David Schoen is Minister for Church Legacy & Closure, UCC Church Building & Loan Fund, dschoen@ucc.org. Churches in the United States are navigating in a changing culture of disaffiliation with organized religion, politically divisive polarization, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI), a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization recently released a survey…
Rev. Larssen holds a Doctor of Ministry from the Pacific School of Religion and serves as Minister of Volunteer Engagement on the National Staff of the United Church of Christ. A noted preacher and executive leader, she is the current Chair of the United Church Board for Ministerial Assistance and co-chaired the establishment of the 2030…
Rev. Chris Xenakis is a UCC pastor currently serving Groton Community Church (UCC) in Central New York. In addition, he is an adjunct lecturer at SUNY-Cortland, teaching courses this year on world politics, democracy, U.S. foreign policy and multiculturalism. Chris has written numerous books and articles, which can be found on his blog. I recently read…
Rev. L. Gail Irwin has served UCC and PCUSA churches as a settled and Intentional Interim Pastor. She is a freelance writer and author of Toward the Better Country: Church Closure and Resurrection (Wipf & Stock, 2014). Her blog can be found at http://freelancepastor.wordpress.com Our friend Doug has died. He was 82, lived alone, and was too…
Rev. Chris Xenakis is a UCC pastor currently serving Groton Community Church (UCC) in Central New York. In addition, he is an adjunct lecturer at SUNY-Cortland, teaching courses this year on world politics, democracy, U.S. foreign policy and multiculturalism. Chris has written numerous books and articles, which can be found on his blog. I must confess…
This week, we hear from Elena Larssen, a candidate for the Doctor of Ministry at Pacific School of Religion and serves as Minister of Volunteer Engagement on the National Staff of the United Church of Christ. A noted preacher and executive leader, she is the current Chair of the United Church Board for Ministerial Assistance…
Rev. L. Gail Irwin has served UCC and PCUSA churches as a settled and Intentional Interim Pastor. She is a freelance writer and author of Toward the Better Country: Church Closure and Resurrection (Wipf & Stock, 2014). Her blog can be found at http://freelancepastor.wordpress.com I visited Nome, Alaska this past summer–probably the most remote part of…
David Schoen is Minister for Church Legacy & Closure, UCC Church Building & Loan Fund, dschoen@ucc.org . You’ve heard the scary tale of The Headless Horseman of Sleepy Hollow who rose out of his grave in an old church cemetery searching for his head. But have you heard these scary stories from church cemeteries and memorial…
David Lindsey has served UCC churches in California, Minnesota, and Virginia. He now serves as the Executive Director of the Interfaith Council of Metropolitan Washington in D.C. Leading faith communities has always been a challenge, yet that challenge has intensified since March of 2020. Over the past two years, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused a…
Taylor B. Russell is the Research Specialist for the UCC Center for Analytics, Research & Development, and Data. She is also the administrator for Access UCC, the online version of the Yearbook & Directory. Welcome back! This week we continue to dive into the 2021 Statistical Profile Special Reports Section. The Rev. Elizabeth Dilley, Minister and…
Vital Signs and Statistics 