From Rev. Dr. John Dorhauer, General Minister and President of the United Church of Christ.
Dear Friends,
On a recent six-hour road trip from Cleveland to Indianapolis to plan our next national gathering there at General Synod in 2023, I was reminded again why the United Church of Christ is so important — why you are so important!
First, I talked with one of our pastors whose church was under threat.
During Lent, the congregation was singing hymns written by racial minorities. They had chosen the theme “Lenten Fast from Whiteness”. Because of their stance, they were receiving an average of five hate calls per minute.
Shortly following this call, I got a text from the President of the Unitarian Universalist Association. We connect monthly to share mutual support for our work. Her text read:
I just got a call from the Trevor Project legal director. Last night Alabama added amendments to their anti-trans legislation. It includes a felony with up to 10 years in prison for doctors providing trans-affirming health care and the forced outing of trans kids. They are asking heads of denominations to make strong condemnation statements as a part of a veto campaign aimed at the Governor. Would you be willing to make a statement and ask other heads of churches if they are willing?
I assured her that the UCC would be heard on this matter.
Then I opened an email informing me that Ohio was introducing its own ‘Don’t Say Gay’ legislation.
This is our America.
This is your United Church of Christ:
We cannot and will not be silent in the face of racism.
We cannot and will not be silent in the face of transphobia.
We cannot and will not be silent in the face of homophobia.
We fight it all. With and in love, we confront the injustices of our day. We will not stop preaching love until the hatred ends and all God’s children are loved, safe, and honored because of who they are.
In many ways, this is just another day in the life of the United Church of Christ seeking to live out our purpose:
To love God with our whole heart, soul, mind, and strength,
to love our neighbor as ourselves,
to fulfill our vision of those loves building a just world for all!
Our witness matters in the world. Your witness matters in this world. We can only do this work together.
Please join me now in making a generous gift to the UCC Annual Fund so we can continue our pursuit of a just world for all, united in Christ’s love.
Gifts can be made online at www.ucc.org, or text UCC to 41444.
Note from Pastor Leah: Fauntleroy Church’s budget includes support of our national denomination, but we are always welcome to make additional gifts to either our PNC-UCC Conference of churches or the UCC in general. I myself am a “friend of the conference” monthly donor.
