The Southeast Conference of the United Church of Christ is the regional body of the United Church of Christ within the states of Alabama, northwestern Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Tennessee (except the city of Memphis). It maintains headquarters in Atlanta.
The United Church of Christ
The United Church of Christ (UCC) is a distinct and diverse community of Christians that come together as one church to join faith and action. With over 5,000 churches and nearly one million members across the U.S., the UCC serves God in the co-creation of a just and sustainable world. The UCC is a church of firsts, a church of extravagant welcome, and a church where “…they may all be one” (John 17:21).
The Church of Firsts
Since 1957, the United Church of Christ has been the church of firsts, weaving God’s message of hope and extravagant welcome with action for justice and peace. Together, we live out our faith in ways that effect change in our communities. The UCC’s many “firsts” mean that we have inherited a tradition of acting upon the demands of our faith. When we read in Galatians: “There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus” — a demand is made upon us. And so we were the first historically white denomination to ordain an African-American, the first to ordain a woman, the first to ordain an openly gay man, and the first Christian church to affirm the right of same-gender couples to marry. We were in the forefront of the anti-slavery movement and the Civil Rights movement. Our response to the demands of our faith is woven into the history of our country.
A Church of Extravagant Welcome
Today, we continue to change lives throughout the world. We work alongside more than 200 mission partners. We labor ceaselessly to fight injustice, in the United States and abroad. We instill our vision into our youth and young adults, forging leaders who will imagine new dreams. And we sustain and develop church leaders, pastors, and our local churches to live their faith in exciting new ways. We believe in a God that is still speaking, a God that is all-loving and inclusive. We are a church that welcomes and accepts everyone as they are, where your mind is nourished as much as your soul.
A Brief History
This conference bears the strong heritages of several missionary efforts, dating back to the postbellum period of the late 19th century, although one church was founded as early as 1681. At least half of the cumulative membership of the Conference’s churches is African-American, reflecting the mission work of the American Missionary Association, as well as more recent church planting targeting that constituency. Although historically a mission territory and among the smaller conferences in the denomination, the Southeast Conference is beginning to see signs of growth, encouraged by an aggressive campaign to instigate new congregations and an increasing emphasis on peace and justice witness programs. Learn more about our rich history.
Governance
The staff of the Conference (conference minister, associate conference minister, generosity coordinator, communications director) implements programming to provide educational, youth, and evangelistic ministries for the churches. The Conference holds its annual meeting every June, and is governed by a board of directors between those meetings. The Board of Directors consists of officers and representatives elected by delegates to the annual meeting, themselves in turn elected or appointed by the local congregations.
We are a church where Jesus the healer meets Jesus the revolutionary, and where together, we grow a just and peaceful world.