UCC News

I am in Rochester New York for a chemistry conference.  Sunday I decided to go to the local UCC church because it was walking distance from my hotel.  The name of the church was Salem United Church of Christ.  The Pastor is Rev Wendy Fambro.  This is an inner city church which looks like it is struggling.  I wondered if they had done any outreach to the community.  When I was there, there were probably 20 people in a huge sanctuary.  In fact when I wanted to get into the church the front door was locked so I went in through the door to the community room.  I looked up the history of the church on the web and found out it started as one of the E & R churches that merged to form the UCC. 
The other reason I went was to hear the Austin organ. Our church as you know has an Austin organ.  I arrived in time for choir rehearsal.  They had a choir which that day consisted of six people.  The musician was rehearsing them with the piano and I thought I would not hear the organ.  But then he switched to the organ console and started the prelude so I was not disappointed. Because Rochester is the home of the Eastman school of Music they have no problem hiring students to play the organ. The current organist is a student who comes from Australia.  I have photos which I will post on my Facebook page or may add them to this blog when I get home.

General Synod 2013
The theme of the United Church of Christ 29th General Synod is "God's Vision:____." An unfinished statement that we are looking to each of you to complete, with a word or two that describe your personal feeling.

When the UCC gathers in California, June 28 – July 2, 2013, for General Synod we hope to fill the Long Beach Convention Center with personal testimonies and portraits of God's Vision: people of the UCC. Please send us yours.
You also know that a picture is worth a thousand words, so when you send in your completed statement of God's Vision:____, please attach a photograph that illustrates it – here are a few wonderful sample pictures.
When you upload your photo, please follow these guidelines:

• High-resolution photo (150 dpi or greater and typically greater than 1.0 MB)

• JPG, .TIFF or .PNG format;

• At least one face looking directly at the camera;

• On a solid background color;

• At least waist/chest-height up; and,

• Full color.

Please send your word and photo to godsvision@ucc.org by October 31, 2012.

World Communion Sunday

Next Sunday October 7 is World communion Sunday.  The UCC has a story about how UCC churches celebrate the day.  http://www.ucc.org/ucnews/octnov07/across-the-ucc-world.html

Jeannette Brown
UCC Representative