National Setting of the UCC

The National Setting of the United Church of Christ (UCC) is the largest ministry setting of our
denomination. It consists of a variety of leadership teams and departments that help set the
mission and goals of the UCC and create programming, guidelines, and resources for
Conferences and local congregations.

Since 1957, the United Church of Christ has been the church of firsts, weaving God’s message of hope and extravagant welcome with action for justice and peace. Together, we live out our faith in ways that effect change in our communities.  The UCC’s many “firsts” mean that we have inherited a tradition of acting upon the demands of our faith.  When we read in Galatians: “There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus”—a demand is made upon us. And so we were the first historically white denomination to ordain an African-American, the first to ordain a woman, the first to ordain an openly gay man, and the first Christian church to affirm the right of same-gender couples to marry. We were in the forefront of the anti-slavery movement and the Civil Rights movement.  Our response to the demands of our faith is woven into the history of our country.