published on Jan 2, 2025 Leading with Love in the New YearJanuary 2025 Happy New Year to our Justice & Peace Action Network! As we ring in 2025, we welcome some exciting changes at the UCC Office of Public Policy and Advocacy in Washington D.C. ⎯ including a new look to our monthly newsletter! Each month, UCC
In August of this past year, I married a percussionist in the President’s Own United States Marine Band and officially became an active-duty military spouse. Since getting married, I have been absolutely blown away by our military healthcare system. Active-duty members of the military are automatically enrolled in their health insurance, Tricare Prime, the minute
Register now! For the third straight year, the UCC is conducting a Climate Hope Art Contest. The theme this year is “Planting Seeds of Hope.” UCC children and youth are invited to draw, paint, or color works of art that bring this theme to life. A fitting scripture to spark the imagination is Matthew 13:31-32
Every two years, the Ministerial Excellence, Support and Authorization (MESA) ministry team of the National Setting of the United Church of Christ hosts a gathering for Conference and Association judicatory staff to explore issues related to ministerial authorization, oversight, and search and call. The most recent meeting was held in Tempe, Arizona, from December 10-13,
It greeted me every time I stepped into the house that was my home while serving as mission personnel in Dumaguete City, the Philippines. Vibrant red fabric stretched tight over a large frame. An image of a typical bamboo hut stitched into the cloth on the left, beside it the words that have stayed with
This new year brings us a new Congress, new administration, and new political landscape across the globe. For many, these transitions bring feelings of anxiety, uncertainty, and fear. Communities around the country are navigating painful divisions within their families, friends, and churches. But amidst this great change, we are reminded of the enduring values
Cancer Alley is the nickname given to 80 miles of the Mississippi between Baton Rouge and New Orleans. There are 140 petrochemical plants along the river there. The area is also home to many working class people, a majority of them Black. Two days after the election, I left for Mississippi and Louisiana with a
The Advent season is an invitation to those of us in the northern hemisphere to wait in darkness for Emmanuel, God-with-Us. Long nights wrapped in shadow challenge us to embrace a time of reflection and deep rest. Slowing our relentless pace of anxious activity is a political act of resistance to the grind of consumerism,
“”Now in that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watching over their flock by night. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for see, I am bringing
In my formative years when, among other things, I was exploring my still-young Christian faith, I frequently turned to music to help make sense of it all. This included a “Christian music phase” in my high school in college years, which coincided with a boom period for the genre. During that era, one band that
