UCC Synod's 'Imagine What?s Possible' contest winners announced

[Worldwide Faith News <wfn@igc.org>]

Wild, attainable dreams: Synod's 'Imagine What?s
Possible' contest winners announced

> Written by J. Bennett Guess
> April 12, 2011

When the General Synod planning team invited UCC
churches to tell their stories, more than 150
congregations jumped at the chance to enter the
"Imagine What?s Possible" contest.  The friendly
competition, however, proved so lively ? and
meaningful ? that choosing the winners became a
difficult task for the contests? judges, who
needed an extra 10 days to reach consensus on their final choices.

But, in the end, six winners ? one from each of
the UCC's six geographic regions ? will be
recognized for imagining a possibility and then
working to make that dream a reality.

The winning congregations are First

Congregational UCC, Wallingford, Conn.; Everett
(Wash.) UCC; First Congregational UCC, Ypsilanti,
Mich.; New Covenant UCC, Williamsport, Pa.; Zion
UCC, Burlington, Iowa; and Central St. Matthew UCC, New Orleans, La.

Each of their stories will be shared at General
Synod as part of an "Imagine What's Possible
Music Celebration" on Saturday evening, July 2,
in Tampa, Fla. The pastor and one lay leader from
each chosen congregations will have their expenses paid to attend.

"The judging was tremendously difficult because
every church?s story represents a huge investment
of passion, ingenuity and commitment," says Edith
Guffey, associate general minister and
administrator of the UCC?s biennial General
Synod. ?I consider myself blessed to have been
able to read many of the congregations? moving
stories before they were passed along to the Synod moderators.?

The contest was judged by 2011 moderator James K.
Roberton, an attorney and member of First
Congregational UCC in Watertown, Conn., and
assistant moderators Carolyn Belson, an attorney
and member of Waiola UCC in Lahaina, Maui,
Hawaii, and the Rev. Patricia Aurand, pastor of
First Congregational UCC in Mason City, Iowa.

"These stories certainly bring to life our

'Imagine What's Possible' General Synod theme in a powerful way," Guffey sa ys.

The stories were so inspiring that Guffey has
decided to compile a descriptive list of all the
congregations? entries to be shared online and as
part of the Synod?s program book.

"I think UCC members everywhere will be blown
away by the incredible depth of creativity and
leadership that our churches have offered to meet
the challenges faced in their congregations,
communities and around the world," Guffey says.
"At a time in which we are prone to doubt our own
impact, at times, all of these 150 stories ? and
not just our six winning entries ?need to be lifted and celebrated."

Here is a brief summary of each of the winning congregation's entries:

Western Region:   In spring 2007, Everett

(Wash.) UCC found itself without a pastor, no
money, poor communication, and a broken spirit.
Today, it is a vital, growing and serving
congregation, thanks to a faithful remnant that
formed a church development committee with
financial assistance from the UCC?s Pacific
Northwest Conference. Once a largely disconnected
UCC congregation, it now embraces its UCC
identity with a new website, letterhead, signage,
and sanctuary renovations to upgrade its sound
system and make the chancel accessible to
wheelchairs. Twenty new members have joined, and
a weekly feeding program for the homeless and
unemployed has doubled.  While income generated
from renting worship space to a Pentecostal
congregation once provided much-needed resources,
the church made the difficult, but faithful
financial decision to end its lease agreement
when it was learned that some of Everett UCC?s
own were being harassed with anti-gay taunts. In
turn, the church has become recognized as the
region?s safe space for lesbian, gay, bisexual
and transgender persons and
organizations.  Everett UCC refused to give in to
despair and decline, and renewed hope now abounds.

Great Lakes Region:   After learning of

violent raids by customs officials and local
police against Latino immigrant families in
2008,  First Congregational UCC in Ypsilanti,
Mich.  ? a small boldly progressive congregation
? responded quickly to meet urgent human needs,
including caring for children whose parents had
been detained.  With less than eight hours of
notice, the church gathered 50 concerned citizens
representing 20 faith-based and human-rights
organizations and soon launched the Washtenaw
Interfaith Coalition for Immigrant Rights. Today,
the church serves as WICIR?s fiduciary sponsor
and is active in providing a full range of
services ? political advocacy, legal aid,
community education, fund development, employer
assistance and immigrant peer support ? on behalf
of their Hispanic neighbors.  This UCC-inspired
coalition now includes 35 churches and
organizations and an email list-serve of more
than 400 people.

Mid-Atlantic Region:   In early 2006,  New

Covenant UCC in Williamsport, Pa., decided it was
time to CONNECT, the program it developed to
engage town leaders to determine an unmet
community need that the church could adopt and
make its own.  When it was deciphered that
Williamsport had limited housing for homeless
families with children, New Covenant UCC
purchased a large adjacent apartment building ?
long a community eyesore ? and worked in
partnership with the Family Housing Alliance, a
coalition of 17 community service organizations,
including the church, to renovate and repurpose
the building as a four-unit living space.
Combining grants, fundraisers, community labor
and church-backed faith and financing, Journey
House was dedicated in late 2007, providing two
years of transitional housing and comprehensive
services to those actively seeking to become
self-sufficient again. To date, 14 families ? 20
adults and 20 children ? have benefitted from Journey House.

West Central Region:    Zion UCC in

Burlington, Iowa, is a downtown church in a town
with a failing economy. When the pastor and
congregation were feeling as if they were
offering token assistance only to those who asked
for help, the church sought a $20,000 federal
grant to redesign and strengthen its capacity to
respond to their neighbors' significant financial
struggles. The grant was not money to hand out to
the needy, but seed money to fund the development
of a sustained, long-term strategy. Today, Zion
UCC?s comprehensive program, ?Bridging the Gap,?
offers a complete line of services to help the
unemployed, including job training, resume
writing, interview coaching and clothing,
transportation, life coaching and budgeting, and
GED tutorials. A welcoming and growing
congregation of 300 people, the church also has a
commitment to meeting the needs of those beyond
their hometown. Each year it gives 25 percent of
members' pledges to Our Church?s Wider Mission,
which funds the UCC?s connectional ministries
regionally, nationally and globally.

> Southern Region:   They once were two
> churches with vastly different cultures,
> neighborhoods and histories yet their buildings
> sat only four miles apart.  But after Hurricane
> Katrina ravaged the Gulf Coast in 2005, Central
> UCC and St. Matthew UCC, both in New Orleans,
> began to hold joint services and deep friendships
> formed. Since that time, they have decided to
> become one church with two campuses, devising a
> plan that allows each church to remain faithful
> to its roots while igniting new vitality for the
> merged congregation.  Central UCC, in turn,
> decided to donate its insurance settlement to
> support a child-care organization, a critical
> need in the hurricane?s wake.  Today,  Central
> St. Matthew UCC in New Orleans is a diverse
> multi-racial, multi-cultural expression of UCC
> unity, one that shares blended traditions,
> spirited worship and new-found trust: ?White and
> Black with no gray skies!? the church sings together.

New England Region:   On Pentecost Sunday in
2006, worshipers at First Congregational UCC in
Wallingford, Conn., learned of a need at a
Baghdad, Iraq, airbase that they had never heard
before: Our U.S. military personnel couldn't get
a good cup of coffee.  So, the church sprang into
action, gathering donations and making calls to
coffee companies nationwide. In the process, Holy
Joe?s Café, a coffee house ministry sponsored
with the support of airbase chaplains, was born.
In the past year alone, an estimated 18 tons of
coffee, enough to serve 3.6 million cups, has
been provided to soldiers thanks to the church?s
ingenuity and persistence.  And hundreds of UCC
congregations nationwide have joined in support
of the effort.  The coffee has provided more than
caffeine; it?s ignited fellowship.  Chaplains
report significantly increased visibility of
their on-base ministries and worship attendance
has jumped significantly, thanks to Holy Joe?s Café.