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Read UCC Update/Statement about Earthquake in Turkey and Syria The UCC is issuing an appeal to assist those affected in the region. Please designate International Emergency on this donation page to support this response. SNEUCC Leaders: Overturn of Roe v. Wade 'Unjust and Dehumanizing ' Read entire letter by Rev. James D. Ross II Minister for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion here UCC 2021 Synod adopts two important resolutions On opening night at the 2021 online General Synod of the national United Church of Christ, delegates overwhelmingly adopted a resolution calling for the UCC to become a church of “contemplatives in action.” Below is a summary of the resolution and a link to the article. This Resolution calls for the United Church of Christ to be a church of “contemplatives in action”. The United Church of Christ is known historically as a denomination for its bold leadership on social justice, peace, and environmental concerns. This resolution seeks the church’s integration of action for justice alongside intentional commitment to the life of prayer. Through fostering spiritual practices that deepen us in love for God, neighbors, ourselves, and all creation, this Resolution would empower the UCC to more fully root its collective life of activism for justice in the prayerful life of contemplation. By declaring its support for this resolution, the General Synod will emphasize the necessity of experiential grounding in the love of God alongside our common witness for justice and peace, while resourcing the wider church in the diversity of spiritual disciplines. Read more here. Additionally, the Synod affirmed a resolution calling for cash bail system reform. Read more here. The United Church of Christ (UCC) is a distinct and diverse community of Christians that come together as one church to join faith and action. With over 5,000 churches and nearly one million members across the U.S., the UCC serves God in the co-creation of a just and sustainable world. The UCC is a church of firsts, a church of extravagant welcome, and a church where “…they may all be one” (John 17:21).
The Church of Firsts Since 1957, the United Church of Christ has been the church of firsts, weaving God’s message of hope and extravagant welcome with action for justice and peace. Together, we live out our faith in ways that effect change in our communities. The UCC’s many “firsts” mean that we have inherited a tradition of acting upon the demands of our faith. When we read in Galatians: “There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus”—a demand is made upon us. And so we were the first historically white denomination to ordain an African-American, the first to ordain a woman, the first to ordain an openly gay man, and the first Christian church to affirm the right of same-gender couples to marry. We were in the forefront of the anti-slavery movement and the Civil Rights movement. Our response to the demands of our faith is woven into the history of our country. A Church of Extravagant Welcome Today, we continue to change lives throughout the world. We work alongside more than 200 mission partners. We labor ceaselessly to fight injustice, in the United States and abroad. We instill our vision into our youth and young adults, forging leaders who will imagine new dreams. And we sustain and develop church leaders, pastors, and our local churches to live their faith in exciting new ways. We believe in a God that is still speaking, a God that is all-loving and inclusive. We are a church that welcomes and accepts everyone as they are, where your mind is nourished as much as your soul. We are a church where Jesus the healer meets Jesus the revolutionary, and where together, we grow a just and peaceful world. |
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