I was recently asked one day over lunch about who, exactly, is the United Church of Christ. As the UCC celebrates the 53rd anniversary of its founding. I want you to be reminded of the hope and heritage of this church. The following is taken from the Illinois Conference websight.

The UCC is a community of faith that seeks to respond to the Gospel of Jesus Christ in word and deed. The UCC was founded in 1957 as the union of several different Christian traditions: from the begining of our history, we were a church that affirmed the ideal that Christians did not always have to agree to live together in communion. Our motto "that they my all be one" is Jesus prayer for the unity of the church. The UCC is one of the most diverse Christian denominations in the United States.

The UCC tends to be a mostly progressive denomination while seeking to combine intelligent dialogue with a strong independent streak among its 1.2 million members. Somehow, congregational autonomy is balanced with a strong commitment to unity among nearly 5600 congregations, despite wide differences among many local congregations on a variety of issues. While preserving relevant portions of heritage and history dating back to 1500s, the UCC and its forebears have proven themselves capable of moving forward, tying faith to social justice, and shaping citting edge theology and service in an ever changing world. Affirming that Jesus christ is the Head of the Church, the UCC claims as its own the faith of the historic church expressed in the ancient creeds and reclaimed in the basic insights of the Prostestant reformers. Yet the UCC also affirms the responsibility of the church in each generation and community to make faith its own in reality of worship in honesty of thought and expression, and in purity of heart before God. It looks to the Word of God in Scriptures, and to the presence of power of the Holy Spirit to prosper its creative and redemptive work in the world.One of the UCC's distinguishing characteristics is its perchance to believe that God is still speaking.

The United Church of Christ came into being in 1957 with the union of the Evangelical and Reformed Church and the Congregational Christian Churched.

The Congregational Churches were organized when the Pilgrims of Plymouth Plantation combined with the Puritans of the Massschusetts Bay Colony, acknowledging their essential unity. The Reformed Church traced its beginnings to congregations of German settlers in Pennsylvania founded from 1725 on. Later, its rank were swelled by immigrants from Switzerland, Hungary and other countries.

Over the next several months,we will learn more about the denomination. Next month, we will focus on the defining characteristics of the UCC.

Pastor David