What is the United Church of Christ (UCC)?
It's a community of Christians with Christ as the sole head of the
Church.
The UCC has about 1.1 million members:
* In over 6,000 congregations throughout American
* in cities, suburbs, and rural areas
* of many nationalities and races.
A
United and Uniting church...
The UCC was once several church bodies, now joined together.
Congregations support each other in the work of
Christ through
denominational structures.
The goal of the UCC is to be joined together in on church on earth with
all who share allegiance to Christ.
The UCC takes an active role in:
* promoting cooperation between churches and denominations
* bringing people everywhere together in the name of Christ
* building sacramental and missionary partnerships with other
denominations and churches.
The History of UCC
Four churches denominations merged into two, then into one - a history
of Ecumenical Unity!
The German Reformed Church of the US - Followed Calvinist beliefs and
traditions.
Evangelical Synod in North America - Followed mostly Lutheran Reformed
and other Christian beliefs.
These two churches united in 1934 to form the Evangelical and Reformed
Church. They stress liberty of
conscience, through the Scriptures and
their common German Protestant heritage.
Congregational Churches - Followed mostly Calvinist and Puritan Beliefs
and a congregational polity.
The Christian Churches - consisted of 5 churches coming together mainly
the Disciples of Christ and the
Christian Church.
These two churches united in 1931 to form the Congregational Christian
Churches. They stressed
congregational freedom and a continuing
reformation.
In 1957, these denominational streams united to form the
United Church
of Christ.
Today, the UCC is interested in uniting with other churches in
fulfillment of the great prayer of Jesus Christ
"that they may all be
one."
The religious heritage of the UCC stems from the great traditions of the
Protestant Reformation - Lutheran,
Calvinist and Congregational. These
traditions were brought to America by Protestants fleeing persecution in
Europe.
What are the beliefs of the UCC?
Authority of the Scriptures - The Bible is an integral and vital part of
the faith and practice.
Doctrinal Freedom - Different covenants and confessions of faith are
accepted in different congregations.
Christian Unity - All Christians are brothers and sisters in Christ and
must help each other.
The Trinity - Creator, Christ, and Holy Spirit are one God.
God - acting in love, God is ever active in the world.
Jesus Christ - In Christ, the only head of the church, God has come,
conquering sin and reconciling the world to
Divine Love.
The Holy Spirit - God sent the Holy Spirit as the Eternal Ones
continuing presence and activity in the world.
The Church - The church consists of a group of people united in Christ
through worship, work and witness.
Salvation - Forgiveness, grace, and eternal life are promised to all who
have faith.
Bearing Witness - Members must be disciples, in word and in deed - the
strength of their faith.
Redefining Faith - Each generation is responsible for rethinking its
beliefs, as God's word unfolds and
conditions change.
Serving Others - The mission of the church is to work for justice for
all and to establish God's rule in the world.
The Statement of Faith It sums up the beliefs of the UCC:
"We believe in you, O God, Eternal Spirit, God of our Savior Jesus
Christ and our God, and to your deeds we testify:
You call the worlds into being, created persons in your own image, and
set before each one the ways of life and death. You seek in holy love to
save all people from aimlessness and sin. You judge people and nations
by your righteous will declared through prophets and apostles. In Jesus
Christ, the man of Nazareth, our crucified and risen Savior, you have
come to us and shared our common lot, conquering sin and death and
reconciling the world to yourself. You bestow upon us your Holy Spirit,
creating and renewing the church of Jesus Christ, binding in covenant
faithful people of all ages, tongues and races. You call us into your
church to accept the cost and joy of discipleship, to be your servants
in he service of others, to proclaim the gospel to all the world and
resist the powers of evil, to share in Christ's baptism and eat at his
table, to join him in his passion and victory. You promise to all who
trust you forgiveness of sins and fullness of grace, courage in the
struggle for justice and peace, your presence in trial and rejoicing,
and eternal life in your realm which has no end. Blessing and honor,
glory and power be unto you. Amen"
Forms of Worship
Each congregation has its own autonomy and may practice its own form of
worship. Many congregations include:
Statement of faith; Scripture
Reading; Anthems; Prayers; Sermons; Giving Thanks.
The UCC recognizes 2 Sacraments instituted by Christ;
Baptism - Through baptism, people are joined in faith with Jesus and
accepted in the fellowship of the church.
The Lord's Supper - The breaking of bread and pouring of wine are done
in remembrance of Christ's death on
the cross and His resurrection.
Other special ceremonies called rites include: confirmation, marriage,
ordination, and burial.
What does it mean to belong to the UCC?
Individually - Members of the UCC try to accept more and more the
responsibility of being Christ's disciples.
This includes: committing
themselves totally to God through Christ and responding with faith and
gratitude, praise and service to God.
With Others- Members of the UCC try to to share their faith more and
more with each other. They do this by:
gathering together in worship,
church activities and service, supporting each other on the
Christian
path and belonging to each other in the church.
Serving in the world...
Helping Others - The UCC's mission is to bring the Gospel to bear on all
situations - both personal and social - by
helping people in need;
building; reconciling; working for justice and peace; healing; and
teaching.
Working for Christian unity - The UCC recognizes that all Christians
share the same basic faith - they are one in
the body of Christ. The UCC
seeks to unite all Christians in effective ministry and
mission in
Christ's name, while recognizing diversity of work and worship. An
ecumenical partnership with the Christian Church Disciples of Christ was
established in 1989.
How the UCC is organized:
The structure of the church is based on the local congregation.
The Local Church is the basic unit of the UCC
* No official hierarchy manages local affairs.
* Each congregation practices its own forms of organization, worship,
education, and mission.
* The affairs of the church are managed by the members of each
congregation.
* The Pastor is a member of the congregation.
Individual congregations work together through:
Associations - Groups of local churches work together to ordain
ministers and set Association rules and
procedures.
Conferences - The are made up of one or more Associations.
Christ is the only acknowledged leader of the Church.
Church Activities:
The UCC is a concerned church that witnesses to the Gospel by getting
involved:
Locally
* educates members and interested people of all ages in Christianity and
the UCC
* may get actively involved in community affairs - youth programs,
raising funds for charitable causes,
influencing public policy, etc.
* develops faith and spirituality in individual members.
Nationally
* works for social justice in the nation and world, the integrity of
creation.
* communicates the Gospel and identifies social issues that need to be
faced.
* works to improve ecumenical relations to unite all Christians.
* works to deepen the faith of individual Christians.
* resolved to strongly uphold and encourage equality for ALL members
within the Body of Christ.
Worldwide
* spreads the good news of the Bible
* works with other churches in serving the needy through disaster
relied, social welfare programs, evangelism,
and other services
* promotes world peace.
Take an opportunity to get involved in the UCC!
The United Church of Christ offers:
Unity - for all Christians of diverse traditions seeking on church on
earth.
Action - a heritage of working for Christ's kingdom
Freedom - for congregational and individual decisions under Christ.