United Church of Christ News

About United Church of Christ News

United Church of Christ News is the official news service of the United Church of Christ, headquartered alongside the denomination's national offices in Cleveland, Ohio. Published by the National Setting — the UCC's nationwide denominational organization — the news service reports on the church's ministries, its justice and advocacy work, its General Synod, and the activities of the denomination's congregations and conference bodies across the United States. Its stories appear under the "United Church of Christ News" banner on the denomination's official website, www.ucc.org, accompanied by video reports produced by the UCC News team.

A News Service Rooted in the Denomination's Birthplace

United Church of Christ News operates from Cleveland, the city where the United Church of Christ itself was formed. On Tuesday, June 25, 1957, the Evangelical and Reformed Church, the General Council of Congregational Christian Churches, and the Afro-Christian Convention joined together in Cleveland as the United Church of Christ — a union that brought together some two million members at its founding. The denomination's national offices, known as the National Setting, are located in Cleveland, and the news service functions as the official voice of that national body, carrying the denomination's official byline — UCC News Service, a name in use since at least the late 1990s.

The Denomination It Serves

The United Church of Christ is one of the seven sisters of mainline Protestantism in the United States, a mainline Protestant denomination that blends Congregational, Reformed, Lutheran, Anabaptist, and Restorationist traditions. Classified as a mainline Protestant denomination with ecumenical theology and a covenantal polity mixing congregational and presbyterian elements, the UCC reported 4,603 congregations and 712,296 members in 2022. The news service covers the full breadth of this diverse communion — its national ministries, its 36 conferences, its affiliated and associated ministries, and its local congregations — reporting news that holds the covenantal community together.

The Move of the National Setting to Cleveland

The denominational headquarters relocated from New York City to Cleveland in 1990, a move made to reduce expenses and to locate the national offices closer to the bulk of the church's membership, which was concentrated in the Midwest. The National Setting took up residence in a nine-story, 120,000-square-foot headquarters building in downtown Cleveland — a building that at one time housed some 330 employees. In 2021, amid long-term declines in membership and resources, the denomination placed the headquarters building up for sale at $7 million, planning to move its staff to a single floor of an office building half a mile away, plus basement space for archived materials. The National Setting's current offices are at 1300 East Ninth Street in Cleveland.

Covering a "Church of Firsts"

The news service reports on a denomination known for its progressive stances and its history of firsts. At its 25th General Synod in 2005, the UCC became the first mainline denomination in the United States to adopt a resolution in support of equal marriage rights for all people, regardless of gender — an action the news service has chronicled through subsequent milestones, including the church's wedding tent at the 2015 General Synod when the Supreme Court made same-sex marriage the law of the land. UCC News covers the denomination's advocacy on immigration, racial justice, climate, voting rights, and LGBTQ inclusion, reflecting the church's self-described mission to join faith and action in the co-creation of a just and sustainable world.

General Synod Coverage

The biennial General Synod — the UCC's highest representative body — is one of the news service's signature reporting assignments. The 30th General Synod met in Cleveland in 2015, and the 36th General Synod is scheduled to return to Cleveland on July 21-25, 2028, marking the denomination's 70th anniversary and the fifth time Cleveland has hosted the gathering, following 2015, 1987, 1960, and the inaugural 1957 synod. UCC News reports on synod resolutions, elections, and worship, providing the official record of the denomination's highest decision-making body for members who cannot attend in person.

Justice and Advocacy Reporting

UCC News closely follows the denomination's justice work, from local actions to national campaigns. Its reporters have covered clergy-led demonstrations in Cleveland's Public Square, including a national day of economic protest against federal immigration enforcement actions, and actions such as the "Unshackle Springfield" solidarity effort, in which UCC clergy delivered a letter signed by hundreds of faith leaders to a U.S. senator's office. The news service frames this coverage through the denomination's theological commitments — documenting how congregations and conferences live out the church's call to love God and neighbor in public life.

National Ministries and Community Service

The news service also reports on the National Setting's own institutional life. It has covered the twice-yearly "Home Days" gatherings of National Ministries staff in Cleveland, including a Service in the Community Day on which more than a hundred staff members fanned out across Northeast Ohio to volunteer with organizations such as the Greater Cleveland Food Bank, Lutheran Metropolitan Ministry, Habitat for Humanity ReStore, and City Mission. It covers denominational gatherings such as the 2024-2026 "A Tent of Our Own Making" initiative, in which conference ministers, pastors, and ecumenical partners met at the Cleveland headquarters to discern the church's path forward ahead of its 70th anniversary.

Digital Platforms: Web, Video, and Social

UCC News publishes primarily through ucc.org, where its stories are categorized under "United Church of Christ News" alongside related coverage. Its reporting team produces video reports — videography by staff such as Bob Lormor and reporting under news director Charles Jefferson, Jr. — that are embedded in its stories. The service covers breaking denominational news as well as feature stories, photo essays, and special messages from the General Minister and President, such as video messages tied to denominational initiatives. The digital-first approach allows the news service to reach the denomination's dispersed congregations directly, without relying on print distribution.

Leadership and the Newsroom

The news service operates under the direction of the denomination's communications staff at the National Setting, with editorial leadership including news director Charles Jefferson, Jr. It serves the administration of the General Minister and President — currently the Rev. Karen Georgia Thompson, who took office in 2023 — and reports the statements and initiatives of the denomination's elected leadership. As the official mouthpiece of the National Setting, its coverage carries institutional authority: its announcements on topics such as the headquarters sale and synod plans serve as the denomination's record of fact.

Place in Mainline Protestant Media

Within the American religious press, UCC News occupies a distinctive position as the official news organ of one of the most theologically progressive mainline denominations. Like the news services of other Protestant communions, it serves both an internal audience — members who want to follow the life of their church — and an external one of journalists, researchers, and ecumenical partners who track the denomination's actions. Its reports are regularly cited in coverage of religion in American public life, particularly when the UCC takes public stands on social and political questions. The denomination's full-communion partnerships — with churches including the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), and the Reformed Church in America — also give the news service an ecumenical readership beyond the UCC itself. Readers can follow its coverage at www.ucc.org.