Service Project at General Synod 35 encourages churches to build ‘banned book’ libraries

The practice of banning books has been at an all-time high. Last year, the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom reported more than 4,000 unique titles were challenged in public libraries, and schools, which is the most the office has reported since it began tracking censorship efforts. 

These efforts have been fueled by conservative groups across the country to ban books they deem inappropriate for children. 

To that end, General Synod 35 this summer in Kansas City, will organize the Banned Books Service Project, which aims to equip churches in both the Kansas-Oklahoma and Missouri Mid-South Conferences to build their own banned book libraries. 

“This is a new thing. This is unique, speaks to the moment, and got us thinking, ‘What could this become and what could this look like?’” said Rachael Ward, minister for Gender and Sexuality Justice. The effort is a collaboration between both host conferences and the Local Arrangements Committee. 

Similar to General Synod 34’s service project with period packs, the banned books will be available in a predetermined location within the convention center, and those attending are invited to either bring or ship books to be included. During Synod, attendees will be invited to participate by helping sort books to then be shipped to local churches. 

“By participating in this service project, you will meet people who care right alongside you — who care about our rights, who care about who we are as a Church, who care about being able to do God’s work without hinderance from the government,” said the Rev. Lorraine Ceniceros, conference minister for the Kansas-Oklahoma Conference, which is one of two host conferences for Synod. “Getting banned books out is God’s work. It’s empowering people, and that’s exactly why those books are banned — the powers that be do not want us to feel empowered.”

The work won’t stop with General Synod. Resources and helpful information will be available afterwards to call the church to commit to making banned books available within their own communities. 

“This project allows the UCC to empower a wide scope of communities to address the particular book banning concerns they each may face,” said the Rev. Mary Nelson, transitional conference minister for the Missouri Mid-South Conference, the other host conference of Synod. “Our impact can be broad and particular at the same time.”

The first thing to go is ‘wisdom’ 

Ward says the attack on diversity and banning of books is the current administration’s attempt to eradicate things they deem problematic to force society to obey its agenda. 

“Our books and our stories are one of the most liberative frames we have in order to teach the truth and to tell the truth,” Ward said. “We know from history the first thing to go is history. The first thing to go is wisdom.” 

“Banning books is one way authoritarian movements seek to keep us divided, because if another can remain an ‘other’ to us, then we can be pitted against each other, instead of working together for our collective liberation,” said Dr. Sharon Fennema, Join the Movement curator at the UCC National Setting. “The more we encounter each other’s stories, the more we read across divides and differences, the more we are equipped to be the true Body of Christ, leaning into our interconnectedness, rather than fascist efforts to keep us segregated and fearful of one another. There is no better time to be reading banned books to fuel our gospel-rooted resistance to dehumanization and the logics of supremacy.”

In 2025 alone, numerous books and titles have either been banned or challenged. Many reasons cited include perceived sexual content, drug and alcohol abuse, LGBTQIA+ content, and age appropriateness. Books by authors of color, LGBTQIA+ authors, and those dealing with racism, sexuality, and gender often are on the hit list of targeted titles. 

“It should scare you. In this moment, this should alarm you, it should raise alarm bells, especially within the UCC,” Ward said. “We care about telling the truth here, and books allow us to have conversations across divides and differences in ways that are not violent. We can be the library for telling the truth.” 

A beautiful expression 

Fennema said this effort at General Synod has real purpose. “What more beautiful expression of our oneness in Christ could there be than joining together to expand the reach of stories that honor the breadth of human dignity and connect us across our differences! Collecting and donating banned books for distribution in different UCC communities is an act of deep love, both for the stories that could otherwise go unheard and for those in our communities that desperately need to hear them,” she said.

A webinar to learn more about the banned book service project, and how you can support and build your own banned book library, is scheduled for Monday, June 23 at 3:30 PM. A link will be available for registration soon.  

Registration for General Synod 35 is also open. Online registration will close on Friday, June 13, and will reopen again on site in Kansas City. Be sure to check the General Synod website for the latest information. 

---

Content on ucc.org is copyrighted by the National Setting of the United Church of Christ and may be only shared according to the guidelines outlined here.