Disability Justice in Congregational Contexts Part I: What is Disability and What is Ableism?
2025-10-02 15:30 - 16:30 (America/New_York) | Zoom
You’re invited for a 3-part series to go deeper into the All Church Read, “Building Up a New World: Congregational Organizing for Transformative Impact,” focusing on Chapter 5, “Disability Justice in Congregational Contexts” with current and former members of the UCC Disability Ministries Board.
In Part I, we’ll explore the complexities and different models of disability to better understand and define disability as it relates to lived experiences. We’ll also explore ableism — the system of oppression experienced by disability communities. This understanding will serve as a foundation for parts II and III of the series.

Future of Faith: Grace in the Wilderness
2025-10-06 15:30 - 16:30
So many of us are living in the most divided times we’ve known collectively. Between fascism, genocide, war, famine, environmental collapse, and uncertainty about our relationships and what we are called to be in such a time – we find ourselves deepening or returning to our faith. Join New Hampshire Conference Minister Rev. Gordon Rankin for an engaging conversation around the future of faith in their local and regional contexts and discover how finding grace in the wilderness can be a counter-cultural practice of living into our faith expressions.

Disability Justice in Congregational Contexts Part II: What is Disability Justice
2025-10-09 15:30 - 16:30
In Part II, we’ll explore the creation of the Disability Justice movement by queer and trans disabled folx of color. We’ll also discuss and explain the 10 Principles of Disability Justice, which serve as the foundation and roadmap for congregations seeking to live into disability justice.

What's Next Series: How Art Deepens and Enriches Worship in Divided Times
2025-10-13 15:30 - 16:30
Join us for another edition of our What’s Next Series, a series curated to help us ask what we can do in divided times. We’ll be joined by Rev. Marshela Salgado for an engaging online conversation exploring how art can deepen and enrich worship. Rev. Salgado will share about the work that her congregation has done to promote various forms of art in worship, from art shows to various worship series: Theology of Broadway, [Pop]Culture Theology, Banned Books and more. Together, they’ll discuss practical ways to weave visual, musical, and creative expressions into the worship experience that inspire connection, reflection, justice, and community. This workshop will offer both theological insights and hands-on ideas for integrating art in ways that speak to the heart and spirit of your congregation.
The What’s Next series began prior to the 2024 election cycle and is designed to help educate us around the big questions of our faith. This special offering is curated to push back on the political ideology and divide that has become this nation’s “religion”. To live into the Still Speaking G-d, we are the embodiment of who and what we are called to be to one another – whether it be spiritually, culturally, and lovingly during a time when we are being pulled apart at the seams. Part of this embodiment is examining the ways that art speaks and moves us towards expression and collectiveness.

Disability Justice in Congregational Contexts Part III: How Do We Live into Disability Justice
2025-10-16 15:30 - 16:30
In Part III, we will take what we have learned about disability, ableism, and disability justice and discuss ways to apply it in a congregational context. Topics will include the Accessible to All (A2A) process, celebrating Access Sunday, and an introduction to disability theology. Attendees will leave with concrete tools for helping their congregations undo ableism, increase accessibility, and celebrate disabled leadership and disability wisdom.

Let the Children Come
2025-10-23 15:30 - 16:30
Through the Love of Children program we are exploring ways to create spaces where children are welcomed and embraced to come as they truly are. One of the most important places children gather is during worship/Sunday morning. Three of our current Love of Children cohort members will share experiences and best practices on how to create safe and welcoming spaces for children in the local church and beyond. We hope you will gain some insights on child development, the need for inclusive spaces that meet the developmental needs of young people and hear some exciting things that you can try in your own congregation. Panelists will also speak to how the Love of Children cohort has strengthened their ministry and welcome others to apply for the 2026 cohort.

The Future of Faith: The Sacrament of Interfaith Friendship
2025-11-03 15:30 - 16:30
In this divisive moment, we are called to both go forth and build meaningful connection across lines of difference and to tend to our spirits and communities. Join us for a conversation this intersection between magnifying the sacramental beauty of interfaith friendship and doing the inner work we all must do to sustain ourselves.
So many of us are living in the most divided times we’ve known collectively. Between fascism, genocide, war, famine, environmental collapse, and uncertainty about our relationships and what we are called to be in such a time – we find ourselves deepening or returning to our faith. Our “Future of Faith” series is curated to help us learn from the thought leaders who are exploring these themes and is an invitation to come into a dreaming space where all of G-d’s creation can be cared for – a space where we can know that collective dignity, love, kindness, and respect is honored and how our different perspectives of faith can build up a better world!

Land, The Series in 3-Parts: Protecting and Caring for the Historic Christian Lands of Armenia
2025-11-06 15:30 - 16:30
A handful of churches within the United Church of Christ identify as ethnically Armenian congregations. Come hear from one Armenian UCC pastor about the Christian treasures of the lands of Armenia, from ancient Mount Ararat to medieval monasteries to contemporary churches serving refugees from the 2020 war with Azerbaijan. After losing the territory of Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh) in that war, Armenia is crying out for justice and for partners in protecting its territorial sovereignty. In this webinar, you will also learn about the hope-giving ways that the non-profit organization the Armenia Tree Project is looking to the future by making environmental investments in the land.

What's Next: Countering Project 2025 with Love: One Year Later
2025-11-10 15:30 - 16:30
Join the UCC Washington D.C. Office for a conversation on Project 2025 and how the policy landscape and the UCC’s faith-based responses have evolved over the past year since the election. By revisiting our resource “Countering Project 2025 With Love: A UCC Response,” this webinar will explore enduring commitments and new challenges across issues such as LGBTQ+ rights, immigration justice, international peace, and more. We will also introduce our new toolkit for faithful advocacy, offering practical ways for individuals and congregations to help build a just world for all. Whether you’re new to the conversation or have been following from the start, this webinar will equip you with both context and tools to put love into action today!

Land, The Series in 3-Parts: Part II: Small Town and Rural Communities
2025-11-13 15:30 - 16:30
Land: A Three-part Series: Our relationship to land varies, not only geographically but spiritually as well. This 3-part series will examine the role Christianity has had in our relationship to land and how those relationships inform how we live, work and worship alongside others.
Part II – Small Town and Rural communities are often uniquely tied to the land. Join us as we learn from 3 members of the Small Town and Rural Coalition (STAR) on how being stewards to the land inform how they believe in God and how this connects them to one another.

Future of Faith: Resisting Overwhelm in Tumultuous Times
2025-11-17 15:30 - 16:30
So many of us are living in the most divided times we’ve known collectively. Between fascism, genocide, war, famine, environmental collapse, and uncertainty about our relationships and what we are called to be in such a time – we find ourselves deepening or returning to our faith. Our “Future of Faith” series is curated to help us learn from the thought leaders who are exploring these themes and is an invitation to come into a dreaming space where all of G-d’s creation can be cared for – a space where we can know that collective dignity, love, kindness, and respect is honored and how our different perspectives of faith can build up a better world!
Concerned about clergy burnout, Rev. Nicolette developed a boundary training called “Centered Preaching in Tumultuous Times” that she taught for the first time in May 2025. Many are drawn to the UCC because of our passion for social justice. However, pastors who feel called to address the relevant issues of the day are being overwhelmed by unending waves of newsworthy events. Join us for a conversation with Rev. Nicolette as we talk about the joys and challenges of preaching in this time, the importance of developing sustainable preaching habits, and some of the hard lessons she has learned along the way so we can continue the work we’ve been called to do.

Land, The Series in 3-Parts: Part III: Stacked Stories and the Doctrine of Discovery Today
2025-11-20 15:30 - 16:30
Land: A Three-part Series: Our relationship to land varies, not only geographically but spiritually as well. This 3-part series will examine the role Christianity has had in our relationship to land and how those relationships inform how we live, work and worship alongside others.
Part III – In this webinar, Rev. Dr. Rebecca Voelkel and Land History Consultant and tribal-rights attorney Jessica Intermill will explore the legal and theological underpinnings of the Doctrine of Discovery. They will explore the texture of the doctrine in today’s world with a deep dive into the social geography of Minneapolis, and then answer guest questions about the role of the Doctrine today.

Abolition, Advent, and Apocalypse: The New Old Story of Freedom and Practicing New Worlds into Life
2025-11-24 15:30 - 16:30
As we approach the season of Advent this year, many of us find ourselves vacillating between feelings of helplessness and hopelessness, faced with rapidly changing political and social landscapes, with violence and repression on the rise. Yet, Advent’s stories of awaking and preparing, waiting and longing, expecting and dreaming offer us visions to move us, values to ground us, and practices to empower us to bring love to birth in this world. Come hear from contributors to this year’s Abolition Advent Calendar about their work to help us reach back to the wisdom of our scriptural and abolitionist pasts and make a way out of no way into hope.

Joy as Resistance with Neal D. Presa
2025-12-04 15:30 - 16:30
The season of Advent invites us to embody joy. Yet, the times in which we live may challenge joyful experiences, practices, and encounters. Worship helps bridge recognition of the current reality with hope for the future…making space for joy. Join Cheryl A. Lindsay, UCC Minister for Worship and Theology for an Advent conversation with Neal D. Presa, author of Worship, Justice and Joy: A Liturgical Pilgrimage.

*This event will be streamed live on YouTube and Facebook. No registration necessary.

Joy Through Hope (pre-recorded)
2025-12-11 15:30 - 16:30
Hope forms as a response to need, struggle, and dreams of a better future. Hope serves as an antidote to fear, motivation to continue forward, and fuel for joy. Rejoice with us as conference ministers and national staff share stories and reflect on sparks of hope in the life of the church.

Joy Through Lament: A Blue Christmas Worship Service (pre-recorded)
2025-12-18 15:30 - 16:30
Joy honors sorrow and sadness, pain and despair, regret and grief. We invite you into a space that recognizes that “good cheer” may not be attainable for all. Lament allows us to acknowledge our authentic emotional condition while commemorating the Incarnation/Birth of Christ and being comforted by Emmanuel/God With Us.

Reading Into the New Year: Not Just for Kids Children's Book Edition
2026-01-22 15:30 - 16:30
Join author Becky Manfredini and illustrator-writer, Meredith Gould, as they discuss their decades-long friendship that culminated in developing a children’s book series published by The Pilgrim Press: Slug and Snail Search for Home, Slug and Snail Search for Love, and Slug and Snail Search for Peace. They’ll share the inspiration for creating the main characters, Slug and Snail, two BFFs who search for the meaning of home, love, and peace.
The series focuses on these basic concepts for building a child’s social, emotional, and cognitive development, and will be explored during the webinar. Becky and Meredith will share how their lifelong love of books is one element at the core of their collaboration. They’ll also focus on finding inspiration, creative processes, and how they worked individually and as a team to create a compelling storyline, through showing and telling.
Reading Into the New Year webinar series is a longer series where at the start of every year, Nurture the Soul partners with Pilgrim Press to invite you to lead a book discussion in your own congregational or community settings in 2026.

Reading Into the New Year: Drag Queen Preacher, The Power of Identity
2026-01-29 15:30 - 16:30
Join us for a webinar with Rev. R.R. Tavárez, the author of Drag Queen Preacher! Including themes of his Afro-Latino culture, queerness, faith, doubt, and a radical emergence as a drag performer, this minister takes us on a journey. Through the elegance of poetry and prose we are invited into a beautiful reckoning where we find our story, refuse to be invisible, and dare to become more human.
Our 2026 Reading Into the New Year series will highlight books that were released by Pilgrim Press in the 4th Quarter of 2026 and the 1st Quarter of 2026. We hope that each episode invites you to lead a book discussion in your own congregational or community settings in 2026!

Reading Into the New Year: Dismantling White Christian Supremacy
2026-02-05 15:30 - 16:30
In this next installment of Reading Into the New Year, we’ll be in conversation that confronts traditional theology which serves to justify white Christian supremacy. We’ll explore how we go about reconstructing a theology more aligned with the teaching of Jesus and what is the role of the church has in making this transition.

Reading Into the New Year: The Story of Bob - a Trailblazer in Faith and LGBTQ+ Advocacy
2026-02-19 15:30 - 16:30
Today, the pursuit of living “more fully and authentically” is a quest that crosses terrains of social influences and self-image, intersecting with political strains for liberation and well-being. As authoritarianism swells its censorship of LGBTQ stories, “The Story of Bob” remembers the work of resistance against similar terrains strewn with legal landmines that restricted who could be fully themselves, and how, and where. During our webinar, we’ll learn more about the limits of faith in helping Bob cope with personal loneliness, desire and the impact of fear on his capacity to love and explore/wonder why the Christian landscape is as unpredictable as any other social construct of life, including family.

Future of Faith: Movement on the Margins
2026-03-16 15:30 - 16:30
We are living in the most divided times we’ve known collectively. Between fascism, genocide, war, famine, environmental collapse, and uncertainty about our relationships and what we are called to be in such a time – we find ourselves deepening or returning to our faith. Join the Heartland Conference Minister Rev. David Long-Higgins for an engaging conversation around the future of faith in their local and regional contexts and discover how we are called to be generous, gracious, loving, and courageous during these times.

Flickering Encounters of Life with Life: Re-Earthing Spiritual Practice
2026-03-26 15:30 - 16:45
Whether we participate in organized religion or not, we often feel closest to God or the sacred when we’re outside and in rapport with the natural world. This is not surprising, as when we trace our lineages back, we find ancestors who practiced earth-based spiritualities. In this conversation on “re-earthing spiritual practice,” we will draw from Daniel’s two books—”Speak with the Earth and It Will Teach You: A Field Guide to the Bible” and “Live Each Season as It Passes”—as well as Daniel’s experience co-founding an outdoor “wild church” community, to trace an evolution in theology of nature beyond the dominion and stewardship paradigms, and towards relationship and reciprocity with the more-than-human world.

Future of Faith: Faith in Chaotic Times
2026-04-20 15:30 - 16:30
Faith practices, even leadership during “normal” times can be difficult but in times of chaos, we might find ourselves asking different questions. In this webinar, we’ll explore how being faithful is an embodied practice that prepares us to not respond with fear or “old ways of being”, but to anchor ourselves to communities that commit to cultivating trusting and compassionate practices to meet our spiritual and practical needs. By modeling faith over fear, we can transform crises into opportunities for resilience and abundance.

Let’s Talk About It | Mental Health Sunday
2026-04-23 15:30 - 16:45
Reports from SAMHSA and CAHMI in recent years have shown that approximately 1 in 4 Americans have had a diagnosable mental health condition. With this prevalence in mind, discussing mental health experiences in a way that normalizes conversation and care—particularly from the pulpit—is vital to healthy and holistic spiritual care. The UCC annually recognizes the third Sunday in May as Mental Health Sunday, and this year it lands on May 17, 2026. But what even is Mental Health Sunday, why should you host one, and how do you go about planning a worship service dedicated to mental health? You are invited to join Rev. Dr. Sarah Lund (UCC National Staff) and members of the UCC Mental Health Network’s Board of Directors as they discuss implementing Mental Health Sunday in your own ministry context.

Proclaiming “Love Knows No Borders”: Moving from Desolation to Action
2026-05-07 15:30 - 16:45
Join the United Church of Christ National Setting for an engaging and timely webinar exploring our “Love Knows No Borders” resource, a powerful witness and resource offered to equip congregations to respond to the continued attacks on immigrants, refugees, and LGBTQIA siblings. Grounded in the Gospel call to welcome the stranger, Love Knows No Borders (LKNB) resources offer theological reflection, policy analysis, and practical strategies for advocating for our migrant siblings.
This webinar will highlight voices from UCC national staff and leaders from UCC COREM ministries to share stories of how communities are being impacted and growing points of collaboration on immigrant justice, humane border policies, and the role of faith communities in confronting systems of exclusion and harm.
Together, we will:
• Explore the biblical and theological foundations for immigrant justice
• Examine current U.S. immigration policies and their human impact
• Highlight opportunities for advocacy at the local, state, and federal levels
• Share tools for congregational engagement, storytelling, and public witness
Whether you are new to advocacy or looking to deepen your congregation’s commitment to welcome, this webinar will provide actionable insights and inspiration to live out a love that truly knows no borders.

Emotional and Spiritual Care Resources Post Disasters
2026-05-14 15:30 - 16:45
Katie Howe, Minister for Disaster Response and Recovery will be joined by two members of the Emotional and Spiritual Care Team, Rev. Dr. Martha Jacobs, and Rev. Jackie Thornton to discuss how this team can support clergy, chaplains and other spiritual caregivers post-disasters. When disasters strike, we realize that our clergy, chaplains and other spiritual caregivers are the ones that are providing spiritual care to their communities, and the UCC’s Emotional and Spiritual Care Team wants to support these individuals in a variety of ways. In this webinar, we will discuss some of the recent ways that we have responded, as well as review some of the new resources available on our webpage for those who have been impacted by disasters.

Future of Faith: Small Town - Full Building
2026-05-18 15:30 - 16:45
First Congregational Church of Benzonia United Church of Christ strives to create a united community in Christ’s Love. Instead of focusing on the lack of children in the church on Sunday mornings, we shifted our focus to getting community groups and other organizations into the building throughout the week. We share our hospitality and love by opening our doors (and parking lot) to various groups in our community. From hosting 12-step programs, to tutoring, to Single MOMMS, and the Father Fred Back to School Shoe Event (just to name a few!), we are living into our community.

Youth Lead: Faith, Identity, and Calling with Raven Trammell
2026-05-26 15:30 - 16:30
The next generation of faith leaders is already reshaping what community and calling can look like. Join us for a conversation with Raven Trammell, storyteller, speaker, and founder of Culture Shift, a creative project exploring spirituality, identity, and purpose through storytelling.
After experiencing a traumatic brain injury during his college basketball career, Raven returned to photography and storytelling, something he first discovered as a child, as a way to preserve memory and make meaning of life’s turning points. Today he shares his journey, including his experience as a trans person navigating faith and identity, to encourage others, especially young adults, LGBTQ+ people, and Black and Brown communities, to live fully into who God created them to be.
This one-hour conversation will explore resilience, faith, identity, and the ways new generations are imagining spiritual community beyond traditional walls.

Juneteenth Commemoration 2026: In Troubling Times Consult the Ancestors!
2026-06-18 15:30 - 16:30
Juneteenth marks the official end of the enslavement of African descended people in the U.S. The original legal declaration was signed into law by Abraham Lincoln January 1, 1863, which instituted The Emancipation Proclamation. Juneteenth is also known as Freedom Day nationally, and Emancipation Day in Texas, and became an official holiday in the State of Texas in 1980. President Joe Biden officially signed into Law Juneteenth as a National Day of Remembrance, June 17, 2021.
Racial Justice Ministries of the United Church of Christ invite you to engage in prophetic remembering to confront the challenges of our time. Nurturing a movement toward justice for all is a sacred call for liberators and freedom fighters to seek wisdom from Old and New Testament Prophets who stood up against the empires of their day and to gain inspiration from modern prophets who lead the resistance to oppressive tyrannies, ideologies, and theologies. Racial Justice Ministries and wisdom teachers of the United Church of Christ National Ministries invite you to listen and learn how to thrive during national and global threats from authoritarian leaders.

Commemorating 250 Years of Pluralism: Reimagining our Sacred Call
2026-07-06 15:30 - 16:30
As our nation approaches its 250th anniversary, we stand at a critical evolutionary crossroads. The promise of American pluralism has never been a static artifact of the past, it is a living, breathing covenant that each generation must expand, deepen, and renew. This interfaith webinar invites spiritual activists, faith leaders, and justice-seekers to move beyond mere religious tolerance and provide tools to engage in deep, active pluralism. We acknowledge that our nation’s founding ideals were marred by systemic exclusion, colonization, and slavery, and yet, we also honor the fierce legacy of prophetic resistance that has continuously pushed us toward true liberation.
Join us as we explore how our diverse spiritual traditions can unite to dismantle modern Religious Nationalism and commemorate 250 years of multi-faith resilience – the true fabric of American Pluralism. We will learn from ecumenical and interfaith leaders through stories, ritual sharing, and the creation of a dreaming space for the next 250-years where every community flourishes under a shared canopy of equal dignity and collective liberation.
