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Did You Know, the SEC is 46 Years Young! |
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The Southeast Conference was the last of the conferences of the United Church of Christ to be organized following the formation of the denomination in 1957. Opposition to the organization of the conference was provoked especially by a measure passed at the 1963 UCC General Synod calling for the termination of financial support to churches and institutions that practiced racial segregation and that did not have an "open-door" policy toward all people. The proposed formation of the Southeast Conference would encompass the white  Southeast Convention of Congregational Christian Churches, the absorption of the African-American Convention of the South with one another and the southernmost portion of the South Indiana Synod of the Evangelical and Reformed Church into one. The Southeast Conference effectively integrated Southern Congregationalism and the southern churches of the Evangelical and Reformed tradition.
An initial attempt to organize the Southeast Conference failed on a first vote in 1964 by the Southeast Convention, but delegates approved the matter to be reviewed again the following year. The Convention of the South approved the joining relationship on its first vote. On April 24, 1965, thanks in large measure to several Alabama and Georgia ministers and lay people who changed their minds during the course of a year, the matter finally passed the annual meeting of the Convention. The stage was set for the new Southeast Conference to begin operations on New Year's Day 1966. The Rev. Dr. William J. Andes, was called to serve as the first conference minister, and served for 14 years. He was succeeded by the Rev. Dr. Emmett O. Floyd (1980-87), the Rev. Roger D. Knight (1988-95). The present conference minister, the Rev. Dr. Timothy C. Downs was elected in 1996. |
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Shifting Demographics of the South |
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When the SEC was organized in 1966, the Southeast Conference was made up of 128 churches. Over time, the number of churches has been reduced to the fifty congregations, which comprise its membership today. This change was due to a number of factors, including the shifting demographics of the South as populations left rural areas for the cities, the impact of a consistent witness to social justice and inclusivity by the national church that was at odds with Southern social and political traditions. In addition, the decline of congregations is also an effect of the decline of mainline denominationalism across the United States. It should be noted at the same time though that the number of members of the Southeast Conference has increased by over 60% in the last decade and denominational support has increased by over 70%. General Synod XXV in 2005, hosted by the Southeast Conference in Atlanta, voted to pass a resolution in support of marriage equality for all. On the heels of this action, eight churches left the East Alabama-West Georgia Association reducing its numbers to three active churches.
These trends signal the growth of the urban and suburban South, the search on the part of many for a church, which values Christian unity, celebrates diversity, and proclaims a Gospel of justice and welcome to all. There is truly a need for an alternative Christian voice among the churches of the South, and the Southeast Conference is addressing that need. In addition to the dramatic growth in the Conference due to well-developed strategies of new church development, hospitality to churches seeking affiliation with the United Church of Christ, and the vitality and growth of existing churches, well over half of the members of our churches have become members of the UCC in the last decade. |
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We are one of the 38 conferences of the United Church of Christ, and comprised of a five-and-a-half state area including the states of Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee (excluding the city of Memphis), Alabama, Mississippi (excluding the coastal area surrounding Interstate10), and the Florida panhandle west of the Apalachicola River.
The Southeast Conference (SEC) is the successor to the Southeast Convention of Congregational Christian Churches. Before the formation of the Southeast Conference, the Congregational Christian Convention of the South was body of the African-American Black Congregationalists and Afro-Christian churches. Southern Congregationalism has been a little-known and minor tradition among the Southern churches. However, its roots extend back to the establishment of the Circular Congregational Church in Charleston, South Carolina in 1681 (pictured above), and the historic Midway Congregational Church in Midway, Georgia, established in 1752 (pictured below). The work of the American Missionary Association during the latter part of the 19th century, through which an estimated 500 schools and 200 churches were established to serve the recently emancipated enslaved, has left an enduring impact on the life of the Southeast Conference. Other strands of past and current denominational traditions that have been parts of the Southeast Conference include Congregational Methodism, Black Congregationalists, Afro-Christian Churches, Welsh Congregationalism, Evangelical and Reformed churches, and white churches of the Christian Connection.
Today a conference minister, an associate conference minister, an executive administrator, and several other part-time associates serve the Conference. It is governed by a board of directors, and holds an annual meeting in June. It is comprised of three associations, the Georgia-South Carolina Association, the East Alabama-West Georgia Association, and the Alabama-Tennessee Association.
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SECUCC History
