UCC Mission Moment

National UCC Mission Moment

Ecumenical Sunday
January 23, 2011
Third Sunday after the Epiphany

What IS Our Church’s Wider Mission, Anyway?
It’s a well-kept secret in a lot of places, but Our Church’s Wider Mission is, in a lot of ways, who we are in the United Church of Christ.

The God is still speaking campaign is attracting thousands of people to the United Church of Christ. For them, we are the kind of church they “never knew existed,” the kind of church that actively welcomes everyone and takes courageous stands on controversial issues—and all the while tends to the traditional basic mandates of the gospel to spread the Good News, feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and shelter the homeless.

Our nearly 6,000 congregations contribute to Our Church’s Wider Mission, making us the kind of church so many people “never knew existed.”

Without Our Church’s Wider Mission . . .
We could not gather the great strengths of our congregations or make our voice heard in the public arena. We would not have missionaries in over 70 countries worldwide. We could not help small, struggling, or emerging new churches with support for pastors or buildings. We could not provide congregations with distinctively “UCC” resources: for worship, stewardship, leadership. Congregations would be entirely on their own when looking for a pastor. There would be no United Church of Christ presence at all in parts of the United States. Our Church’s Wider Mission: It’s who we are. Does your congregation contribute?

Source: http://www.ucc.org/stewardship/mission-moments/
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Violent Words

We hope the following article reminds us that this old saying is not true: "sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me."

Arizona Shooting Reminds Us Our Words Are Swords by Sheldon C. Good, Assistant Editor, Mennonite Weekly Review. Posted on the Huffington Post on January 12th.

Article credit and source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sheldon-c-good/ariz-shooting-reminds-us-_b_807064.html

God's heart broke just as ours did upon hearing of the victims in Tucson. It's a tragic reminder of how cyclical violence is and of how our words have consequences. Speculation is running rampant on why Jared Loughner allegedly "planned ahead" and ultimately carried out a shooting at a suburban Safeway supermarket, killing six people and wounding 14, including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.

Did vitriolic rhetoric lead to the shooting of innocent victims? Is it just another isolated incident from a psychologically unstable suspect? We may never know for sure. Loughner allegedly acted and planned with clear intention. But rather than assigning blame, we all must confess the places where violence creeps into our own lives. Regardless of why Loughner did what he did, the shooting reminds us all that violent communication is evil and only breeds more evil.

We all possess what the prophet Isaiah called mouths as sharp as swords. And so it seems that right now, as violence has once again strangled our nation's soul, the words of the Prince of Peace aptly remind us to put these swords back into their place -- "for all who take the sword will perish by the sword" (Matt. 26:52).

We live daily with the choice to use our words to inspire hope or propagate fear. It's natural for people to disagree, but when disagreeing turns to demonizing, we must turn from such evil ways and put away our swords of words.

For too long, people of faith -- myself included -- have mirrored violence or the threat of violence in our language. Political opponents are "targeted." Athletic opponents must "kill" each other. The list goes on. Such words that vilify others have no place in our communication. Do we continually analyze our word choices?

Loughner was clearly upset with the state of politics. Though his increasingly odd behavior caused growing alarm, he had devised a plan, acquired the proper hardware and no one was going to stop him from carrying out his mission. It all sounds eerily similar to the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing. Since then, it seems no event has generated as much attention regarding whether extremism, anti-government sentiment and political passion create a social climate that promotes violence.

We need to rediscover how to disagree without demonizing. As people of faith, we ask God to cleanse us of our violent ways, so that we may realign ourselves with God's reign on Earth as it is in heaven.

As we approach Martin Luther King Jr. Day, let us remember his words:
"We must work unceasingly to uplift this nation that we love to a higher destiny, to a higher plateau of compassion, to a more noble expression of humanness."

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Food for Thought & Social Change

I was scanning my facebook updates recently and a friend of mine posted a link to the following article. I found it to be thought provoking and extremely important in our day and age.

"Go Where? Sex, Gender and Toilets" by Marissa, a guest blogger. This story was posted on The Society Pages website.

It is high time we start a public discourse about this topic and make changes in our communities to be more accepting of gender differences and transgendered individuals. Hopefully, inclusive religious communities like First Central can help pave the way for positive social change.

Posted by Hanna W.