Mid-Career Check-In: What’s Working, What’s Not, and What Needs to Change Now
2026-07-30 15:00 - 16:00 (America/New_York) | Zoom
Mid-career leaders often navigate the most complex intersections of ministry and life: family responsibilities, congregational demands, aging parents, debt, and long-term planning pressures. This season requires strategic recalibration. A mid-career check-in helps clergy regain clarity, adjust course with intention, and ensure that their leadership today does not compromise their wellbeing or their retirement security tomorrow.
What it addresses: Insights for recalibrating ministry, money, and life priorities, including preparing for retirement.
This session is suitable for: Mid-career clergy & lay employees ages 45+.

Host: Rev. Krista Betz, Interim Director, United Church Board for Ministerial Assistance
Featured Guest: Rev. Dr. Michael L. Sloan

In this interactive discussion, glean from the Rev. Dr. Michael Sloan as he shares insights and practices to support mid-career professionals in reassessing what’s sustainable—financially, vocationally, and personally.
Topics Include:

Mid‑career pressures
Competing life demands
Recalibration indicators

Participants will

Name core stressors
Assess energy drains
Clarify next steps

Don't Throw That Away: Why Archiving Our History Matters!
2026-07-30 15:30 - 16:30
We all know there is one room in a church filled with memories – from documents to old hymnals to whatever item found its way there and we know the temptation to throw it all way! But our Church records are more than just words on dusty paper; they are windows into the past that illuminate the history of a community and convey the mission of the church. Church records span the entire history of your church, and no matter the age, are important to be preserved. But knowing what to preserve can be daunting work, especially if those with institutional knowledge have moved on. Join the Congregational Library & Archives’ archivists Billy McCarthy and Zachary Bodnar for a program focused on the first tangible steps a church can take to begin organizing their existing records and ensuring the long-term preservation of the records they produce today.

Navigating Ministry in an Era of Change: Leadership, Resilience, and Adaptive Skills
2026-08-05 15:00 - 16:00
Retirement readiness is a cornerstone of adaptive, sustainable leadership. In a ministry landscape defined by shifting expectations, multi-vocational realities, and increasing demands, leaders who plan for long-term financial and vocational wellbeing are better equipped to serve with clarity, confidence, and resilience. Preparing for the future isn’t just a financial task—it’s a leadership discipline that supports emotional, spiritual, and organizational stability.
What it addresses: Positions financial wellbeing as a driver of long-term leadership strength
This session is suitable for: Early‑career and mid‑career clergy discerning how to lead with longevity in a rapidly evolving church environment.
Host: Maria Seidel, Senior Associate, Ministerial Assistance
Featured Guests: Rev. Becky Sausser and Rev. Kendall Moore
Financial wellbeing is a driver of long-term leadership strength. Join this insightful discussion about retirement readiness and financial planning as core leadership competencies in times of change.
Topics Include:

Adaptive leadership demands
Financial insecurity impacts
Leadership longevity planning

Participants will:

Link finance and leadership
Reframe retirement planning
Lead with confidence

Fostering Vitality: Liturgical Resources for a Faithful & Vital Church
2026-08-06 15:30 - 16:30
You may have noticed a special after Pentecost sermon series titled: Faithful and Vital. Inspired by conversations with local church leaders, Minister for Worship and Theology, Rev. Dr. Cheryl Lindsay began the process to create worship resources inviting us to remember who we are and who we could be through the framework of the Marks of Faithful and Vital Local Churches from the United Church of Christ Manual on Local Church. Join us for an engaging conversation to learn more about how this project came together, what the spirit behind the messages are and how these liturgical resources can support engaging faith-rooted dialogue within your own local church setting around the Manual on Local Church’s Marks for Faithful and Vital Churches.

Be Prophetic, Not Partisan: Election Engagement 101 for Congregations
2026-08-11 16:00 - 17:30
The United Church of Christ’s mission calls us to welcome all, love all, and seek justice for all. Living out that call means speaking boldly in the public square through public policy advocacy and election engagement that shape our common life together.
But are you confused about what your church can and can’t do this election season? You’re not alone. Many congregations avoid political engagement altogether, unsure of the rules, while others charge in without knowing the risks.
As we head into the 2026 election, now is the time to get clear. This webinar cuts through the confusion around 501(c)(3) status and IRS guidelines, giving you practical, actionable guidance on how your congregation can engage boldly and legally in the public square this election season.
This webinar will feature Heather Kimmel (United Church of Christ’s General Counsel) and Rev. Michael Neuroth (Director of the UCC Office of Public Policy & Advocacy), and Rushad Thomas (Domestic Policy Advocate of the UCC Office of Public Policy & Advocacy).

Can Advocacy with Congress Still Accomplish Anything?
2026-08-12 13:00 - 14:00
Congress is frequently described as gridlocked, polarized, and dysfunctional with one notable exception: impeccable service for the donor class. It is enough to prompt mass conversions of even the most ardent optimists to zealous cynicism. In such a world, is there any hope for advocacy? In this webinar, we will hear from Sam Daley-Harris who has been training and equipping others to swim upstream against the currents of political despair for over 45 years. Over and over again, he has coached and encouraged advocates as they have achieved tangible results. In fact, he is the founder of a highly successful anti-poverty organization called RESULTS. He is also the author of “Reclaiming Our Democracy: Every Citizen’s Guide to Transformational Advocacy.”
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.

Economic Justice: Love Our Laborers as Yourself
2026-08-13 15:30 - 16:45
We all feel a call to “do what you love.” Parents, teachers, pastors and culture all reinforce the message. Most importantly, the call comes from the Spirit within. To work and play freely, without shame or exploitation, is to feel integrated and alive internally – and within community and society. Tragically, our dominant, oppressive economic system deprives almost everyone of realizing this freedom to thrive. Too many are simply trying to survive under harrowing circumstances. That is ungodly. Is it possible to pivot from anti-Christ economy to loving our laborers? We can and must fight for living wages, guaranteed housing, and dignity imbued into every endeavor, in Jesus’ name.
Join the conversation with Nurture the Soul and learn how you and your church can concretely manifest sustained justice now and growing forward.
Rev. Seth Wispelwey is the Minister for Economic Justice with the National Ministries of the United Church of Christ. He has an extensive background in grassroots organizing with people of faith and conscience on a variety of justice issues. In his current role, Seth is focused on coming alongside congregations with training materials, discipleship curriculums, and meaningful solidarity actions for manifesting thriving and liberation for all. He loves spending free time gardening, cooking, enjoying great horror films, and dreaming about whales. Seth lives and works from Charlottesville, Virginia with his family.

Money, Ministry, and Meaning: Financial Wellness as an Act of Pastoral Self-care
2026-08-19 15:00 - 16:00
Financial wellbeing is inseparable from pastoral wellbeing. When clergy build healthier relationships with money, they reduce stress, expand capacity for spiritual leadership, and strengthen their ability to serve without fear or scarcity. Retirement readiness becomes an act of stewardship—of self, vocation, and community—reframing financial planning as an essential component of sustainable ministry.
What it addresses: Seeing financial planning as an essential pastoral wellbeing practice.
This session is best suitable for: Early career and mid-career ministry professionals.
Host: Rev. Dr. Paul L. Ramsey, Director of Church Relations & Philanthropy
Featured Guest: Shannon Doyle, Program Director for Partnerships and Financial Education, LSS Financial Choice
Learn how to have a better relationship with money and to reframe your financial planning approach as a spiritual and vocational practice that supports sustainable ministry.
Topics Include:

Money and meaning
Scarcity and burnout
Stewardship and wellbeing

Participants will:

Recognize money scripts
Reframe financial care as self-care
Relate to money better

Faith, Disability, and the Crisis of Homelessness
2026-08-20 15:30 - 16:30
Join the Disability Ministry Board for an interactive conversation around the intersections of disability and economic justice. We’ll learn a bit about how the limitations of Supplemental Security Income (SSI) impacts housing and financial stability for the community diagnosed with disabilities. More importantly, we’ll ask the hard questions about why we should care beyond being called and led to be a caring, gracious and loving community that honors the dignity of all our neighbors.

Who Pays the Price: Migrant Labor, Economic Justice and Our Faith
2026-08-27 15:30 - 16:30
We are all experiencing a rise in our food prices, but the people who harvest our food are often left out of the conversation. This webinar connects the cost-of-living crisis to migrant labor while exploring the roles of faith in this justice advocacy. Join us for an eye-opening conversation with faith and community leaders. Our conversation partners will share actionable ways for viewers to participate in Fill the JAR and Love Knows No Borders campaigns.

Employer-Focused Workshop: Building Healthy, Sustainable Ministries Through Better Benefits Education
2026-08-31 15:00 - 16:00
Employers play a pivotal role in shaping the long-term wellbeing of clergy and staff. Effective benefits education, transparent compensation practices, and proactive support for retirement readiness contribute directly to healthier ministries, stronger employee retention, and more sustainable leadership pipelines. When employers champion financial and vocational wellbeing, the entire church ecosystem becomes stronger, more stable, and better equipped for the future.
What it addresses: How employer decisions shape long-term clergy wellness and retention.
This session is suitable for: Conference staff, Human Resource administrators, church councils, and treasurers.
Host: Walter A. Reyes, Chief Operating Officer
Featured Guest: Stephanie Serratelli, Program and Benefits Manager
Join Stephanie Serratelli as she guides employer organizations in understanding how benefits education and compensation practices directly influence clergy and/or caregiver wellbeing and retention.
Topics Include:

Benefits education impact
Compensation transparency
Workforce sustainability

Participants will:

See benefits as a retention tool
Improve education trust
Strengthen employee communication

Sex Ed as Resistance
2026-09-02 12:00 - 13:00
Join us as for a conversation with Dr. Meg Bartlett-Chase, sex educator, organizer and advocate–about how providing great sexuality education is a way to resist authoritarianism. Dr. Bartlett-Chase has researched sex education policy, practice and controversy, and she is the founder and executive director of Honest Sex Ed Minnesota.

Preparedness Month Kick-Off: Loving Our Neighbors Through Disaster Preparedness and Response
2026-09-08 15:00 - 16:30
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.
