Scarsdale Congregational Church United Church of Christ About the SCC

In September 2002, John Thomas, General Minister and President of the United Church of Christ (second from left), had lunch with all who wished to visit with him in the New York metropolitan area. Friends present included, left to right, David Bocock, John Werner, Mitzie Wang and Alison Rose.

In 1957 the Scarsdale Congregational Church joined the newly-formed denomination, the United Church of Christ (UCC), a merger of the Congregational Christian Church and the Evangelical & Reformed Churches. In a sermon in our church on August 11, 2002, Roger L. Shinn, a person who helped to form this denomination, explained some of the goals of the denomination and how those goals are (and are not) being achieved in later years.

Churches of the United Church of Christ support each other informally as well as within the structure of the denomination. The Metropolitan Association is our regional organization within the UCC. Our lay delegates to the Association are Marco Pereira, Lois Seulowitz, Jesse Wang and Mitzie Wang.

The Metropolitan Association held its 2003 annual meeting on May 17th, where the Association voted almost unanimously to become an "Open and Affirming Association".

On November 1, 2000, Michael W. Caine became the Regional Conference Minister for the Southeastern Region, of which the Metropolitan Association is a part.

This link to the Association website provides additional information about the Association, its members, and its activities.

The New York State Conference is our state organization. Its website outlines Conference organization and programs and provides links to other sites with which the Conference is associated. Our lay delegates to the Conference are Katharine Marsh and Alison Rose.

On Sunday afternoon, September 17, 2000, we hosted Geoffrey Black, new Conference Minister for the New York Conference. He was elected to this postion at the 37th Annual Meeting in Albany in June 2000.

"Behold I Do A New Thing" was the theme of the 2002 Annual Meeting of the New York Conference. Attending from our fellowship were Marco Pereira, Lois Seulowitz, Phil Washburn, John Werner and Lucy Werner.

The national offices of the UCC, most of which are in Cleveland, OH, support the work of the local churches, associations, and conferences. The UCC website is a current and active resource.

In July 2001, the UCC national meeting (Synod) was held in conjunction with the General Assembly of the Disciples of Christ. Information about this joint meeting can be found at http://synodassembly.net/.

The next General Synod will be held July 11-15, 2003 in Minneapolis. Among the "firsts" at this Synod will be a sit-down dinner for all in attendance - made possible because of the excellent facilities of the Minneapolis Convention Center.