We Are the UCC

Strands of Our UCC History

With the sun streaming in through the windows of the A-Frame sanctuary of St. Albans Congregational Church, Barbara Brecht outlined the strands of our diverse history - a United Church of Christ of diverse ethnicity, theology and belief.

The first strand was the Pilgrims who came from England and the Netherlands across the Atlantic in 1620. From the initial band sprang many diverse churches, all of which called themselves "Congregational".

The second strand was the German Reformed who began coming to this country in 1690.

The third strand was the Christian Church, a church formed totally within the United States .

The fourth strand was the Evangelical Synod of North American formed in St. Louis in 1840.

In 1931 the Congregational and Christian churches joined together.

In 1932 the Evangelical and Reformed churches joined together.

In 1957 the United Church of Christ was formed by the uniting the two strands formed in 1931 and 1932.

1957 was a time of social change. The UCC was in the forefront of championing human rights. That remains true today.

Christhava Tamil Koil (CTK)

Alfred Thiagarajan took us on a journey with his church, CTK, and its decision to become a part of the UCC.

"Tamil is our language," he said. The first Tamil immigrants came from India to the US in the 1960's and 1970's. They did Bible study together. Later they approached Rev. Sunder Devaprasad, an ordained minister, who was serving as a hospital administrator. With Sunder they founded their church in April 1982, meeting first in Bergen , NJ .

"We were attracted to the UCC by the autonomy of its congregations and its dedication to social justice ministry. In April 1991 we were received into the Metro Association. Another milestone was getting our own building in May 2002. 'All are children of God' is our welcoming policy."

Alfred noted that CTK has sponsored many pastors coming from India who now serve UCC congregations. "We have also brought other congregations into the UCC." Currently four members of CTK are pursuing theological studies.

"We hope you will join us for our 25 th Anniversary celebration May 27, 2007."

Grace Church

Grace Church, serving primarily Korean congregants, was founded in November 1998. Its pastor, Insook Oakes, told of struggling to understand God's Name, "I am who I am", and struggling with her own question, "who I am".

Going to Union Theological Seminary she found others were struggling with similar problems. Then she worshipped at The Riverside Church. Through these experiences she came to learn that those in the UCC struggle with "who I am" while maintaining a strong focus on justice.

"Our church is a place where each person can discover who I am."

Grace Church started in the Bronx . It has just moved to White Plains where it shares facilities with the Chatterton Hill Church whose minister is Bonnie Miller. One of the first joint projects of Grace Church and the Chatterton Hill church is to have their children learn together.

"We are seeking to be a church that is still listening to the Still Speaking God."

Iglesia San Romero de las Americas

This church is named in honor of Archbishop Oscar Romero, assassinated on March 24, 1980 for his courageous defense of right rights in El Salvador .

Luis Barrios, its pastor, emphasized the "de las Americas " portion of the name. "The US is not ' America '. There are 32 countries in the Americas - North, South and Central. I am an 'American'; I was born in Puerto Rico ."

In 1990 Luis was serving a congregation in the Episcopal church. The Bishop came to ask him why he blessed same-sex marriages. Luis responded, "We bless animals; why are you having so much trouble because I'm blessing people?" The Bishop "fired him".

Luis started his own congregation in West Harlem . It started with three persons, then grew to 300. The congregation approached the UCC with a clear statement of "who we are" - Latinos, from all over New York City, dedicated to anti-war, passionate about the rights of immigrants, women, and gay persons. "We were greeted", he recalled, "with something like, 'you were born to be in the UCC'."

Currently the church is a "church without a building." Most of its parishioners are from the Dominican Republic and are young persons. "Young people are not the future," he said, "they are the present".

Filipino-American Church

"Affiliating with the UCC seemed natural," said Joel Pal. He explained that the United Church of the Philippines (UCCP) was formed in 1948 by the merger of five Protestant churches. There is no official connection between UCCP and UCC, but there are informal connections and the same emphasis on diversity.

In 1991 a group of Filipinos in New York had Bible study together.

With the encouragement of the UCC Board for Homeland Ministries these persons approached John Blackwell, then Regional Conference Minister, about organizing a Filipino church. In January 1992 the Metro Association "recognized the group".

In November 1992 some began attending worship at Christ Congregational Church in Woodhaven. March 1993 was the first official worship of the Filipino-American UCC at Christ Congregational Church.

Soon they outgrew the space and, in February 1994, moved to Union Congregational Church in Richmond Hill .

In June 2005 their pastor retired. "We have relied on lay leadership and the help of Union 's pastor Jan Karel Boersma, Regional Conference Minister Michael Caine and Rev. Bob Gunn. We have now called a new pastor who will come in July 2006."

However, the Richmond Hill church may be selling its property, "so we are looking for a new place to nest. We are a church living by sheer faith. We have no money, no pastor, no building. God tests us; God is faithful to us!"

Great Is Thy Faithfulness

In recognition of God's faithfulness to all of us, the congregation joined in singing "Great Is Thy Faithfulness".

Christian Church of South India (CSI)

Jacob Johnson explained that the doctrines and practices of the Church of South India (CSI) bring its congregations together with congregations of the UCC. CSI has congregations in South India , the north of Sri Lanka and the United States . It was formed in India on September 27, 1947 and now encompasses 22 bishops and dioceses in four different states. It has approximately three million baptized members.

Ministers come from India for three years to serve churches in the United States.

Ronald Williams Wells

Ron told his personal story of finding the United Church of Christ. Recalling a conversation many years ago with Bill Webber, he said he told Bill that he had been raised in the Church of God , which felt like a "don't church" - don't do this, don't do that. "But the UCC sounds like a 'do-church'. Are there any Black people in the UCC?"

Bill promptly introduced him to Marilyn Adams Moore who said, "I have just the place for you if you want to know more about the UCC." Marilyn brought Ron to St. Albans and introduced him to its pastor, Robert Ross Johnson, who said, "let's go for a ride." The ride was to the Post Office. "We pastors do lots of things, including picking up the mail," Johnson explained.

In 1982 Ron got a job for $50 a week working with the youth of St. Albans . More than 20 years later Ron still believes that the UCC represents an opportunity to "be God's people".

Ron told a more recent story of his journey in blessing same sex couples. He was asked by a person in his congregation to bless a same sex commitment. "For two years I said no; for one year I said maybe." The person asked, "if you love me, why not bless my commitment?" Ron blessed that commitment and others since.

In closing Ron said, "We've come this far by faith, leaning on the Lord."

Reported by Lucy Werner