This week’s blog post is written by Reverend David Schoen, Minister for Church Legacy and Closure, for the UCC Church Building & Loan Fund. How would you define and describe spiritually vital transformative congregations? Faith Communities Today recently released Vital Congregations, a study on the meaning of spiritual vitality, as well as on becoming vital congregations,…
This week’s post is by Rev. Dr. Kirk A. Foster, an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ and a professor of social work. His research focuses on how people work through local organizations to improve their social and economic mobility, and work collectively to make sustainable change at the neighborhood level. We undoubtably…
Some of my favorite stories from the bible are the ones where Jesus takes some loaves of bread and a few fish and feeds the thousands of hungry people who have come to hear him teach and experience his healing touch. There is something so simple, so satisfying about feeding those who are hungry. I…
This week’s post is by Rev. Malcolm Himschoot who serves the United Church of Christ as the Minister for Ministerial Transitions with the Ministerial Excellence, Support, and Authorization (MESA) Team. He is also current Vice President of the Board of the Interim Ministry Network. Possible changes to the clergy tax benefit of designated housing allowance…
This week’s blog post is by Rev. Bobbie McKay, Ph.D., a UCC minister, author, and licensed psychologist. Rev. McKay co-created The Spiritual Health Center, NFP and conducted a research study on Spiritual Life in the United Church of Christ. Based on the findings of this study, “Spiritual Life Teams” were born and the study has been extended into the Episcopal Church,…
This week’s post is written by the Rev. Dr. Patrick G. Duggan, Executive Director of the United Church of Christ Church Building & Loan Fund. Since 1995, Rev. Dr. Duggan has also served as senior pastor of the Congregational Church of South Hempstead in South Hempstead, New York. After presenting to a group of about…
This week’s blog post is written by Reverend David Schoen, Minister for Church Legacy and Closure, for the UCC Church Building & Loan Fund. In 2018 the United Church of Christ is comprised of nearly 5000 congregations. Based on the 2018 yearbook data, the congregation count was 4,956 congregations as of December 31, 2017. Looking back…
