Michael Curry has some words about disability justice, intersectionality, and how the upcoming election could significantly impact disability justice and equality for all people.
Read MoreDisability justice and the election
Conference News
New episode: UCC@ASU podcast
Our UCC@ASU student Hailey Lyons is producing an incredible podcast that we are delighted to share with students at ASU and the UCC congregations in the SWC. Nearly all our UCC@ASU students are participating in interviews with Andrew in our past and upcoming episodes. We are delighted to offer this as a way to share about our ministry but also to have an intergenerational connection.
Listen now: S1E2 - Voting Part 1: Voting as Civil Disobedience and Defiance
Read MoreStrategic Communication for Mission Advancement
Churches and their leadership are invited to a free webinar being presented by Lake Institute on Faith & Giving at Indiana University and OPTIC.
October 28, 2020 at 4pm - 5pm EDT
The important work of mission advancement includes raising awareness, inviting partnership, and raising resources for sustainability and innovation in ministry. Effective, strategic communication enables these essential, relationship-focused activities, and helps your organization or congregation to thrive.
Read MoreElection week safe community space
Do you need a safe community space during election week? From Monday, November 2nd through Wednesday, November 4th the Southwest Conference will be holding space on Zoom for those who desire a place for prayer, community, and contemplation.
Read MoreUCF Q3-2020 Town Hall Meeting
Tuesday, October 27, at 5:00 p.m. EDT
David Klassen, Chief Investment Strategist, will join the UCF team to share a recap of the third quarter of 2020 as well as our responsible investing efforts and progress. Register here.
Read MoreFinal versions of resolutions from 2020 Annual Meeting
Below are the final versions of the Resolutions that were voted on and approved during Annual Meeting. Click on a title to read it.
Read MoreEcclesiastical Council for Carson Hawks!
Sunday, November 1 at 3 pm on Zoom
Carson Hawks has been approved by the Committee on Church and Ministry ‘A’ to take the next step toward ordination. Congratulations, Carson!
The Zoom link will be sent out to SWC clergy. If you don't receive it but would like to attend, please RSVP to Barb Doerrer-Peacock - bdoerrerpeacock@uccswc.org.
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NOWCYM Partners with National Office to Offer A Virtual Gathering for Youth Ministry Leaders
There is an upcoming national virtual gathering for everyone serving in youth ministry on November 12-14, 2020. Participants will be able to select workshops and small groups, as well as other items that speak to their individual needs. Registration is now open and will close November 10th.
Read MoreGeneral Synod 2021 working group creating first virtual experience for July 11-18
How will the United Church of Christ National Setting program a virtual General Synod with moving worship, interesting workshops, educational intensives, church business, youth programming and service projects? There are working groups for that.
Presenting General Synod 33 as a totally online event for the first time demands a lot of creativity. The staff in Cleveland has a structure in place to convert the biennial gathering from an actual to virtual experience.
Read MoreReport to the church from the United Church of Christ Board, October 2020
United Church of Christ Board Chair Yvette Wynn drafts a report to the wider church following fall meeting.
Read MoreMourning the Saints
In calling on our faith that all those who have gone before are in community with All Saints, you are invited to join us in honoring those who have passed, especially to COVID-19, for a service of All Saints with music, prayer, and lifting of names. We will gather via Zoom on November 1st at 6pm ET / 5pm CT / 4pm MT / 3pm PT / 1pm Alaska & Hawaii.
To contribute a name to the visual list of people in memoriam, simply fill out this form and the name will be included.
Additionally, if your congregation has done a communal memorial, you are welcome to send photos to UCCPhotos@ucc.org and have them included in the national service.
Virtual 2020 Christian Unity Gathering
Monday, Oct. 12 – Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2020 (All Times are Eastern Time)
Theme: “Breathing New Life into our Nation: Repentance, Re-formation, Reparation”
Scripture: Ezekiel 37:3-6, emphasis on verse 5
I can’t breathe. These words, uttered through the mouths of dying Black men who fell victim to racial injustice at the hands, and knee, of law enforcement officers have reverberated through our nation and around the world, calling us to a deeper level of reflection and engagement while pushing us to redefine who and what our nation will be.
As the National Council of Churches celebrates 70 years of public witness in the fight for justice, we know that it is time for us to repent, to re-form, and to repair the damage we have caused.
During our Christian Unity Gathering, we will call on participants to partner with God in breathing new life into our nation – a nation struggling to recover from the sins of the past and chart a healthier, more just way forward. We recognize that the sin of racism has left our nation unable to breathe unencumbered and in desperate need of repentance, re-formation and reparation.
As racial injustices plague the country, the novel coronavirus pandemic rages nearly unchecked, and an economic crisis plunges millions into poverty, we will explore the ways to move back from the brink, by faith, to a place of justice, restored hope and healing.
Read MoreA word from one of our sponsors!
Thank you, United Church Funds, for your generous sponsorship of our 2020 virtual Annual Meeting!
Much appreciation to our other sponsors, too: Insurance Board, United Church of Christ Church Building & Loan Fund, and United Church of Christ Cornerstone Fund.
Read MoreUCC@ASU Report
Please watch this report and visit the web page to check out our schedule of virtual events and groups and to listen to the podcast!
Read MoreSunday's conference-wide worship service: watch and download
Much appreciation to all who helped to create and shape the beautiful and inspiring all-conference worship service during Annual Meeting! Thanks to all who attended and for your kind words in the Facebook comments and emails. Coming together for worship was wonderful!
If you missed it, or want to watch it again or download the video, we got you!
Read MoreOther video segments from the conference-wide worship service
The offertory, virtual choir, Bill Lyons’ message from the conference-wide worship service are all available for viewing and downloading!
Read MoreBoth resolutions at Annual Meeting passed
The Awakening to Racial Justice was renamed A Southwest Conference Resolution on Restorative Racial Justice: Decentering Whiteness In Our Churches and Society. It passed:
93% yes
6% no
1% abstain
The International Decade for People of African Descent resolution passed:
98% yes
1% no
1% abstain
As soon as the final drafts are available, we’ll send them out and post them on the website.
Read MoreRecognition of Robert Koth
Well done, Robert! Thank you for your faithfulness to God’s call on your life. Thank you for your ministry among us. We are better people, better followers of Jesus, and a better church because of you.
Read MoreWebinar series slated to help craft communications strategy to inspire giving and engagement begins Oct. 7
Creating a communications strategy to inspire engagement and generosity is often a daunting task for faith communities. That’s why two expert communications teams are collaborating in a series of fourth quarter webinars to provide the tools that church leaders can use and adapt to their individual settings.
The Lake Institute on Faith & Giving at Indiana University’s Lilly Family School of Philanthropy and the United Church of Christ Office of Philanthropy, Technology, Identity, and Communication (OPTIC) are joining forces to present these four webinars, with the first scheduled for Oct. 7. Providing knowledge and skills for congregational leaders in key areas of organizational and mission effectiveness and nonprofit administration, the webinar series emphasizes strategic communications for development, stewardship, and related planning, management, and leadership activities.
The free webinar series is aimed at congregational, judicatory, and UCC agency leadership, both clergy and lay.
Read More"Fiduciary Focus" Third Quarter from UCF
Please click here to read the latest guide from United Church Funds, a sponsor of our upcoming Annual Meeting.
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