July 5, 2005
by Michelle Carter

Representatives from about 100 newly-planted or recently-welcomed congregations danced and sang their way onto the plenary floor at the 25th General Synod on Monday morning during a celebration of UCC growth and vitality.

Holding up glossy red and black "God is Still Speaking" signs with the names of each of the new churches, they paraded around the tables where delegates waved red and black pom-poms and made their way to the stage.

One after another, they approached the podium to say, "All the people" in English, Spanish, Samoan, Tagalog and languages native to new congregations such as Vaiola Samoan Congregational UCC in Fremont, Calif.; Iglesia Evangelica Unida de Puerto Rico, Playa Salinas UCC in Salinas, Puerto Rico, and Maranatha Indonesian Fellowship UCC in Madbury, N.H.

Those congregations include the UCC's first Liberian church as well as Iglesia Sin Fronteras UCC in El Paso, Texas, a church that exists on both sides of the Mexican/USA border, a joint project of the UCC and its mission partner, the Congregational Churches of Mexico.

Two-thirds of the congregations are from racial, ethnic, multiracial and multicultural backgrounds. More than 35 percent of the congregations are Open and Affirming.

As for new church starts, the Still Speaking Initiative has provided the UCC with a clearer picture of where people have asked for a UCC presence. New church development, with assistance from the New Church Challenge Fund, will be focused in those areas.

United Church News