Rooted in the grace of God, the mission of the Massachusetts Conference of the United Church of Christ is to nurture local church vitality and the covenant among our churches to make God’s love and justice real.

 

As the largest Protestant denomination in Massachusetts (370 churches and 70,000 members), we are also the Commonwealth’s oldest denomination, with roots going back to the Puritans and Pilgrims.

 

The Massachusetts Conference is one of 38 regional bodies of the United Church of Christ (UCC), which has 5,100 churches and 1.1 million members.

 

We follow a “still speaking” God whose revelation continues in our time.  We seek to listen to God’s voice as we engage with pressing challenges of today, including climate change  and the call fo full inclusion of  lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered persons in our churches and society. Our churches offer an extravagant welcome, proclaiming, “No matter who you are or where you are on life's journey, you are welcome here.”  And we believe the church’s mission is to change lives – a mission we express by saying, “Never place a period where God has placed a comma.”

 

The leaders of the Conference are guided by a vision statement that centers on depth, courage and bridge-building. We seek and encourage a deep connection with Jesus, believing that this will inspire bold, courageous and joyful efforts to help build God’s realm of Shalom. Bridge-building is important both within our churches and beyond - approximately two-thirds of our members have come to the UCC from other denominations, or from no denomination.  And we talk openly about initiating the trans-denominational church movement. 

 

We seek excellence – not only in our nationally recognized Pastoral Excellence Program – but in countless other ways.  Perhaps that’s why over half of all the UCC clergy under 40 years of age serve in the Massachusetts Conference.

 

We have a long history as champions of justice: from publishing the first anti-slavery tract to launching the original “Tea Party.”  More recently we passed the first resolution on “Open and Affirming” in 1984.  In 2009 we became the first church-body in America to pass a science-based resolution on climate change.  And in 2012-3 we led the effort to divest from fossil fuel companies and convinced the UCC’s national General Synod to make history by passing it.

 

We gather as a Conference twice each year for “Super Saturday" to offer over 30 workshops to nurture vitality and make God’s love and justice real, and we offer numerous special programs to enhance worship, expand vision, inspire generosity, promote growth, and support education.

 

To find a church near you, visit our Directory of Churches.  To stay update on Conference happenings and resources, sign up for one or more of our e-newsletters.