Revitalizing Church Practices II: Multiply Streams of Income through 501c3
2023-10-12 15:30 - 16:30 (America/New_York) | Zoom
Financial resilience is crucial for church growth. In this installment of our “Revitalizing Church Practices” series, we’ll explore how churches can diversify their revenues, maximizing financial opportunities by leveraging the benefits of 501c3 status. Navigate the intricate pathways to solidify your church’s financial future.

Revitalizing Church Practices III: Navigating the Waters
2023-10-19 15:30 - 16:30 | Zoom
Grants can be a lifeline for church projects. Continuing our “Revitalizing Church Practices” journey, this webinar delves into the grant ecosystem. Learn to pinpoint the right funding opportunities, craft compelling applications, and secure pivotal funds. Equip yourself to steer confidently through the world of grants.
Thursdays for the Soul: A webinar series to care for the whole church. Topics are wide ranging, and are focused on the spirituality and care of people. Prayer, worship, music, psalm readings, or compassionate teaching are included. This will be a predictable time of gathering for something to feed your spirit, offered by Faith Education, Innovation, and Formation and Justice and Local Church Ministries of the national setting, United Church of Christ.

Installation of the 10th General Minister and President
2023-10-20 17:00 - 19:00 | Lakewood Congregational Church (Livestream Available), 1375 West Clifton Boulevard, Lakewood, Ohio, 44107
You are cordially invited to attend the Installation of the 10th General Minister and President, Rev. Dr. Karen Georgia A. Thompson. Learn more about the Installation here: www.ucc.org/gmp-installation/. Can’t attend in person? You can participate in the service online: https://UCC.zoom.us/webinar/register/8016942040880/WN_SwP7ZZcjQAubcJjuSl-Upw

Donors Who Don't Come to Church: Engaging Donors Outside of Sunday Morning
2023-10-25 19:30 - 20:30 | Zoom
People find multiple ways to engage in the life of a congregation. Congregations often do well at engaging people who attend in-person services regularly, volunteer and donate. But how do we meaningfully engage people online? How do we inspire those who don’t give to donate? Connect with those who share our values but are not interested in worship, in-person or online. The webinar will help us think together about various ways to engage donors beyond Sunday Morning services. Presented by Rev. Andrew Warner, CFRE, Generosity Outreach Officer, National Ministries, United Church of Christ.

Revitalizing Church Practices IV: Effective Grant Making
2023-10-26 15:30 - 16:30 | Zoom
In this final webinar of the series, we pivot to those aiming to create grant opportunities. If you’re an entity seeking to make a difference, this session is for you. We’ll guide you through the steps to design impactful grant programs, ensuring they benefit recipients and echo the larger mission of our series: to revitalize and uplift church practices.

OWL Taking Flight: Reclaiming Sexual Identity Through Carnival
2023-11-01 12:00 - 13:00 | Zoom
In this session, Onika Henry revisits what many traditionally think about carnival. She challenges the idea that carnival is about unbridled debauchery but rather is a time to reclaim our sexuality.
Onika is a Caribbean Sexologist in private practice, with a background in Expressive Arts. She was a 2019 TEDxPortofSpain Speaker, a USA Fulbright Scholar (2012) and is the cofounder of a top performing arts company in Tobago.

Nurture the Soul Special Offering: Lisa Sharon Harper
2023-11-02 15:30 - 16:30 | Zoom
Please join us for an important conversation between Lisa Sharon Harper and Rev. Tracy Howe. They will be discussing Lisa’s most recent book, “Fortune: How Race Broke My Family And The World–And How To Repair It All” which was named one of Best Books of 2022 by Englewood Review of Books.
Lisa Sharon Harper is the founder and president of Freedom Road, a groundbreaking consulting group that crafts experiences that bring common understanding and common commitments that lead to common action toward a more just world. Lisa is a public theologian whose writing, speaking, activism and training has sparked and fed the fires of re-formation in the church from Ferguson and Charlottesville to South Africa, Brazil, Australia and Ireland. Lisa’s previous book, “The Very Good Gospel” was named 2016 “Book of the Year” by Englewood Review of Books. The Huffington Post identified Lisa as one of 50 Women Religious Leaders to Celebrate on International Women’s Day. Lisa is host of the Freedom Road Podcast, cohost of The FOUR Podcast and author of her weekly column on Substack, “The Truth Is…”.

Sowing Justice: Cultivating a Just World for All in the Farm Bill
2023-11-07 19:00 - 20:00 | Zoom
Join us for a three-part webinar series in collaboration with Franklinton Center on UCC advocacy priorities in the next Farm Bill. Farmers, policy experts, and impacted community leaders will highlight the need to advocate for economic, racial, and environmental justice for small farmers, the food insecure, and the earth. Tuesdays, November 7, 14, and 28 at 7:00 pm ET.

From Greenwashing to Environmental Justice
2023-11-08 13:00 - 14:00 | Zoom
The United Nations Charter declares that one of its central mandates is “to employ international machinery for the promotion of the economic and social advancement of all peoples.” Despite this, the upcoming UN Climate Change Conference (COP28) transparently reveals a process that has become dominated by fossil fuel interests rather than the interests of all peoples. The President of COP28 is Sultan Al Jaber, the CEO of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company which is one of the world’s largest oil producers and is currently working to aggressively expand its production. In this webinar, panelists will not only provide a critical assessment of the greenwashing and corporate capture of the upcoming COP, but they will also cast an alternative vision and pathway forward. Ultimately, the world deserves and desperately needs a UN process dedicated to the advancement of all peoples. Justice must be central not only to COP pronouncements but also to its actions.
Even if you cannot make the webinar at its scheduled time, still sign-up, and we will send you a link to a recording of it.
This monthly installment of Creation Justice Webinars is co-sponsored by Alabama Interfaith Power & Light, the People’s Justice Council, United Church Funds, and the United Church of Christ.

Trans Day of Remembrance Vigil
2023-11-20 19:00 - 20:00 | Zoom
Trans Day of Remembrance Vigil will be a time where we collectively hold space to honor and remember the names of trans siblings we know and may never know lost to violence this year. Just as we hold space for All Saints Day, may we hold space for our transgender saints in this special offering from Gender & Sexuality Justice Ministries.

You Can't Stop Justice
2023-11-28 12:00 - 13:00 | Zoom
In the prophetic tradition of our faith, justice is a river that never stops. As Amos declared, “Let justice roll down like water and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.” In this special Giving Tuesday event, two prophetic leaders will join in conversation about the never-ending movement for justice that extends from one generation to the next. In the 1980s, the Rev. Dr. Benjamin Chavis, Jr. coined the phrase “environmental racism” and helped lead protests that garnered the attention of the world to the struggle for environmental justice. More recently, Rep. Justin Pearson of Tennessee has been involved in protests that have challenged the status quo and awakened the conscience of the public in calling for common sense gun legislation. Before becoming a state representative, Pearson was an environmental justice leader in Memphis where he co-founded Memphis Community Against the Pipeline (MCAP), now known as Memphis Community Against Pollution.
Join us for this free webinar as we support the UCC’s Giving Tuesday appeal to support the next generation of environmental justice leaders. Give today: https://bit.ly/GivingTuesdayUCC

Praying Through Advent
2023-11-30 15:30 - 16:30 | Zoom
This four-week series on Nurture the Soul will bring us deep into the Advent story, from escaping the violence of Herod, to journeying through the desert, to being left outside to give birth. Hosted by Rev. Tracy Howe and featuring guests from across the National Setting of the United Church of Christ and Local Church pastors around the country, we will consider how these stories are still unfolding in the forms of repression, migration and the housing crisis. We will then join in fervent prayer, that we may be part of God’s unfolding love in this world. The final episode will feature a music filled virtual worship event local churches can then download and share.

Global H.O.P.E. Blue Christmas Service
2023-12-05 16:00 - 17:00 | Livestream
Join us on Tuesday, December 5, 4pm ET for a virtual worship service with Team Global HOPE at UCC National Ministries for a Blue Christmas worship service.
Blue Christmas services traditionally provide space for those who don’t feel so “merry and bright” during the holiday season. This service seeks to recognize and stand in solidarity with the experiences of those aggrieved or displaced by disaster or forced migration in 2023, as well as those who are grieving. We remember that we are called to stand in solidarity with the captive and the oppressed, the grieving and the suffering, and work together with God’s guidance to create a just world for all.
UCC Clergy, members, and choirs engaged in humanitarian ministries across the denomination will be providing reflective liturgy, music, and prayers during this event. This event will be recorded for later availability or use in local Blue Christmas events.

OWL Taking Flight with Author Airlie Anderson
2024-01-03 12:00 - 13:00 | Zoom
Airlie Anderson is the author illustrator of Neither, Cat’s Seasons, Cat’s Colors, and several other children’s books. She has won the Moonbeam Children’s Book Award, the Independent Publisher Book Award, and the Practical Preschool Award. You can visit her online at airlieanderson.com.

Climate Action Commissioning Service
2024-01-03 13:00 - 14:00
Climate action is a sacred and holy calling of utmost importance for people of faith today. To launch ourselves into this ministry in 2024 with a prophetic passion that energizes and sustains our work, the UCC Council for Climate Justice is convening a Climate Action Commissioning Service. The preacher for this event will be Nellis Kennedy-Howard who has served as a teaching pastor in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and has held a number of prominent leadership roles in the environmental justice movement. For four years, she worked alongside Winona LaDuke as the Co-Executive Director of Honor the Earth. She has additionally worked as the Sierra Club’s Director of Equity, Inclusion, and Justice. She is the founder and principal of Asdzaa (As-Saw) Consulting, a Navojo consulting firm that assists organizations and leaders in becoming more effective and equitable.

Primary Season: Prioritizing Climate Solutions
2024-01-10 13:00 - 14:00 | Zoom
In reference to the prospects of progressive candidates in 2024, recent headlines have highlighted a “waning enthusiasm” among Black, Hispanic, and young voters. Among voters concerned about the climate crisis, dissatisfaction and anger have arisen as fossil fuel projects in Alaska and Appalachia move forward. In this webinar, we will focus on what can be done to create the momentum needed for champions of climate justice to be elected into office. We will look at how climate solutions can be prioritized in the primaries, so that policies in accord with environmental justice values can be advanced.
Our featured webinar guests include:

Lashelle Johnson, State Equity Policy Director, League of Conservation Voters
Saul Levin, Legislative and Political Director, Green New Deal Network
Wanda Mosley, National Field Director, Black Voters Matter Fund

Even if you cannot make the webinar at its scheduled time, still sign-up, and we will send you a link to a recording of it. This monthly installment of Creation Justice Webinars is co-hosted by the Rev. Dr. Brooks Berndt who serves as the Minister of Environmental Justice for the United Church of Christ and the Rev. Michael Malcom who serves as the Executive Director for Alabama Interfaith Power & Light and the People’s Justice Council.

Praying Into the New Year
2024-02-01 15:30 - 16:30 | Zoom
Join a team from the National Ministries of the UCC and pray into the new year! This will be a candid conversation about what we are holding as people of faith, the relationships we are response-able to, and how that shapes our prayers. And of course, we will pray together! Featuring Rev. Tracy Howe, Team Leader of FaithINFO, Rev. Dr. Cheryl Lindsay, Minister for Worship and Theology, Rev. Dr. Velda Love, Minister for Racial Justice and Join the Movement Lead, and Rev. Dr. Sharon Fennema, storyteller and curator for Join the Movement.

OWL Taking Flight: Updates for Grades 10-12
2024-02-07 12:00 - 13:00 | Zoom
Join Rev. Amy Johnson (UCC) and Dr. Melanie Davis (UUA) for an introduction to what’s new with the forthcoming 2nd edition of Our Whole Lives for Grades 10-12, 2nd edition.

“Woke” Lent 2024: Join the Movement’s Lenten Series Launch
2024-02-08 15:30 - 16:30 | Zoom
If Jesus’ time in the desert teaches us anything, perhaps it is that there are risks to the heart-opening, mind-expanding, gut-wrenching, new life-awakening path of liberation. And we need messengers and journey companions who will meet us along the way, bearing comfort and strength.
This Lent, Join the Movement is inviting us to turn toward one such journey companion: Curtiss Paul DeYoung’s new book The Risk of Being Woke: Sermonic Reflections for Activists. Rooted in the activism that emerged following George Floyd’s murder, this book offers biblical reflections to “nurture and nudge us as we encounter risks in the midst of the journey” (xvii).
Its three sections call us to action, to community and to root deeply in a relationship with God, offering each of us the opportunity to take stock, deepen our commitment, and find sustenance for the work of racial justice ahead. Come spend some time with the author, Curtiss Paul DeYoung, and learn more about his journey, the book and the ways you can participate in this Lent series.

Changing the Conversation: The Theology of Reproductive Justice
2024-02-11 15:00 - 17:00 | Livestream
Changing the Conversation: The Theology of Reproductive Justice with guest speaker, The Rev. Dr. Rebecca Todd Peters.

Black History: Unsung Heroes of the Environmental Justice Movement
2024-02-14 13:00 - 14:00 | Livestream
For Black History Month, we will celebrate past environmental justice leaders and their historic contributions to the movement. We will lift up and reflect upon the lives of these champions for justice: Dana Alston, Cecil Corbin-Mark, Hazel Johnson, Patsy Oliver, Gloria Roberts, Damu Smith, Emelda West, and Margaret Williams. To fully appreciate their impact and legacy, we will hear from those in the movement who knew them. Featured speakers will include:

Robert Bullard, Executive Director, Bullard Center for Environmental and Climate Justice, and Distinguished Professor of Urban Planning and Environmental Policy, Texas Southern University
Cheryl Johnson, Executive Director, People for Community Recovery
Vernice Miller-Travis, Executive Vice President, Metropolitan Group -Peggy Shepard, Executive Director, WE ACT for Environmental Justice
Beverly Wright, Executive Director, Deep South Center for Environmental Justice

Even if you cannot make the webinar at its scheduled time, still sign-up, and we will send you a link to a recording of it.
This monthly installment of Creation Justice Webinars is co-hosted by the Rev. Dr. Brooks Berndt who serves as the Minister of Environmental Justice for the United Church of Christ and the Rev. Michael Malcom who serves as the Executive Director for Alabama Interfaith Power & Light and the People’s Justice Council.

Nurture the Soul: Reading for the Soul, “I Refuse to Lead a Dying Church!”
2024-02-15 15:30 - 16:30 | Zoom
Join Vanessa Myers-Dudley from The Pilgrim Press and author, Paul Nixon, for an engaging conversation about the re-release of his forthcoming book, “I Refuse to Lead a Dying Church!” which has been updated since the world collectively experienced a global pandemic. You don’t have to have read the book to come away with some new ways to look at ministry in 2024.

Thriving in Rural and Small-Town UCC Churches & Ministries
2024-02-22 15:30 - 16:30, 2024-02-29 15:30 - 16:30, 2024-03-07 15:30 - 16:30 | Zoom
A recent United Church of Christ survey found that over 60% of UCC congregations have small memberships, mostly found in rural and small-town settings. Join us for this 3-part Nurture the Soul series featuring the vitality and thriving experiences of rural and small-town church settings. UCC church members and pastoral leaders share their personal experiences of life in rural and small towns and the innovative ways of doing church and ministry in these settings and their essential contributions to the wider UCC.

Yes, Your Kid
2024-03-06 12:00 - 13:00 | Livestream
Join us as we welcome Debby Herbenick, author of Yes, Your Kid: What Parent’s Need to Know about Today’s Teens and Sex. Dr. Herbenick is an award-winning, internationally recognized sexuality researcher, a professor at the Indiana University School of Public Health, and lead investigator of the National Survey of Sexual Health and Behavior.

Climate Action Assembly
2024-03-06 13:00 - 14:00 | Zoom
The UCC Council for Climate Justice will be hosting a Climate Action Assembly to hear updates on the three endeavors launched for this year: the Freedom from Plastics Campaign, the Electrification Checklist Initiative, and the Vote for Climate Hope Campaign. Each of these programs is rooted in recent General Synod resolutions. Climate Action Assemblies are open to all members of the UCC.

Embodying Women & Gender Justice Year-Round
2024-03-06 15:30 - 16:30 | Livestream
Join National staff to engage intentionally UCC Women’s Week in love and just action. We’ll share stories of our shared work and why commitment to Womyn around the world matters prophetically. You’ll also learn tangible ways to join us in the work of Women and Gender Justice!

How Long Till Justice?: Flint, Jackson, and Red Hill
2024-03-13 13:00 - 14:00 | Zoom
In April, the 10th anniversary of the water crisis in Flint, Michigan will be marked. Yet, justice, in many forms and by many measures, has remained elusive. For instance, not a penny of the $626 million settlement has been distributed to residents. Just as the struggle for justice in Flint continues, so it also continues in other communities that have experienced water crises. In recent headlines, we learn of how large corporations exploited and deceived towns like Jackson, Mississippi with false promises of fixing their water infrastructure. Meanwhile, the EPA continues to find water contamination in homes near the US Navy’s Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility on Oʻahu as health problems persist and residents battle with landlords over rent collection. This webinar will focus on what justice would look like in Flint, Jackson, and the communities near Red Hill. We will also focus on what it will take to achieve that justice. Our webinar will feature residents and leaders from each of the three communities.
Even if you cannot make the webinar at its scheduled time, still sign-up, and we will send you a link to a recording of it.
This monthly installment of Creation Justice Webinars is co-hosted by the Rev. Dr. Brooks Berndt who serves as the Minister of Environmental Justice for the United Church of Christ and the Rev. Michael Malcom who serves as the Executive Director for Alabama Interfaith Power & Light and the People’s Justice Council.

The Need for Justice Leaders Within Congregations: Episode 1
2024-03-14 15:30 - 16:30 | Livestream
Join us in this 2-part series as we meet with the founders of the Justice Leadership program. We’ll explore why there is a need for justice leaders in congregations and how we are all leaders. We’ll also delve into the themes they cover during their fellowship such as: the pervasiveness of the worldview of Domination and how that has impacted life as we know it; the necessary shift from a congregational self-care primary mission to cultural transformation mission for the good of the world and the Church; and understanding Christianity as centered in Justice and the powerful Biblical Narrative.
Rev. Richard Gamble (he/him) is a founder and the executive director of the Justice Leadership Program. He is also the senior pastor at Keystone United Church of Christ. Rich has been involved in faith-based peace and justice work for over forty years. He has worked as an activist, a community organizer, and as the executive director of a community organizing agency. He also has worked as an advocate and as the director of an advocacy program and co-chair of the board of an advocacy agency.
Eliza Penick (she/her) is a program director for the Justice Leadership Program. She has worked in non-profit education, fundraising, program development, and community engagement for fifteen years, with a particular passion for food sustainability and sovereignty. Her sources of joy are family, urban homesteads, mountain biking, and the exploration of art, play, and new places.
