Preparedness Month Kick-Off: Loving Our Neighbors Through Disaster Preparedness and Response
2026-09-08 15:00 - 16:30 (America/New_York) | Zoom
Join UCC Disaster Ministries, Insurance Board, Pension Boards, and Cornerstone Fund, for a collaborative Preparedness Month kickoff webinar. Through an interactive mock disaster scenario, participants will explore practical strategies for how churches can effectively care for congregants, support clergy, safeguard facilities, and serve their communities when disasters strike.
This webinar will help church leaders better prepare for emergencies, understand disaster response as a practical expression of loving our neighbors, and gain a clearer understanding of the resources available throughout the response and recovery process. By learning how our ministries work together before, during, and after a disaster, participants will be better equipped to mobilize support quickly, strengthen resilience, and faithfully navigate future challenges.

Responding to the Deadly ICE Detention System: Ways to Resist
2026-09-10 15:30 - 16:45
As Immigration and Custom’s Enforcement (ICE) continues to terrorize communities, separate families, and even kill citizens and non-citizens alike as part of this administration’s mass deportation campaign, there is also increased public scrutiny of this country’s detention center system for migrants.  In 2025 alone, ICE broke records for the number of people who have died in detention, most often due to the horrific conditions and lack of proper medical care. Since this administration’s inauguration in 2025, 52 people have died in detention according to Human Rights Watch—four times that of the previous administration. Join us to learn from UCC pastors and lay leaders as they share how they’ve taken action and learn what we can do as people of faith to stop detention and continue to resist this deadly system.
Panelists include:

Rev. Ali Lopez-Valcarcel
Rev. Deborah Lee
Rev. Dr. Laurinda Hafner
Rev. ellie hutchison
Rev. Lesley Jones

Faith in Action: Global Peacemaking (A Two-Part Series)
2026-09-17 15:30 - 16:30, 2026-09-24 15:30 - 16:30
2025 saw the highest number of active conflicts since World War II, and data so far this year shows that the rise in conflicts globally is likely to continue. As we mark International Day of Peace on September 21, we take hope from our global partners who are working for peace with justice in their communities and countries. In this webinar, learn about transformation through mission as partners share their work, how to support their efforts, and ways to share their stories in your churches and community.

Future of Faith: The Courage to Be Church
2026-09-21 15:30 - 16:30
As mainline Protestant membership continues to decline, many churches have resigned themselves to an inevitable death. Despite this fatalistic temptation, this conversation aims to reinvigorate congregations through a reclamation of the rich theological and practical tools found within our liberal Protestant history through a contemporary lens. Our conversation partner invites us to courageously hear the call to confront our precarity with hope rather than fear, inviting our communities to consider the power of faithful discipleship amid an uncertain future.

Panelists include:
Delaney Beh
Rev. ellie hutchison
Delaney Beh (they/them) is a recent MDiv graduate of the University of Chicago Divinity School and a Member in Discernment in the Indiana-Kentucky Conference. Growing up in both Catholic and evangelical churches, Delaney’s sense of call at the age of 17 quickly led them into the affirming embrace of the United Church of Christ. After serving UCC congregations in Indiana, Colorado, and Illinois, they became increasingly struck by how the fear of decline often prevented churches from fully embracing their role as the hands and feet of Christ. These experiences inspired Delaney to write “The Courage to Be Church: Renewing Liberal Protestant Discipleship in an Age of Uncertainty,” the master’s thesis that serves as the foundation for this conversation. Delaney hopes this research reflects the kind of ministry they strive to embody—one that meets an uncertain future not with anxious control but with surrender to the Spirit’s still-speaking voice.

Vote with Love: Mobilizing Our Communities This Midterm Election
2026-09-28 15:30 - 17:00
This midterm election, the stakes are higher than ever. Join the United Church of Christ and our partners for a conversation about why community mobilization matters right now, and what’s on the line for the issues closest to our hearts: climate change, immigration justice, economic justice, and LGBTQ+ rights. We’ll explore how these issues are showing up on ballots and in policy debates this election cycle, and why voting with love is a faith practice, not just a civic duty.

The Joy of Spontaneous Giving
2026-09-29 14:00 - 15:00
In the church, we might be familiar with the process of budgets and planning our giving. But what if providing opportunities for spontaneous giving is a source of spiritual formation as well as greater generosity? Join Rev. Rachel McDonald, Generosity Officer for Our Church’s Wider Mission and Special Mission Offerings to learn about the scriptural and sociological grounding for the joy of immediate giving. Resources shared will help church leaders, mission committees, and clergy navigate how to teach and preach about giving in life-affirming ways.

Rev. Rachel McDonald currently serves as the Generosity Officer, Our Church’s Wider Mission and Special Mission Offerings for the National Ministries of the United Church of Christ. In that work she develops and coordinates the mission interpretation, communication strategies, and fund development for the five offerings of Our Church’s Wider Mission: Basic Support, One Great Hour of Sharing, Strengthen the Church, Neighbors in Need, and the Christmas Fund. Rachel is originally from rural Western Pennsylvania but has called Cleveland, OH home for over a decade. She has a book recommendation and a photo of her nieces and nephews to share with anyone who asks.

Reshaping Narratives & Decolonizing the Christian Church
2026-10-21 16:00 - 17:00
Racial Justice Ministries and Worship and Theology Ministries of the United Church of Christ invite you to revitalize your faith with spiritual practices to nourish your justice journey and strengthen the Christian Church.
Is Christian extremism theological? Supremacists’ ideology biblical? The Doctrine of Discovery Christian? Domination over human beings of God?
Reshaping narratives that tell more accurate stories within the bible broadens our theological perspectives and strengthens our spiritual practices. Beloved siblings around the world are witnessing governments and institutions implementing policies that dehumanize and displace God’s human family. As people of faith we must protect, recognize, respect, and include all people of diverse cultures, identities, and faith perspectives.
The Rev. Dr. Curtiss DeYoung, racial justice academic, author, activist, and biblical scholar will join the Rev. Dr. Cheryl Lindsay, UCC Minister for Worship and Theology and spiritual practitioner for an empowering and necessary conversation to remain encouraged and equipped advocates, activists, and organizers to strengthen the church. We are the Kindom of God and Justice is for All!
Host: Rev. Dr. Velda Love
Panelists: Rev. Cheryl Lindsay and Rev. Dr. Curtiss DeYoung

Beyond the Pulpit: Chaplaincy and Spiritual Care
2026-10-26 15:30 - 16:30, 2026-10-29 15:30 - 16:30
This two-part webinar series explores the growing need for chaplains, and the vital role chaplaincy plays in providing spiritual and emotional care across diverse settings. Participants will gain an introduction to the profession, learn the 5 Ws of Chaplaincy from one of the nation’s top accredited chaplaincy programs, and discover how chaplains offer empathetic, nonjudgmental support in hospitals, the military, corporate environments, and community spaces. The series will also examine emerging trends in chaplaincy, the challenges of serving an increasingly disconnected and politically polarized society, and how we can work together to ensure greater access to this essential form of care.

Guests include:
Rev. Dr. Danielle Buhuro
Rev. ellie hutchison

Rev. Dr. Danielle “Danie” J. Buhuro is Executive Director and lead CPE Supervisor at Sankofa CPE Center which offers innovative online Clinical Pastoral Education programming along with unique social justice-oriented clinical work settings and prepares clergy chaplains for board certification. She is also Assistant Professor of Practical Theology at Gammon Theological Seminary in Atlanta, Georgia. Dr. Buhuro is passionate about issues of race, gender and sexuality. She is author of “Spiritual Care In An Age of #BlackLivesMatter: Examining the Spiritual and Prophetic Needs of African Americans Living In A Violent America.”

Dr. Buhuro attended Chicago Theological Seminary, where she earned the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Theology, Ethics and Human Sciences with a focus on Pastoral Theology. Dr. Buhuro also holds a Doctor of Ministry and Master of Divinity degrees respectively.

Dr. Buhuro has served on the national board of directors for ACPE: The Standard for Spiritual Care & Education. She facilitates numerous workshops nation-wide on African American Pastoral Care and African-centered psychology.

Dr. Buhuro is same-gender-loving and currently partnered. She parents a son, Ezekiel Calvin Buhuro.

Rev. Dr. Buhuro is committed to excellence and community partnership. Her philosophy of education embraces a pedagogy of helping students enhance their pastoral identity and pastoral competence while improving their pastoral reflection.
