General Synod 33 Congregational Challenge

If you would prefer to not receive messages about General Synod, click here.

WORSHIP SNEAK PEEK We have been working diligently on worship for this Special Edition General Synod and think you will be blown away by it! We are excited to share this sneak peek video to give you taste of our worship time together.

JOIN THE MOVEMENT

Can we imagine a world free of racism? As children of God, can we imagine a world where every person is endowed with worth and dignity that human judgment cannot set aside. At General Synod 33 the national setting will launch an all-church campaign to Join The Movement toward Racial Justice. The United Church of Christ affirms our call to be an anti-racist church and many of our Conferences and churches, along with the national setting, have already begun this work. We want to tell our story, share our learnings, and engage with one another as we move toward being an anti-racist church. Register at www.jointhemovement.org for monthly updates on how our churches are answering God’s call toward a just world for all, to gain helpful tools to organize the church, learn more about who we are and who we are becoming, join all church book studies, register for classes, and so much more. The site goes live July 11th with the opening of Synod. The first 100 registrants will receive a commemorative Join The Movement tumbler.

REGISTER TODAY Register today and join us for General Synod 33 – a fully virtual event. Registration provides you access to all aspects of General Synod, including worship, optional events, business, 50 workshops, exhibit hall, keynote speakers and much more. General Synod events will occur in the later half of the day to afford all an increased ability to engage. Registration is more affordable this year than it’s ever been! Delegate: $175 Adult or Young Adult Visitor: $100 Youth: $150

REGISTER TODAY

CONGREGATIONAL CHALLENGE How is your congregation doing? Check the updated leaderboard to see how it stacks up against the rest. Register now to improve your conference's standing in the Congregational Challenge! *Note: Unfortunately, the percentages were overstated in Week 1, but the TOP TEN order remained the same after updates. This new list represents the correct percentages and ranking of conference registrants.”

21 DAYS OF PRAYER As General Synod convenes to conduct the business of the Church, we approach this work in a spirit of worship. We have started a 21-days of prayer process for Synod, and we invite the entire church to join us in prayer for our gathered time together. Each day the Rev. Janet Ross, national setting chaplain, will provide a prayer request on the UCC.org homepage. We invite you to incorporate the prayer requests into your daily prayer practices or to pray daily for General Synod as the Spirit leads. We are praying for the manifestation of God’s presence and power among us as we attend to the work of the church. We are praying for restorative times of worship and witness. We pray that every attendee will find in our offerings loving affirmations of belonging. You can follow the 21-days of prayer at UCC.org and can catch up on any you have missed on our Twitter feed.

CHILDREN'S RESOURCES General Synod 33's Children and Family resources feature ten children's videos along with corresponding activity sheets (see an example here), each including a welcome, scripture, reflection, song, and closing prayer. Activities create conversations about God and how God is at work in the world! These conversations build roots of faith for the youngest among us and nurture what God has been growing in our hearts. Watch this video for a preview of General Synod 33's Children and Family resources.

CHILDREN'S RESOURCES

WORKSHOP HIGHLIGHTS Each week we will highlight a few of the workshops that will be available for your engagement during General Synod. You can learn more about all 50 workshops here.

Dismantling Barriers, Building Bridges: Stories from Around the World Pre-Recorded, available starting July 11 at Frontline Faith Hosts: Ms. Joyce Steiner, Rev. Dr. Joshua Samuel, Rev. Joram H. Calimutan, Rev. Lisania Sustaita Martínez, and Nidal Abu Zuluf Around the world, walls and barriers exist to exclude people. In this workshop, our church partners from Africa, East Asia and the Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean, Middle East and Europe, and Southern Asia will share their stories of resisting and dismantling walls and barriers that exist in many forms, and of their witness of rebuilding lives and communities as expressions of their faith in God who reconciles all things.   Communications Justice: How to Get Affordable Quality Broadband for All Locally, Nationally Wednesday, July 7 - 1:00 – 2:00 pm ET Hosts: Cheryl A. Leanza, Paolo Balboa, Kimberly Vasquez, and Rev. Robin Bartlett Social justice, communications justice, and affordable access go hand-in-hand. In no time has this been more clear than during the COVID-19 pandemic. While the UCC’s media justice ministry has been working on these issues for decades, but their importance is more evident than ever. This year, the UCC and its allies persuaded Congress to adopt a subsidy to help low-income families purchase broadband, and local churches and activists have been on the ground finding solutions to their needs. Join this workshop to see models at work and learn how you can help low-income families access the technology they need.

CHECK OUT ALL WORKSHOPS

NIGHT OF CELEBRATION Our Night of Celebration will be held on Friday, July 16. We have much to be thankful for and to celebrate! We will feature: UCC Open and Affirming Coalition 50 Year Anniversary of Association of United Church Educators (AUCE) Climate Justice Just World Covenant Congregational Challenge Volunteer Celebration You do not want to miss this amazing evening of joy and gratitude.

NEWS YOU CAN'T MISS

Youth at Synod Young program planner urges Synod youth participation. READ MORE & REGISTER   Synod Training Sessions Synod delegates prepare for the electronic meeting hall. LEARN MORE

TEXT TO GIVE General Synod will provide multiple opportunities to support ministries of the United Church of Christ and our partners. This includes assorted ways to give! You can use the text-to-give option: simply text 41444 in your mobile device. You will be prompted to direct your give and voilà the donation is sent. You can also give through the UCC website, or you can mail a check if you so desire. We are grateful for the generosity of our donors. To give to Racial Justice: Text UCCRJ to 41444 To give to Thursdays in Black: Text UCCTIB to 41444 To give to Annual Fund: Text UCCGS to 41444

GET TO KNOW MEET.UCC Meet.UCC is the location where you can find everything you need to participate in General Synod 2021. You will find all the links that you need to access all activities that you signed up for during your registration process. Your schedule will be built, so you can navigate each area easily It includes the most current text of the overtures and other recommendations that have been forwarded to the assembly. Track each item of business as it moves through the assembly meeting, and see whether the recommendation was amended, approved, or disapproved.

Worship will stream live on the United Church of Christ YouTube and Facebook channels and on GeneralSynod.org. Worship will occur: Sunday, July 11 Wednesday, July 14 Sunday, July 18 MORE ABOUT WORSHIP   Your registration will give you access to all workshops. Save the dates of July 7-10 for the live workshops (before General Synod). Or watch them afterwards, any time before August 31. Your username and password for Frontline Faith is the same that you use to register for General Synod. MORE ABOUT WORKSHOPS   Join Minister for Volunteer Engagement (Rev. Elena Larssen), working group members, National Setting staff, and others who are helping to provide a safe and welcoming online Synod experience. VOLUNTEER TODAY

REGISTER TODAY

General Synod 33 Sponsors We thank our General Synod sponsors, without whom we would not be able to provide the programming included in this year's historic event.