Planned Giving
Financial development resources are outlined online and can be mailed by contacting. Here are some examples of what other UCC churches are doing in the area of financial development through donor education and estate planning.

Insurance Board

Church Building and Loans

Pension Boards

Stewardship

United Church Funds

UCC Financial Ministries
Visit the UCC website for a full listing.

Cornerstone Fund
Cornerstone Fund | Investing from the Heart, Building for the Future
Established in 1995, the Cornerstone Fund was created to offer loans to local churches and other organizations related to the United Church of Christ for virtually any property-related project – from repairing or remodeling an existing structure to acquiring additional land or building a new sanctuary.
Link here to read more about this organization.
Link here for current rates.

Resources for Strengthening the Financial Life of Your Church

Our Church’s Wider Mission (OCWM)
OCWM links to online resources and ideas for the promotion of Special Mission Offerings including Strengthen the Church, One Great Hour of Sharing, Neighbors in Need and The Christmas Fund.   
> Interested in a brochure on Our Church’s Wider Mission (OCWM) and how to understand it? Link here to download a OCWM brochure that you can print out yourselves, or order multiple copies from the Conference by contacting Gerri Hudson.

Special Mission Offerings: Our Church's Wider Mission Special Support
Our Church's Wider Mission Special Support comprises gifts to the four Special Mission Offerings in the United Church of Christ, per capita dues, and gifts that are specially designated for the Conference, national setting or UCC-related institutions. By mandate of the General Synod, each local church receives promotional material for the four Special Mission Offerings:

One Great Hour of Sharing: Giving Help, Hope and Life
Supports partners in more than 70 countries with ministries that fund development projects, feed the victims of famine, provide services for displaced people, and respond to natural disasters. These ministries are the responsibility of Wider Church Ministries, Global Sharing of Resources. Received annually on the fourth Sunday in Lent.

Strengthen the Church: Faithfully Building the Body of Christ
Supports church growth and leadership development in the conferences and through the national offices of Local Church Ministries. Received annually on Pentecost Sunday.

Neighbors in Need: Justice and Compassion Like a Mighty Stream
Supports ministries of justice and compassion throughout the United States and Puerto Rico, including ministry carried out by the Council for American Indian Ministries (CAIM) and by the national offices of Justice and Witness Ministries. Received annually on World Communion Sunday, the first Sunday of October.

The Christmas Fund: Remembering Those Who Serve Our Church
Provides financial aid to retired and active ministers and their surviving spouses and children who face overwhelming financial demands, a ministry carried out by the Pension Boards. Received annually on the Sunday before Christmas.

Annual Stewardship Theme Materials including worship resources, posters, bulletin covers, theme related bulletin inserts, stationary including letterhead, envelopes and note cards, pledge cards for a single commitment, double commitment, faith-promise pledge, and a time and talent pledge card.

Capital Campaigns are much more fun with a team of experts. Priscilla Bizer and Susan Mitchell, UCC Capital Campaign consultants, can be reached by email or by calling 866.822.8224 or 866.822.8224 / Ext. 3834.

Changing Lives testimonials and the Plain Talk video about Our Church’s Wider Mission are on the UCC channel on YouTube.

Electronic Giving makes it easy to receive offerings consistently, even when church members vacation or spend winters away.

FINACIAL ARTICLES and RESOURCES 

Making Sound Strategic Choices in Anxious Times

Alban Institute consultants Susan Beaumont and Alice Mann offer UCC pastors some suggestions for guiding the budget making process during tough financial times.

Narrative Budgets
These include examples from nine UCC congregations.

Stewardship Messages
Offers inspiring, biblically based reflections for use in your newsletter, on your bulletin board, website, as an insert in your giving statement or Sunday Bulletin.

Financial Literacy
As recommended by the UCC Pension Boards, Financial Literacy offers helpful guidance through articles, tools and frequently asked questions for all financial stages of life.

Financial Fitness
Through America Saves, a nationwide campaign with a broad coalition of nonprofit, corporate, and government groups helps individuals and families save and build wealth. This is a program congregations are using to help low-income seniors is a Benefits Check-Up offered by the National Council on Aging which directs you to over 1,550 public and private benefits programs from all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Mission Resources

Resources for Connecting to our Global Ministries

Click here to read more on Global Ministries
Click here to read Jeff Mensendiek’s Report from Japan - "Love Casts Out Fear” 
The annual report from the Mungeli Christian Hospital will be online soon.
Global Ministries Update - March 17, 2010 - Disciples and UCC... together in God's Global Mission

Monthly Mission Story

March 2010 - Text only or pdfclick here in Español click here

April 2010 - Text only click here (1) + Text only click here (2)  in Español click here

Mission

  Weekly Prayer - Click here for South Africa

  Forums - Share With Us!

  Special Giving Opportunities - Click here

Mission Live Webinars - Click here for Calendar

Disaster Relief Volunteers Needed

The United Church of Christ looks forward to working with National Disaster Ministries UCC / Wider Church Ministries and other local partners in the Birmingham area on repairing/rebuilding homes damaged by tornadoes earlier this year. There are a number of volunteer work groups who will be heading to Birmingham in 2012. Read the following letter from  Mary Schaller Blaufuss, Executive, UCC Volunteer Ministries, and Florence Coppola, Executive, UCC National Disaster Ministries. There are many ways you can assist those in need.

Link here to read full article on Relief Needs - Volunteers in Long-Term Disaster Recovery - Birmingham, Alabama
The stage of Long-Term Recovery has just begun - Registration is now open for groups to serve in Birmingham, AL during 2012.
Visit the UCC Volunteer Ministries website for additional information.

Youth and Young Adult Mission Opportunities

Global Ministries Youth Resources
Expand your youth program beyond your immediate community and embrace the world.
Visit the Global Ministries website for information.

Volunteer Ministries Mission Trips
Visit the UCC website to see what mission trips are avaiable for youth support.

FORMS

Safe Church Policy Concerning Abuse Prevention
Link here for form. (PDF)

Safe Church Self Disclosure Form
Link here for PDF of form. (PDF)



SEC Campaign Remittance of Funds Form
Click here to read Remittance of Funds (PDF)

SEMINARIANS and HIGHER EDUCATION

College and Universities
Full Members of the UCC Council for Higher Education

• Catawba College, Salisbury, NC; www.catawba.edu
• Chapman University, Orange, CA; www.chapman.edu
• Defiance College, Defiance, OH; www.defiance.edu
• Dillard University, New Orleans, LA; www.dillard.edu
• Doane College, Crete, NE; www.doane.edu
• Drury University, Springfield, MO; www.drury.edu
• Elmhurst College, Elmhurst, IL; www.elmhurst.edu
• Heidelberg University, Tiffin, OH; www.heidelberg.edu
• Huston-Tillotson University, Austin, TX; www.htu.edu
• Illinois College, Jacksonville, IL; www.ic.edu
• Lakeland College, Sheboygan, WI; www.lakeland.edu
• LeMoyne-Owen College, Memphis, TN; www.loc.edu
• Northland College, Ashland, WI; www.northland.edu
• Olivet College, Olivet, MI; www.olivetcollege.edu
• Pacific University, Forest Grove, OR; www.pacificu.edu
• Piedmont College, Demorest, GA; www.piedmont.edu
• Rocky Mountain College, Billings, MT; www.rocky.edu
• Talladega College, Talladega, AL; www.talladega.edu
• Tougaloo College, Tougaloo, MS; www.tougaloo.edu

Historically Related Colleges and Universities

• Beloit College, Beloit, WI; www.beloit.edu
• Carleton College, Northfield, MN; www.carleton.edu
• Cedar Crest College, Allentown, PA; www.cedarcrest.edu
• Elon University, Elon, NC; www.elon.edu
• Fisk University, Nashville, TN; www.fisk.edu
• Franklin & Marshall College, Lancaster, PA; www.fandm.edu
• Grinnell College, Grinnell, IA; www.grinnell.edu
• Hood College, Frederick, MD; www.hood.edu
• Ripon College, Ripon, WI; www.ripon.edu
• Ursinus College, Collegeville, PA; www.ursinus.edu
• Westminster College of Salt Lake City, Salt Lake City, UT; www.wcslc.edu

Seminaries of the United Church of Christ

• Andover-Newton Theological School, Newton Centre, MA; www.ants.edu
• Bangor Theological Seminary, Bangor and Portland, ME; www.bts.edu
• Chicago Theological Seminary, Chicago, IL; www.ctschicago.edu
• Eden Theological Seminary, St. Louis, MO; www.eden.edu
• Lancaster Theological Seminary, Lancaster, PA; www.lancasterseminary.edu
• Pacific School of Religion, Berkeley, CA; www.psr.edu
• United Seminary of the Twin Cities, New Brighton, MN; www.unitedseminary.edu

Campus Ministry: Organizations

• Association of College and Religious Affairs: http://www.site.acuraonline.net/
• Ecumenical Campus Ministry Team (ECMT): www.higheredmin.org
• National Association of College and University Chaplains (NACUC): www.nacuc.net
• National Campus Ministry Association (NCMA): www.campusministry.net
• Student Ecumenical Partnership Network (STEP): www.stepnetwork.org
• World Student Christian Federation (WSCF): http://wscfconnect.org/

Campus Ministries and Academic Chaplaincies

• Beloit College: http://www.beloit.edu/slp/
• Bucknell University: http://www.bucknell.edu/x4663.xml
• Chapman University: http://www.chapman.edu/ChurchRelations/
• DePauw University: http://www.depauw.edu/student/religlife/
• Elon University: http://www.elon.edu/e-web/students/religious_life/
• Hiram College: http://www.hiram.edu/current/campuslife/religiouslife.html
• Huston-Tillotson University: http://htu.edu/students/religious-life
• Lakeland College: http://lakeland.edu/StudentServices/SpiritualLife/
• Massanutten Academy: http://www.militaryschool.com/page.cfm?p=301
• Oberlin College: http://new.oberlin.edu/office/religious-and-spiritual-life/
• Princeton University: http://www.princeton.edu/main/campuslife/religious/
• Rocky Mountain College: http://www.rocky.edu/student-life/student-support/ReligiousLife.php
• Tufts University: http://www.tufts.edu/chaplaincy/index.html
• University of New Hampshire: http://www.unh.edu/campusministry/index.html
• University of Rochester: http://www.rochester.edu/chapel/index.html
• University of Vermont: http://www.uvm.edu/~spirit/
• Ursinus College: http://www.ursinus.edu/netcommunity/page.aspx?pid=3385
• Willamette University: http://www.willamette.edu/dept/chaplain/index.html
• Yale University: http://chaplain.yale.edu/

Scholarships
UCC scholarship & grant descriptions; applications and giving opportunities available.

DISCLAIMER
These pages of links are provided as a service by the Proclamation, Identity and Communication Team, Office of General Ministries, United Church of Christ. The content of any linked website outside the ucc.org domain does not necessarily reflect the views of the General Synod of the United Church of Christ, the Executive Council, or the various ministries of the UCC's national setting. We strive to provide a variety of links to religious and secular resources that may be of interest to some of our users.

The UCC Web Team makes an effort to review content on an external site before adding it to our links page. However, parents should be aware that if their children follow links some distance from any website, they may eventually find content that is inappropriate for their age. We urge parents always to supervise their children's use of the web.

TAP - Recommended Reading on Peace Building and Reconciliation

Coward, Harold and Gordon S. Smith, eds.  (2004).  Religion and Peacebuilding. State University of New York Press.

Lederach, John Paul.  (2005).  The Moral Imagination:  The Art and Soul of
Building Peace. Oxford University Press.

Lederbach, John Paul.  (1999).  The Journey Toward Reconciliation. Herald Press.

Lederbach, John Paul.  (2003).  The Little Book of Conflict Transformation. (Little Books of Justice and Peacebuilding.)  Good Books.

Schirch, Lisa.  (2005).  Strategic Peacebuilding. (Little Books of Justice and Peacebuilding.)  Good Books.

Sivaraksa, Sulak.  (1992).  Seeds of Peace: A Buddhist Vision for Renewing Society. Paralax Press.

Zehr, Howard.  (2002).  The Little Book of Restorative Justice. Good Books.

UCC Publications 
KYeP
Are you connected to Keeping You e-Posted? Here is the link to easily connect and begin receiving your very own copy from the UCC.
Link Here to register to receive KYeP.

UCC News 

StillSpeaking Magazine


UCC Networks
United Church of Christ Support Staff Network
The Purpose of the UCC Office Support Staff Network is to help bring about dignity, respect, and fair compensation for all United Church of Christ Office Support Staff. For more information visit their website. 



UCC Covenanted Ministries
Justice and Witness Ministries
Justice and Witness Ministries is one of four Covenanted Ministries in the UCC, helps local congregations and all settings of the church respond to God's commandments to do justice, seek peace and effect change for a better world. The work of JWM is guided by the pronouncements and resolutions approved by the UCC at General Synod. Link to UCC site for additional information.

Local Church Ministries 
Local Church Ministries’ purpose is to encourage and support congregations in the fulfillment of God's mission, especially in parish life and leadership; book, curricula and resource production; and congregational vitality and discipleship, including evangelism, stewardship and church finances, worship and education, and church buildings and loans.
Link to the UCC website for additional information.

Office of General Ministries
The Office of General Ministries' mission is to care for the spiritual life, unity, and well-being of the church, to nurture our covenantal life and its ecumenical and interfaith relationships, to provide regular processes which focus on theological reflection throughout the church; and to assist in the total mission of the United Church of Christ. The Office of General Ministries works through five teams:

Office of the General Ministers 
Common Services Ministry
Covenantal Relations Ministry
Proclamation, Identity and Communication Ministry
Financial Development Ministry

Link to the UCC website for additional information.

Wider Church Ministries
Wider Church Ministries is one of four Covenanted Ministries in the United Church of Christ. We support congregations and the other settings of the church in developing relationships with a wider church that is global, multiracial and multicultural. open and affirming, and accessible to all.
Wider Church Ministries is in partnership with the Division of Overseas Ministries of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Common Global Ministries—the worldwide mission program of both denominations. Link to the UCC website for additional information.