UCC Cast

To many it’s a symbol of God’s grace, and a sign of extravagant welcome. But sometimes the simple expression of love, faith, and respect is heard as political speech and is resisted.

A gathering of delegates and visitors, charged with building a church for the 21st century, and making the faith our own.

"Our particular expression of the faith, one that values every voice and invites all to speak what God has placed in her heart, is both one I will never take for granted and one I am proud to preside over."

Listening to the still speaking God means stepping out on faith to follow the Holy Spirit, even as she ushers in a new way of being for the Church as we know it.

Use love as your weapon in our fight for acceptance, peace, tolerance, grace, forgiveness, mercy, and justice.

Do you feed your spirit with grace, tolerance of differences, open to all other spiritual pathways that engender love of neighbor, and hospitality to the stranger?

There is a spiritual cost to war – for those who serve and those who love them. We don’t always count that cost when patriots take up arms

Do you still fully embrace the splendor of God's creation all around you? Awaken your ears, open your eyes. Take time to pause, to marvel, and give thanks.

A turning point, a transformational moment on life's journey, rife with potential and possibility. A time to reflect, give thanks, await the discoveries still to come.

Be open to your call; be free with your yes. You possess something the world is in need of.

Finding hope during hard times, ministering in community after the industry and jobs disappeared.

What brings you joy?

The cross was not the last word for Jesus. Horrific brutality inflicted by those who want to silence the opposition by public displays of violence just empowers our resistance. Hate is not met with hate.

Take a moment to be thankful for those moments when love lifts you up.

Looking beyond the differences to see what the Creator saw as whole.

How effective would a little love of neighbor be in building a just world for all? During this season of Lent be open to a change of heart.

Be open to Lent as a time to pause, to open up space to pursue insight, and to make course corrections.

What can you commit to during this season of Lent that marks it as a time for deepening your relationship with your Creator?

A trip to the Holy Land merges the sacred stories and places of our spiritual past with a political present rife with conflict. What will this trip mean?

Never take for granted the love of a good friend. It is a blessing that time and distance seem incapable of eroding.

Giving into grief honors the life of a loved one lost.

What spiritually sustains you in times of sorrow and care?

Faith, politics and protest. Giving public voice to frustration, fear, and anger – is acting out of and in good faith.

How do you put words to a vision big enough to change the world? What can we do today to make that dream a reality in today's America?

Step out on faith. As agents of transformation and hope, we have to muster the courage to believe there is a way forward in troubling times.