July 25, 2025

Book of Worship Update Survey

Who is the UCC - today and tomorrow?

Pilgrim Press

The UCC's identity—our history, our ways of being, our sense of community—is expressed uniquely through the Book of Worship.

Our collective identity grows & shifts with every new church start or merger, with every service of ministerial authorization by an Association, and with every General Synod vote to affirm a full communion agreement.

So who are we as the UCC today?

What kind of community do we want to be tomorrow?

And how should our Book of Worship reflect our evolving identity?

We seek your input!

1. Surveys are available now on bookofworship.org for all users of the Book of Worship and will remain open for feedback through December.
2. Information is also available on bookofworship.org about the submission of new content for potential publication in the updated Book of Worship.
3. We look forward to your input, with great appreciation!

Helping those in Need after Disasters

United Church of Christ

Cornerstone Fund

As an increasing number of natural disasters continue to devastate communities, the United Church of Christ Cornerstone Fund recognizes the importance of providing ways to support those rebuilding in the aftermath. 2024’s Hurricane Helene. Photo courtesy of NOAA.

Investing with the Cornerstone Fund allows us to make loans to UCC churches and missionally aligned non-profits, including Disaster Care loans.

Through our Disaster Care Investment & Loan Program, introduced in the fall of 2024, the Cornerstone Fund supports post-disaster efforts by offering more favorable terms on loans to organizations affiliated with the UCC for projects specifically aimed at repairing or rebuilding facilities following the devastating effects of disasters.

“While earning interest on my investment, I know that my money is being used faithfully by making these low-interest loans available. As Minister for Disaster Response and Recovery with the National Ministry of the United Church of Christ, I have seen firsthand the positive impact that these loans can make on our churches when they need it most,” said Katie Howe, the UCC Minister for Disaster Response and Recovery.

If you have questions, please contact us at 888-UCC-FUND or info@cornerstonefund.org.

*This is not an offer to sell securities and is not a solicitation to buy securities. The offering is made solely by the Offering Circular…View the Offering Circular at cornerstonefund.org/offering-circular/.

Bishop Anthony Offers Meditation on the Nicene Creed's Significance

National Council of Churches

This year, Christians around the world mark the remarkable milestone of the 1700th anniversary of the Nicene Creed. This ancient statement of faith was first proclaimed in AD 325 at the First Council of Nicaea, a gathering that would forever shape the future of Christianity.

Across various denominations, the Nicene Creed remains a common touchstone. The 1700th anniversary is a call to renewal—a chance to reaffirm faith, to celebrate unity, and to envision a future shaped by the enduring truths first spoken in Nicaea so many centuries ago.

During the May Governing Board Meeting of the National Council on Churches, in Alexandria, Maryland, His Grace Bishop Anthony of Synada, Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, offered a meditation on “The Significance of the Nicene Creed.”

Click here for the transcript of his presentation posted to NCC’s website.

Summer Days Devotional

SALT

At its best, summer is a season of rest and joy, tapping into the ancient, sacred practice of sabbath restoration.

SALT’s newest devotional and activity book is an engaging companion to Mary Oliver’s poems related to summer: “Summer Days: A Companion to Mary Oliver’s Devotions.”

Use this devotional as an individual practice of companionship with Oliver’s Devotions, or in partnership with family or friends, or with a small study group, or even a whole congregation. Spread it out over four weeks, four days, or a holiday weekend.

All you’ll need are your favorite Bible and Devotions: The Selected Poems of Mary Oliver.

Summer Days: A Companion to Mary Oliver’s "Devotions"

Mental Health Month

Resources

Advocate Health

988 = Call, text, or chat, No judgement, Just help.

America is experiencing a mental health crisis, but there is hope. Thousands of people connect with the #988Lifeline every day. When we connect, we heal.

If you or someone you know needs support now, call or text 988 or chat on 988lifeline.org.

988 has a Partner Toolkit full of resources you can use in your congregational bulletin, newsletter, Facebook page, PowerPoint slides, and video monitors to help get the word out about 988 as a resource.

Check it out here

Building a Just World for All - UCC Toolkit For Faithful Advocacy

New resource available for download

The UCC Office of Public Policy & Advocacy is excited to share our new Advocacy Toolkit—a free resource designed to equip individuals and congregations with the tools to build a just world for all. Whether you're new to advocacy or looking to deepen your impact, this toolkit offers:

▹ Faith-rooted guidance for public witness

▹ Talking points on pressing justice issues

▹ Practical tips for building relationships with elected officials

▹ Much, much, more!

Click here to download the toolkit today and take the next faithful step in speaking truth to power.

UCC's Newly Updated

DISASTER PREPAREDNESS GUIDE FOR LOCAL CHURCHES: A WORKBOOK

The Disaster Preparedness Guide for Local Churches explains



1. How to get your church building ready,
2. How to prepare your church community, and
3. How to equip your church to serve the wider community when disaster strikes.

Click on the link of the title above to download a copy of the workbook.

Click here for more information and links to video webinars.

UCC New Manual on Local Church

The manual, for all settings of the UCC, includes the Congregational Code, a three-part covenantal framework centering on Local Churches.

• Marks for Faithful and Vital Local Churches, designed to affirm and expand your ministry 
• Local Church Governance, including tools for building and sustaining healthy leadership and
• Standing Support and Accountability, processes for Associations and Conferences in covenant with Local Churches, and other vital resources for new and affiliating local churches.

Order Here!

UCC Updated and Expanded Edition

Living Legacy & Closure Resource

The updated and expanded Living Legacy & Closure Resource is now for sale. All chapters have been rewritten and updated, including the chapter on the seven gaps between the contemporary context and congregations in decline.  

The new Living Legacy workbook includes:

• MESSAGE FROM GENERAL MINISTER/PRESIDENT KAREN GEORGE A. THOMPSON

• CHECKLIST for Legacy and Church Completion

• EXAMPLES of Churches completing their ministries and legacies

• GUIDELINES FOR CONVERSATIONS on church completion and legacy

• DISCUSSION on the role of the pastor 

• ADVICE on Financial and Property Decisions 

• INFORMATION on Legal Issues

• RESEARCH on current realities for the church in today’s culture

• BIBLICAL REFLECTION for use in congregations

• EXPANDED RESOURCE SECTION 

It can be purchased in print or PDF download at the UCC Resources website.

Supporting Mental Health in Faith Communities

Advocate Health

Tuesday, July 29th

12:00 - 1:00pm (CDT)

As leaders in our faith communities, we can champion the importance of learning how to journey well with people through their daily challenges.

Led by Felicia Houston, Mental Health Specialist at Advocate Health, this workshop provides an opportunity for faith leaders to learn how to better support mental health in their communities and explore resources that help you do this important work.

Register here online

Our Whole Lives Facilitator Training

In Oak Park, IL

In-person Trainings

UCC OWL

September 12-14, 2025 Levels: 7-9/10-12

130 S. Oak Park Ave, Oak Park, IL 60302

Wheelchair accessible Registration

Registrar: Amelia Bee, registrar@opowl.org, (224) 601-5261

Register here on line, DEADLINE Wednesday, August 5, 2025

Interested in Hosting an Our Whole Lives Training? Download the OWL Training Planning Guide!

Why get trained? Learn more about Our Whole Lives/Sexuality and Our Faith Facilitator Training.

For additional offerings, check the UUA OWL training calendar.

If you are taking a training and need the Our Whole Lives material for Grades 10-12, please check UCC Resources, where it should be available to pre-order by Dec 31. In the meantime, your trainers will be able to provide you with the necessary materials for your training sessions.

Limited Online OWL Trainings Now Available

September Eastern Time (ET)

Application for registration will be open July 21 – August 5, 2025

Levels: All Adult Levels

Location: online via Zoom and asynchronous learning in between Zoom sessions

Dates/Times: 6:00-8:30 pm ET Mondays September 8, 15, 22

And Thursdays September 11, 18, 25

And Saturday September 27 from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Registration application opens six weeks before the first synchronous session of the training. Cost is $350. Potential OWL facilitators submit an application form, which generates an email to their endorser with a link to complete a recommendation. The endorser is a person in the facilitator’s faith community or organization who agrees to provide oversight for the facilitator and vouches for the qualifications of the facilitator.

Upon acceptance, the facilitator will receive a payment link. Full payment is due 30 days before the first synchronous session, and $100 of that is non-refundable within 7 days before the first session.

Time Commitment. Online training is more time intensive than in-person training, requiring up to 35 hours of your time over three weeks. You will have 20 hours of synchronous (live, on-camera) weeknight and Saturday sessions plus 10-15 hours of asynchronous tasks to complete (reading, webinar viewing, and written assignments) on your own time.

Do not register unless you can commit to attend every synchronous session and complete the assignments. Attendance is mandatory for every synchronous session; they are not recorded, and make-up sessions are not available.

Training Schedule. Synchronous sessions for all online trainings will vary in the Central Time Zone and will depend on which training you register for.

Old Testament Hermeneutics/Level 2 course begins August 6, 2025 - plus several more...

Participants will explore the Hebrew Bible using historical-critical methods and other tools of Biblical interpretation. Participants will learn the interpretive tool of Midrash (sanctified imagination) and apply Biblical insight to 21st-century issues.

Courses beginning in August include:

·     Old Testament Hermeneutics             (6 weeks) begins August 6

·     UCC History and Polity                (12 weeks) begins August 6

·     Spiritual Care of Self and Others          (6 weeks) begins August 6

·     Variety of Belief within Christianity Today (6 weeks) begins August 6

·     Preaching for Special Occasions          (6 weeks) begins August 20

Go to the PATHWAYS to learn more and to apply.

Protest & Action Chaplaincy

Convergence

Tuesdays from 1 to 2 pm CDT on Zoom

August 19, and 26, September 9 and 16, 2025

This four-session course offers a framework for providing compassionate, grounded spiritual care during protests, advocacy gatherings, and social movements. It equips chaplains, pastors, and spiritual leaders to respond with integrity, purpose, and preparedness.

This course will guide you and your leadership teams in the practice of protest chaplaincy:

• Offering faithful, embodied presence in high-stakes moments
• Understanding the difference between church-based and street-based roles
• Providing pastoral companionship amid tension and trauma
• Building readiness for protest environments

Individuals ($350) and small groups up to 5 ($950). Details and register online here

Beyond the Peace Circle:

Learn to Lead Restorative Conversations

and Navigate Difficult Conversations

Chicagoland Trauma Informed Congregations Network

Thursday, August 7, 2025

9am to 12noon (Central Time)

Virtual. Zoom link will be sent after registration.

Learn practical skills to explore conflict, address harm, and navigate tough conversations in everyday community and congregational life—grounded in restorative and spiritual principles. Funded by the Chicago Department of Public Health Office for Violence Prevention.

Register Here online

MLK’s Letter from Birmingham Jail:

A Prophetic Guide to Power, Love, Protest, and Liberation 

Black Voters Matter and The King Center

August 23: Hybrid

September 11: Virtual

October 25: Hybrid

November 13: Virtual

This series comprises virtual and in-person workshops designed for changemakers of all kinds, including activists, students, faith leaders, organizers, educators, and anyone committed to pursuing justice. Rooted in the legacy of the Civil Rights Movement, each session blends rich historical context with real-world tools and strategies to equip you for today’s urgent struggles.

This is more than a learning experience; it’s a call to action!

All sessions are free and open to the public. Virtual events will be hosted online, with hybrid events welcoming both in-person and remote attendees.

Register in advance to reserve your spot and receive event updates.

Introduction to Spiritual Health

(Pastoral Care)

Pathways Theological Education, Inc.

August 1 to September 5, 2025

Through personal reflection and exploration of current pastoral care paradigms, this six-week course offers training to:

• Identify and apply best practices in empathetic listening
• Understand models of pastoral care assessment
• Create a pastoral care plan based on spiritual assessment tools
• Articulate how to provide pastoral care effectively in diverse cultural settings.

Major Book: The Practice of Pastoral Care: A Postmodern Approach by Carrie Doehrin

Register here online

Become a Faith & Health Companion

Advocate Health

Virtual classes start in September 2025

This is a three-part virtual education series designed to equip faith leaders to walk alongside others during times of stress. Please read more about eligibility and expectations before applying.

Fall Cohort Classes & Dates (all times are CDT)

• Mental Health First Aid - September 10 - 9 am - 3 pm
• Companionship - October 8 - 9 am - 12 noon
• Trauma, Faith, & Healing - November 12 - 9 am - 11:30 am
• New Beginnings - May 7 - 11:45 am - 1:00 pm

Class format: Zoom

Inquiry Deadline: September 3, 2025

Inquire about applying here

Click here to learn more and RSVP at www.hpuc.org

A Personal Ministry:

Helping UCC Churches

Reduce Electric Costs and

Improve Light Quality

~ Sanctuary lighting before

~ Sanctuary lighting after

Steve Jones, currently a member of First Congregational Church of Naperville, helps UCC churches (including Tower Hill) with lighting issues as part of his personal ministry.

He is a lifelong Congregationalist who has made it his personal ministry to help churches reduce electric costs and improve light quality through changing and upgrading lighting.

Starting with his home church in Naugatuck, Connecticut, he has relamped every church he has attended over the last 25 years, and now a few more by invitation. He has just completed his 16th church upgrade and is willing to help any church that needs his advice or labor.

Click here for a detailed document of the benefits of upgrading lighting, and Steve’s contact information if your church is interested in learning more about what his ministry can do to shine more light on your UCC church.

Just Roots & Grace

UCC Farm to Table Dinner

Grace United Church of Christ

2500 223rd St., Sauk Village, IL

Tomorrow! Saturday, July 26, 2025

5:30 to 8:30 pm.

Tickets: $65 -80/person

Join us at the farm for a one-of-a-kind dinner experience prepared by some of Chicagoland’s most talented chefs. Each chef will use fresh, organically grown food from our farm to create custom seasonal dishes. It takes a village farm, 2500 223rd St., Sauk Village, IL, Saturday, July 26, 2025, 5:30 to 8:30 pm. Tickets: $65 -80/person

Learn more or buy tickets by scanning the QR code or clicking

SAVE THESE DATES: October 30 – November 1, 2025

2025 Illinois Conference Annual Celebration& TPIRC Education Summit

For Such a Time as This: Faith in a Time of Upheaval

First Congregational United Church of Christ -- DeKalb, Illinois

Join us for a powerful three-day gathering of worship, workshops, fellowship, and visioning for the future of the Church. Special guests include The Many and the Rev. Dr. Ozzie Smith. There will also be COM trainings and other great offerings to engage our communities during these times.

A Watershed Moment

Great Lakes Creation Care Collaborative

The Great Lakes Creation Care Collaborative invites you to join us at Tower Hill Camp among the sand dunes of Lake Michigan's beautiful east coast on August 24-26. Download the flyer here to learn more. Watershed Discipleship leader and New Testament scholar, Ched Myers, will be our keynote. We will enjoy fellowship with creation caregivers from the Ontario region of the United Church of Canada and the UCC Conferences around the Great Lakes.

Also, our Michigan collaborator, Mike Mulberry, has created an Adopt a Body of Water curriculum that is free to use. You can use this curriculum in part or in whole to introduce your church members to the ministry of care for the watershed where we find ourselves.

REGISTER HERE ONLINE

2025 Camps and Retreats

Registration is open!

Explore an exciting array of camps and retreats offered at Tower Hill Camp & Retreat Center and Pilgrim Park Camp & Conference Center, with options to suit every age and interest. Whether you're looking for spiritual growth, environmental action, creative crafting, or intergenerational bonding, there’s something special waiting for you!

Register online here to step out of the ordinary and into the sacred!

Ordinations, Installations, and Ecclesiastical Councils

July 26: Service of Installation for Rev. Jamar A. Boyd, II. 11:00 am at Kenwood UCC in Chicago. Chicago Metropolitan Association.

Meetings and Events

July 28: FVA Council Meeting. 6:30 pm via Zoom.

July 31: Annual Celebration Planning Committee. 5:00 pm via Zoom.

Aug 2: Personnel Committee Meeting. 9:30 am via Zoom.

Aug 7: PA Committee on Ministry Meeting. 1:00 p.m. via Zoom.

Aug 11: Stewardship Committee Meeting. 6:00 p.m. via Zoom. 

Aug 12: LEEAP Committee Meeting. 6:00 p.m. via Zoom. 

Aug 13: Outdoor Ministries Committee Meeting. 9:30 a.m. via Zoom. 

Aug 14: FVA Committee on Ministry Meeting. 9:00 a.m. via Zoom.

Aug 17: WA Council Meeting, 3:30 p.m. via Zoom.

Aug 18: EA Committee on Ministry Meeting. 9:30 am via Zoom.

Aug 19: FAB Meeting. 9:00 am via Zoom.

Aug 19: WA Committee on Ministry Meeting. 9:00 am via Zoom.

Aug 19: CMA Council Meeting, 6:30 p.m. via Zoom.

Aug 21: EA Council Meeting, 6:30 p.m. via Zoom.

Please let us know if you have a job opening you would like to share,

and also update us once the position is filled. Contact Sarah Lohrbach.

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 Our Church's Wider Mission (OCWM)

This NEWSLETTER is published by the Illinois Conference of the United Church of Christ, 1840 Westchester Blvd, Suite 200, Westchester, IL 60154. The Rev. Dr. Terrill Murff, Interim Conference Minister; the Rev. Sarah Lohrbach, Editor. Copy may be sent to: sarahlohrbach@ilucc.org.