Andrew Long-Higgins joins UCC as Team Leader for Global H.O.P.E.

The United Church of Christ’s Global H.O.P.E. team welcomed Andrew Long-Higgins as its new team leader on June 3.

Long-Higgins joins the national ministry staff in Cleveland and will oversee and steer Global H.O.P.E.’s mission — as lifted in its acronym — of providing UCC congregations and partner organizations with “humanitarian opportunities for progress and empowerment.”

Long-Higgins looks forward to working with Global H.O.P.E. team members Katie Howe, minister of disaster response and recovery, and Danielle Hickman, minister of volunteer engagement.

“The depth and breadth of the work done through the office of Global H.O.P.E. is amazing. It does so many things to provide hope to others around the world, as well as right next door,” he said. “My hope is to communicate that to local churches and to celebrate the work that is being done through Global H.O.P.E.”

The Rev. Shari Prestemon, acting associate general minister and co-executive of Global Ministries, called Long-Higgins’ appointment a “homecoming.”

Long-Higgins not only returns to his childhood state of Ohio, but to his denominational roots. A life-long member of the UCC, Long-Higgins previously served as a Global Mission intern with partners in Palestine and Lebanon. While working with the Forum for Development, Culture, and Dialogue in Beirut, he worked closely with partners to coordinate and facilitate humanitarian assistance programs addressing the needs of internally displaced Syrians.

From there Long-Higgins earned his Master of Public Administration from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. He has most recently worked with the Center for Peace Diplomacy in New Orleans as head of operations and special assistant to the executive director, where he coordinated logistics for a dialogue process addressing the conflict in Syria, managed restricted and unrestricted grants, managed an internship program, and served as the lead for the international deployment team. He is also experienced in conflict resolution and mediation.

Long-Higgins agrees with Prestemon about this appointment being a “coming home” moment.

“It was the right opportunity at the right moment,” he said. “It is wonderful to get reconnected with the UCC and to contribute to the work that is being done.”

Prestemon added, “We look forward to the many gifts Andrew will share with us in this role.”

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