Conference News
The United Church of Christ General Synod Planning Team is inviting people across the wider church to bookmark the recently released GS 33 website to learn more about the denomination’s first online biennial gathering.
This website will provide a hub for all the information related to General Synod 2021.
Read MoreWhat does it mean to “DECOLONIZE THANKSGIVING,” and WHY would we want to do it??
A Southwest Conference Faith Formation leaders will sponsor and facilitate intergenerational conversation and idea-sharing Zoom gathering for the whys and ways we might begin as families and church cultures to DECOLONIZE THANKSGIVING on Sunday, November 22 at 3 pm.
The exponential spread of COVID19 requires churches to re-evaluate their plans for returning to in-person gathering.
Read MoreThis Advent season will be unlike past years as a result of the pandemic, so this resource has been created with online and streaming worship in mind. The toolkit includes calendar, theme graphics, social media assets for Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and weekly video prayers. Best of all, it's FREE!
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This will be a 90-minute service that includes encouraging words from former General Ministers, Rev. Dr. Paul Sherry, Rev. Dr. John Thomas, and Rev. Dr. Geoffrey Black, as well as former Associate General Minister, Dr. Edith Guffey. We will also be led in Communion by former Executive Ministers of Justice & Witness Ministries, Rev. Bernice Powell Jackson, and Rev. Linda Jaramillo. Several full communion partners will join us as well. Rev. John C. Dorhauer will offer us all a message of hope.
Read MoreUnited Church Funds (UCF) conducted a Q3-2020 Town Hall meeting on October 27. to give you a better understanding of market performance during the third quarter and strategies moving forward, as well as our responsible investing practices and progress.
You can access the recording, presentation slides, poll results and a summary of the Q&A session by clicking here. Please feel free to share this link with your Investment/Endowment Committee members who may be interested.
If you have any questions that we didn't cover in the meeting, please send them to info@ucfunds.org.
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 MoreOur 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 MoreChurches 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 MoreDo 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 MoreTuesday, 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 MoreBelow are the final versions of the Resolutions that were voted on and approved during Annual Meeting. Click on a title to read it.
Read MoreSunday, 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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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 MoreHow 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 MoreUnited Church of Christ Board Chair Yvette Wynn drafts a report to the wider church following fall meeting.
Read MoreIn 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.
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 MoreThank 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 MorePlease watch this report and visit the web page to check out our schedule of virtual events and groups and to listen to the podcast!
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