The United Church of Christ (UCC) is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination primarily in the Reformed tradition, in "historical continuation of the Congregational churches founded under the influence of New England Puritanism." The Evangelical and Reformed Church and the Congregational Christian Churches united in 1957 to form the UCC. These two denominations, which were themselves the result of earlier unions, had their roots in Congregational, Evangelical, and Reformed denominations. The UCC's 5,287 congregations claim 1,080,198 members, primarily in the United States.
The UCC maintains full communion with other mainline Protestant denominations. Many of its congregations choose to practice open communion. The denomination places high emphasis on participation in worldwide interfaith and ecumenical efforts. The national settings of the UCC have historically favored liberal views on social issues, such as civil rights, gay rights, women's rights and abortion rights. However, United Church of Christ congregations are independent in matters of doctrine and ministry and may not necessarily support the national body's theological or moral stances. It is self-described as "an extremely pluralistic and diverse denomination".
Read more about United Church Of Christ: History, Beliefs, Structure, Criticism, Barack Obama and The UCC, Membership, List of Prominent UCC Churches, List of Famous UCC Members
Famous quotes containing the words united, church and/or christ:
“Before abstraction everything is one, but one like chaos; after abstraction everything is united again, but this union is a free binding of autonomous, self-determined beings. Out of a mob a society has developed, chaos has been transformed into a manifold world.”
—Novalis [Friedrich Von Hardenberg] (1772–1801)
“At bottom, I mean profoundly at bottom, the FBI has nothing to do with Communism, it has nothing to do with catching criminals, it has nothing to do with the Mafia, the syndicate, it has nothing to do with trust-busting, it has nothing to do with interstate commerce, it has nothing to do with anything but serving as a church for the mediocre. A high church for the true mediocre.”
—Norman Mailer (b. 1923)
“O singers, resinous and soft your songs
Above the sacred whisper of the pines,
Give virgin lips to cornfield concubines,
Bring dreams of Christ to dusky cane-lipped throngs.”
—Jean Toomer (1894–1967)