United Church of Christ

“We belong to the…. United Church of Christ”

The United Church of Christ is the denomination to which Emmanuel Congregational Church belongs. The United Church of Christ was born in 1957 as a merger of Congregational and Evangelical Reformed denominations.

United Church of Christ churches, arising from a “free church tradition,” tend to be ecumenical, socially conscious, peace and justice oriented, and open-ended theologically. They encourage their members to think for themselves as they discern the meaning of scripture and claim their own unique spiritual journeys with Christ. UCC churches honor, but not bound by, the historical creeds and sacred history of a 2,000-year-old tradition.

The United Church of Christ is a small, cutting edge denomination that has an impressive history of “firsts:” first denomination to ordain an African American, first to ordain a woman pastor, first to ordain an openly gay pastor. Guided by the open-heartedness of Christ himself, the United Church of Christ affirms diversity of all kinds, and is comfortable with the creative tensions and debate generated by a wide range of perspectives and beliefs.

The United Church of Christ has a decentralized structure that supports each local UCC church while allowing it to make its own decisions. All UCC churches are in fellowship with all their sister UCC churches across the world, and gather together periodically to worship, discuss the issues of the day, and collectively carry out regional and international mission projects.

Learn More about the National UCC

NEW YORK CONFERENCE OF THE UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST
Emmanuel Congregational Church is also active in the New York Conference of the United Church of Christ that is comprised of 265 UCC churches throughout the state of New York from Buffalo to the North Country to New York City.

The New York Conference has an exciting 3-day annual meeting once a year that is full of workshops, speakers, worship, and debate. Our conference office, located in Syracuse, provides services through Regional Conference Ministers and other staff who support our local UCC churches and their pastors.

Emmanuel Church and its members have always been active in the New York Conference life, serving on state committees and boards, participating in conference supported mission projects, and generously giving financially to Our Churches Wider Mission (OCWM), that supports state, national, and worldwide UCC initiatives and missions.

Learn More about the New York Conference UCC