before there were the healings, before the feedings, before the teachings, before anything else, Jesus walked into the river where all of humanity splashed about him seeking a new life; a new beginning.

When Jesus gets out of the river, he will bring the hope of new life with him wherever he goes. From that moment on, Jesus will be the river to which others are drawn and where others will find new life.

But before that, he was completely submersed in it, just like everyone else.

I love to imagine that moment, when Jesus is under the water being held by John the baptizer. Just before he submerges, he can hear the roar of the crowd around him.

He can hear people yelling to each other, children laughing and screaming, the noise of splashing; the sound of all humanity in all its loud chaos and then – nothing.

(pause)

The world is silenced. He holds his breath. He can hear his heart beating. He is suddenly alone in the middle of the crowd, just him and his heart – the heartbeat of God.

As he emerges from the water and gasps for his first breath, the noise of the world resumes, but above it all, through it all, is the still small voice of God.

“This is my Son,” the voice says.
“The one I love.”
“The one in whom I am well pleased.”

And that is all Jesus needs to walk back out of the river, soaking wet, dripping with Grace. He walks out of the water, up the banks of the river and into his ministry to bring all the world into loving relationship with the God who made them, no matter what.

Jesus walked into the river; God joining with all of humanity. And then God walked back out, inviting all of humanity to join in the transforming work of Love in the world.

We have much to celebrate here this morning at Christ Church, Middle Haddam.

We gathered yesterday morning at Christ Church Cathedral in Hartford and joined in the ordination of Maggie Labinski and three others to the Sacred Order of Priests. It was a joyous celebration, and Maggie will make a terrific priest in the church.

One of the gifts Maggie brings to the priesthood is her willingness to get in the river with the people of God. She isn’t afraid to get wet, if you will. It is where she finds the mystery and power of God.

This morning, we will confirm and receive members of this community into the Episcopal church. We will standing next to those longing to renew their Baptismal Vows and we will all say, once again, that “we will, with God’s help.” We will get in the river. We will follow Jesus into the world. We will bear witness to the transformative power of God’s love.

And this morning we will bless the bell, name her Page, and dedicate her in memory of, and thanksgiving for, the life and ministry of a faithful priest who was not afraid to wade deep in the water of humanity, confident that that was where she would find God.

And she was right.

There is much to celebrate here this morning. And I am so grateful. My heart and my Spirit have been in deep need of reasons to celebrate.

Though the carols and celebrations of Christmas were just over two weeks ago, it feels as though, in that time, the world has seen a year’s worth of pain.

Regardless our political affiliations, we must agree that how the children of God are treating each other right now is not what God intends. It is not how a beloved child, who knows that they are beloved, treats another they believe to be beloved.

On this matter, I am not willing to agree to disagree.

So, if this is how we are treating each other, it must be for one of two reasons. Either we do not understand ourselves as beloved children of God. Or we must not see the other as one.

But we are beloved children of God. You are a beloved child of God. They are beloved children of God, whoever “they” are for you.

I wonder if we have simply forgotten who we are.

Have we forgotten that God saw us exactly as we are and came to be among us, as one of us anyway?

Have we forgotten that Jesus stood on the bank of the river, saw humanity unfold before him, and he got in the river anyway.

Have we forgotten that getting in the river is where God calls us, and where Grace is to be found?

It is tempting to stay up on shore, safe in our groups of those who think like us, look like us, pray like us, love like us.

But that is not where we will find God. It is not where we will experience the transformative power of God’s love.

You simply cannot look into the eyes of someone you know to be a beloved child of God and end their life, or let them starve, or tolerate their suffering.

We can only do that if we see them as something less than who God made them to be and think of them less than God does as God’s own beloved.

We can only do that if we refuse to go where Jesus went.
If we refuse to go where Jesus calls us.

The news if filled of late with story after story of the worst we humans can do to one another.

It is tempting to want to stay up on shore, shaking our heads and throwing our arms up on the air.

But, if we call ourselves Christians, if we claim to be followers of Jesus Christ, that includes following him wherever he goes, including into the river of humanity.

As the baptized, we promised not to stay up on the shore. This morning, we will promise not to, once again.

For Maggie to be the priest God needs her to be, she will need to get in the river. For Christ Church Middle Haddam to be the church God needs you to be, you will need to show the world what it looks like to get in the river and make God’s love known above the noise of the world like that bell will for ages to come.

And for us to know our belovedness before God, we have got to get in the river with the brokenness in the world and honor the belovedness of every human being, every child of God who we will find there.

And when it gets overwhelming, take a dunk under the water. Listen for a bit to the heartbeat of God and come back up, take a deep breath and hear God tell you again that you are God’s child. You are beloved. And in you God is well pleased.

Wade in the water. I’m not going to lie; it isn’t always easy. It can be quite a shock to the system, and I pray you never get used to it.

Wade in the water, anyway. For it might just be where the world needs you, where God needs you, where Jesus calls you to join him, that the whole world might emerge, dripping with Grace, radiating with the love of God.

Let us wade in the water, with God’s help.

AMEN.

© 2026 The Rt. Rev. Jeffrey W. Mello

The Legacy of Bishop Theodore Holly

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“I think it's so critical that the masses learn who Bishop Holly was because he was really instrumental in the formation of this church. My ancestors that came over and worship here, and the ancestors of the Reverend Judith, and so many others, are sitting on the shoulders of Bishop Holly. He left the Roman Catholic Church because of racism. They wouldn't recognize or ordain black folks. He came to us, and as you know, the Episcopal Church welcomes everyone.

ECCT’s 240th Annual Convention Attendee Survey

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2024 Annual Convention Attendee Survey

The Convention Planning Committee wants to hear from you! Take a few moments to share your thoughts with us about your experience of this year’s Annual Convention as well as your preferences for next year. Survey is open to all attendees, including non-voting participants at Convention.

Take the survey