In hope-filled worship service, UCC and United Church of Canada celebrate full communion past and future

On Saturday, Dec. 13, many from the United Church of Christ (UCC) and the United Church of Canada gathered in collaborative worship to celebrate ten years of a full communion relationship. The time was filled with the Advent spirit of hope and hope for the future of the two denominations’ unique partnership.

“It seems fitting that we gather during the season of Advent as we remember what has been and anticipate the possibilities to come,” reflected the Rev. Cheryl Lindsay, UCC minister for worship and theology, in the introduction.

Throughout the worship service, pastors and leaders from both the UCC and United Church of Canada shared prayer, songs, land acknowledgement, scripture, stories, and testimonies in a collaborative way that reflected a shared sense of ministry and mission.

The “Celebrating 10 Years of Full Communion” Worship Service has been recorded and is available for viewing.

‘As we celebrate, we plan with hope’

The Rev. Karen Georgia Thompson, UCC General Minister and President/CEO and the Rev. Michael Blair, General Secretary of The United Church of Canada, offered a Statement of Purpose for the occasion of the ten-year anniversary.  

“As we think about this Statement of Purpose, it is not just about the past and how we got here,” Thompson offered. “It also frames the present and emboldens us for the future – a future in which this agreement that was a dream 13 years ago became alive and a reality among us 10 years ago. Today, we celebrate what was, what is, and what is yet to come from this full communion partnership.”

“As we have lived out our common calling and as we celebrate 10 years of partnership, we note that our partnership and collaboration has been rooted in a commitment to live deeply and boldly into our calling of seeking and creating a just world for all,” Blair said. “We have done this through the relationship of our staff teams, through connections between our regions and our conferences, through individuals, and through our engagement in specific programs. And as we celebrate, we plan in the spirit of this season of Advent – we plan with hope.”

‘Hope that refuses to be crushed’

The Rev. Philip Vinod Peacock of India, general secretary-elect of the World Communion of Reformed Churches, offered a sermon on Advent’s invitation to wait with childlike hope.

“God has come, God will come, and now we wait with the hope that refuses to be crushed,” he said. “If God reveals hope in a child, then hope begins in our places our world overlooks. If God chooses weakness over domination, then hope grows wherever compassion rises above control. If the kingdom belongs to children, then the church must become a community, a communion where the vulnerable are not just welcomed, but they are centered – the poor, the fragile, the queer, the migrant, the outsider, the one the world forgets.

“And this is what you have done. In your coming together as a communion of two churches, in full communion with one another, you have centered justice. And this is how God enters the world.”

Hope for the future

Thompson highlighted the path forward as “leaning into the hope of a future where we continue to find ways for meaningful collaboration.”

“When, 10 years ago, we put paper to pen and decided that we would take this journey together,” she said, “it meant that we would be willing to take risks together, that we would have each other’s back when necessary, and that together, we would name and call truth to power in the name of Jesus. May it be so.”

Watch the “Celebrating 10 Years of Full Communion” Worship Service here.

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