Scores of empty shoes littered the lawn outside an Ohio church on Thursday evening, a stark but poignant memorial to the lives lost in two mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton. But Vermilion UCC Congregational's vigil involved much more than praying for an end to gun violence.

After two mass murders in just over 13 hours that left 29 people dead and scores injured in Texas and Ohio, the President of the United States echoed the call that religious leaders and gun violence prevention advocates have been sounding for years: It’s time for swift bipartisan action to address the national epidemic of gun violence.

United Church of Christ leaders think the U.S. needs to go a step further. They issued a call to action, to make gun violence prevention a prominent campaign issue – in addition to offering prayers for victims, their families and the nation.

A refugee from Uganda has reunited with her four children this summer after a separation of more than five years — thanks to her dogged determination, constant advocacy and continued accompaniment of her church family.

The United Church of Christ is saying farewell to a valued member of the national staff who has done much to create relationships and programs around volunteerism, leadership and sustainable development, refugee ministry and disaster response. 

A prominent New York City pastor is suing the United States government for interfering with her legal right to provide spiritual support and pastoral services to migrants and refugees at the border.

Staff colleagues and ecumenical partners from around the world are sending love and well wishes to a United Church of Christ executive ending his service to the national church at the conclusion of General Synod in Milwaukee in June.

Every day for the last two weeks, people in some part of the United States have been living under a threat of tornadoes. In Ohio Monday night, a number of twisters touched down, converging on the Dayton area. Tuesday, an extremely powerful storm tore through communities in Kansas. In both ravaged locales, UCC members jumped to action to help impacted neighbors and strangers, soon to be friends.

You'll notice an emphasis on peace if you visit the Congregational Church, United Church of Christ, Laconia, N.H. It has a peace pole on its grounds. Peace cranes have flown from its building. It is a Just Peace Church. This Memorial Day weekend, those same grounds will be covered in U.S. flags -- reminders of wars and those who fought and died in them.

The United Church of Christ is issuing an emergency appeal to assist several countries in Africa devastated by two deadly tropical cyclones which ripped through the Southern Hemisphere just weeks apart.

The UCC General Minister and President is joining a diverse group of 500 leaders converging in Washington, D.C. next week from across the United States, coming together around a common goal — to make climate action a national priority.