Coral Gables Congregational United Church of Christ will host denomination's new General Minister and President Dec. 5-7.

The Rev. Geoffrey A. Black, the United Church of Christ's new general minister and president, will make the fifth stop of his 10-site listening tour in South Florida Dec. 5-7. Black, who became the UCC's general minister and president Oct. 1, has taken to the road in his first months in office to hear first-hand from diverse groups across the UCC. 

Coral Gables Congregational UCC is hosting the visit which features several meetings with area clergy and church members in an effort to gain insights that will guide Black as he charts and communicates a vision for the United Church of Christ.

The public is invited to hear Rev. Black preach at Coral Gables Congregational UCC (3010 De Soto Boulevard) Sunday, Dec. 6 at 11:00am. A reception following the service offers additional opportunities for speaking with Black.

During recent trips to the Northern California-Nevada, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Central Atlantic Conferences, Black emphasized the theme of open communications by asking attendees, "How is God calling us to better shape the United Church of Christ with an expectation that God's spirit is moving among us?"

"We need to reinforce the things that keep us together, even when we don't agree. We need to teach and learn the process of dialog, something that I think can become a demonstrated faith practice in the UCC," he told Northern California-Nevada Conference representatives. "We need to use the technology that is now available to us to become a community that is continually in dialog with one another."

Black was Minister of the New York Conference of the UCC prior to his election as General Minister and President. He also served as the pastor of local congregations for fifteen years, a university chaplain, and was on the staff of the UCC Office for Church Life and Leadership. He is a graduate of Lincoln University and Yale Divinity School. 

Future listening sessions are planned for Des Moines, Chicago, and Atlanta, among other cities.