The UCC Calendar of Prayer is a collection of stories that illustrate the diverse mission and ministry of our church. In addition to the prayer story you also find daily suggested scripture readings.
Psalm 48 Joel 2:18-29 1 Corinthians 2:1-11
The United Church of Christ would like to give members around the country the tools to live their faith, love their community — through justice work. By training lay leaders to go into their neighborhoods and work toward fixing the problems that they see in their hometowns, congregation-based community organizing can make a difference.
The Rev. Kelly Jean Burd, Minister for Leadership Development in Justice and Witness Ministries, says churches can benefit from community organizing because it offers a way to engage in public work, while strengthening the life and mission of a congregation.
"I heard a church pastor say that offering community organizing training to his laity has equipped them with transferrable skills that benefit many aspects of his church’s life and increase his productivity as a pastor," she said. "A seminarian with community organizing experience reminded us that seminaries reflect the priorities of the church, and challenged us to consider the teaching of organizing skills as requisite ministry education."
Through congregation-based community organizing (CBCO) gatherings – one of which recently took place in Chicago – a group of people learn how to affect change. For example, parents can identify problems in busing, school safety or education where they live. They can begin to address those types of issues with the leadership skills they learn, and then apply those skills to what would work best in their community. The recent gathering in Chicago convened seminary, church and organizing staff for discussions on widening seminarians to CBCO experiences and skills.
We encourage you to use this publication in your daily prayer and meditation. Use it in any gathering of the church whenever you can. It can be used in morning prayers, when a congregation's staff meets, at a committee meeting, or at an Association or Conference gathering. Please submit a story online.
The Calendar of Prayer is designed to connect you and your congregation with the ministries that make us the UCC. It can be a worship resource, a devotional resource, and a quick reference guide. Check out "How to Use"for tried and true ways to use this resource.
Do you have a story to submit of a local, regional, conference wide or other outreach in which your congregation participates?
Rev. Rodney L. Mundy Minister for Web Development and Coordination Publishing, Identity, and Communication Local Church Ministries/Office of General Ministries 700 Prospect Ave. Cleveland,Ohio 44115 216-736-3854 mundyr@ucc.org