The UCC Newsroom

The United Church of Christ is just a month away from the the viral launch of the next "God is Still Speaking" commercial called "The Language of God."

A new study on congregational health by historically UCC-related Hartford Seminary shows greater spiritual vitality exists in financially healthy congregations. Conversely, the worse the financial health of a congregation, the more likely it is to experience conflict.

Punctuated by disaster warning sirens the morning of Feb. 27, 2010, the blowing of the conch shell at Kalahikiola Congregational UCC signaled the start of the rededication celebration.

The difficult road to unity that began with the formation of the Consultation on Church Union (COCU) in 1962, and seemed to some observers on the verge of collapse just two years ago, appears to be back on track after a summit meeting of the heads of 11 denominations Feb. 17 in Baltimore.

Following efforts of previous years, members of more than 50 UCC churches are again picking up their pens and putting their compassion onto paper, urging their Congressional representatives to help Bread for the World alleviate hunger in the United States.

Presenting the third in a five-part series of live, on-line Lenten gatherings, the OGHS LIVE 2010 program on March 10 will be led by the Rev. Sandra Gourdet, Global Ministries area executive for Africa. The international webcast will begin at 7:15 p.m.

Commemorating the 200th anniversary of America's first foreign mission society, the United Church of Christ has planned a two-year observation of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM), a historic predecessor to Wider Church Ministries.

Commemorating 20 years in Cleveland and installing its new general minister and president, the United Church of Christ kicks off a special spring weekend with a celebration dinner Friday evening, April 16, at the Grand Ballroom of the Renaissance Hotel in downtown Cleveland.

In a move intended to strengthen coordination among the United Church of Christ’s publishing, marketing and communication efforts, the Rev. J. Bennett Guess, the denomination’s director of communications, has been appointed acting director of The Pilgrim Press / United Church Press and the UCC’s distribution service, United Church of Christ Resources.

Denominations and interfaith organizations recruit thousands to sign on to health-care reform push for those 'left out, left behind.'

OGHS LIVE 2010 will present on March 3 the second in its live, five-part online series of international Lenten gatherings led by area executives from Global Ministries. Live web programming embracing the theme "Do You Love Me . . . Feed My Sheep" is being held on five consecutive Wednesdays during Lent.

When “The Fire” starts in the desert at Rincon United Church of Christ in Tucson, it can spread quickly. The Fire – aka the youth group at Rincon UCC – fed its desire for service by participating in February’s Souper Bowl of Caring. They raised more than $700 and nearly 100 cans of food for their local food bank.

The Central Atlantic Conference received two affiliating churches into the UCC on Feb. 27, when Covenant Baptist Church in Washington, D.C., and United Christian Church in Lexington Park, Md., were granted congregational standing by the UCC’s Potomac Association.

The United Church of Christ and its Global Ministries partners working in Chile are responding to requests for assistance through ACT Alliance and Church World Service (CWS.) CWS has worked in Chile for many years in emergency preparedness training and assistance to the country's sizable population of Colombian émigrés. Assisting Chilean organizations Fundacion de Ayuda Social de las Iglesia Cristianas and the Methodist Church of Chile, CWS is immediately providing emergency assistance such as food, water and shelter.

UCC-led group files complaint A group of 13 mainline Protestant pastors – including several from the United Church of Christ – has filed a letter of complaint with the Internal Revenue Service, claiming that a townhouse on Capitol Hill that provides inexpensive lodging and meals for conservative Christian members of Congress is not a church, and that it should not hold the tax-exempt status afforded a house of worship.

Six weeks after the devastating earthquake that struck Haiti, the ACT Alliance has assisted more than 150,000 people with direct aid, according to published reports.

Beginning this week, OGHS LIVE 2010 will provide online participants with an international Lenten presence as area executives from Global Ministries present five consecutive Wednesdays of live web programming for Lenten Gatherings.

Ice storm creates need for emergency supplies - UCC responds.

The United Church of Christ will launch its next “God is Still Speaking” commercial on April 16, utilizing the church’s best broadcasting arsenal: its own members.

In an organizational move designed to meet the denomination's commitment to an efficient management structure and maintain a strong focus on media justice, the United Church of Christ's Office of General Ministries (OGM) and Office of Communication, Inc. (OC Inc.) announced that they will operate independently from one another as of Jan. 31, 2010.