Our Church's Wider Mission
Our Church’s
Wider Mission Is:
…Sunday School lessons for kids…. Irrigation pipes in the desert…. Military chaplains in Iraq…. A welcoming approach to the Gospel…. Volunteers reading to the blind…. New ways to worship…. Refugees coming home to their new country…. Christians who take the Bible seriously but not literally.
The
United Church of Christ is a strong religious presence in
countless communities across the country-thanks above all
to faithful people, gifted leaders, and to the quiet steady
support of Our Church's Wider Mission.
Our
Church's Wider Mission is helping right now to bring the United
Church of Christ message to more and more people.
Each
UCC congregation decides how much of its members' financial
support the congregation will contribute to Our Church's Wider
Mission for the funding of Conference and national ministries.
In turn, each Conference, the regional setting of the church,
decides how much of its congregations' financial support it
will contribute to Our Church's Wider Mission for the funding
of national ministries.
Our Church's Wider Mission Has Two Components:
BASIC
SUPPORT: National Basic Support provides for
the funding of the core programs of UCC national ministries.
The Massachusetts Conference gives 60% of Basic Support to
national ministries. For a description of how Basic Support
is used by the national setting, click here.
For a description of how your gifts are used throughout the
UCC - locally, by the Massachusetts Conference, UCC and nationally,
click here.
SPECIAL
SUPPORT: Special Support provides funding for
specific mission
opportunities
through the four special mission offerings of the UCC. 100%
of contributions to Special Support are forwarded on to the
national ministries. For a description of the Special Offerings
and the work they fund, click here.
With
your congregation's support, Our Church's Wider Mission can
come closer to fulfilling God's mission. And by being a part
of Our Church's Wider Mission, your congregation can come
closer to being all that God intends it to be, touching lives
at home and around the world, in the name of Jesus Christ.
For
resources to help educate your congregation about the good
news of Our Church's Wider Mission please contact:
Andrew Gustafson,
Associate Conference Minister for Stewardship and Financial
Development.
What
Are The Special Mission Offerings?
One Great Hour of Sharing (OGHS) is the relief, refugee and development fund of the United Church of Christ. It is one of the Special Mission Offerings received by the United Church of Christ and is a part of Our Churches Wider Mission (OCWM). The OGHS offering is most often received the third Sunday of Lent, but may be taken at different times.
Frequently Asked Questions (pdf)
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(NIN) is a special mission offering of the UCC that supports ministries of justice and compassion thoughout the United States. One-third of NIN funds support the Council for American Indian Ministry(CAIM). Two-thirds of the offering is used by the UCC's Justice and Witness Ministries(JWM) to support a variety of justice initiatives, advocacy efforts, and direct service projects.
Most UCC congregations will receive the NIN offering in October as part of their World Communion Sunday observance. however, some local churches select another date. NIN contributions can be made on-line at any time here
Our joy at Christmas is a response to God's promise of new life through the birth of Jesus. It is a joy we are called to share widely, through our witness and gifts, both to loved ones and to distant neighbors
The Christmas Fund Offering (formerly the Christmas Fund for the Veterans of the Cross), one of four Special Mission Offerings of the United Church of Christ (UCC), is an important way of sharing our joy at God's renewing and life-giving grace. The offering, which is administered by the United Church Board for Ministerial Assistance of the Pension Boards on behalf of the UCC, is an expression of joy and gratitude to, and for, those who serve the church.
Gifts to the Christmas Fund help provide pension and health premium supplementation to low-income retirees, emergency assistance to the families of clergy and lay employees and Christmas Gift Checks to hundreds of annuitants.
When the United Church of Christ celebrated 50 years of ministry in 2007, the Christmas Fund celebrated 105 years of continuous ministry.
Facts taken from a 1953 publication indicate that: "In 1902, a little money was collected and special Christmas gifts were sent to ten older ministers." The same article also reports that $121,054 was received for the Christmas Fund in 1952.
A little more than 50 years later, in 200,7 the Christmas Fund received $1,571,000 and nearly 1,500 families were assisted. Our goal is to be able to provide at least $1,650,000 in assistance from the 2008 appeal.
The theme for the 2008 Offering is: "Don't Be Afraid, Shout!" We are commissioned to boldly proclaim Good News, that the incarnation of God in the Christ Child was happened – Good News that a new day, God's day, was about to dawn. The church today is the incarnate presence of the Christ. We are called to be the presence of the Christ in the lives of those who have served the church so faithfully, as well as to usher in a new day for God's whole earth.
Your gifts are needed more than ever to help the growing number of retirees whose low income annuities make it difficult to meet increasing living costs. This is your opportunity to participate in God's promise of renewal by enabling this ministry of compassion and care.
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How Our Church's Wider Mission Basic Support is used