National leader to attend sessions

Advertiser Staff

The head of the United Church of Christ denomination will be in Hawai'i for the 182nd Aha Pae'aina, the general conference for the Hawai'i conference of the UCC.

The Rev. John H. Thomas, general minister and president of the UCC General Synod in Providence, R.I., will be meeting with clergy and leading worship services during the weeklong annual conference, which begins tomorrow afternoon.

During the conference, the delegates from Hawai'i's 125 churches on the islands will attend meetings, discuss business and have social and worship opportunities. There will also be workshops on planned giving and preschool issues. A vote on the nominee for new Hawai'i conference minister, the Rev. Dr. Charles Buck, is also scheduled.

As the denomination's president, Thomas is official spokesman for the synod and official representative of the church when it comes to dealing with other faiths.

Ordained in 1975, Thomas served in churches in Pennsylvania and Connecticut. He now lives in Ohio.