Join the United Church of Christ in Observing Just Peace Sunday

Communities are invited to join churches across the United Church of Christ in observing Just Peace Sunday on Sunday, September 20, under the theme “God’s Economy: People Over Profit”. 

What is Just Peace Sunday?  

Just Peace Sunday grows out of a commitment the UCC first made over four decades ago. At the 15th General Synod in 1985 delegates affirmed the UCC as a Just Peace Church, the first Christian denomination to do so. That pronouncement defined Just Peace as the interrelation of friendship, justice, and common security from violence, and placed the church firmly in opposition to war as an institution. 

The roots of that commitment go back even further, to 1981, when a youth delegate at the 13th General Synod first called on the UCC to become a peace church. Years of study and discernment followed before the church arrived at the Just Peace framework it holds today one built on the conviction that “Peace is possible.” 

On the 30^th anniversary of the original resolution, General Synod passed a resolution recommitting the UCC to be a Just Peace Church. As part of this recommitment, congregations are encouraged to mark the Sunday preceding September 21 (which the United Nation recognizes as the “International Day of Prayer for Peace”) as Just Peace Sunday. 

To learn more about the history of the UCC Just Peace Work, check out the Just Peace Handbook. 

Why Just Peace Sunday Matters This Year?  

We mark Just Peace Sunday in 2026 at a time when that conviction feels especially urgent. Ongoing genocide in Gaza and the war with Iran have brought immense civilian suffering and instability to the region and beyond, and our own national conversation continues to wrestle with how to pursue peace through diplomacy rather than force. This year’s theme of “God’s Economy: People Over Profit” calls us to consider how economic priorities shape the possibility of peace, and to ask what it means to put people over profit in our own community and in the wider world.  

“Peace has always been an eternal struggle of humanity,” said Cassandra Saunders, Justice and Peace Policy Fellow at the UCC Office of Public Policy and Advocacy. “The harmful legislation we are seeing in 2026 shows the need for a greater commitment to a just peace; a peace with justice, for people, planet, and all creation that honors the inherent divine in each of us.” 

Worship Materials Available Online 

To help congregations mark the day, worship materials for Just Peace Sunday including liturgy, reflections, and resources built around this year’s theme are available online. A video recorded by UCC General Minister and President/CEO, the Rev. Karen Georgia A. Thompson will also be released in time for Just Peace Sunday.  We encourage members, worship leaders, and small groups to make use of these materials on September 20^th, and in the weeks that follow. Just Peace Sunday follows Labor Sunday and falls in the Season of Creation, both of which are marked by many UCC congregations and connect to the Just Peace call to build “peace with the Earth” and “peace in the Marketplace”. Worship resources for these Sundays are linked from the Just Peace Sunday page.   

“We hope you’ll join us in prayer and reflection as we recommit to the belief that peace, grounded in friendship, justice, and common security, remains possible,” said the Rev. Michael Neuroth, Director of the UCC’s Office of Public Policy and Advocacy. “Together, let us live into the vision of God’s economy that truly puts the livelihoods of people over profit.”  

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