About the United Church of Christ
Massachusetts Conference
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.
We are a gathering of 386 churches with over 73,000 members, making us the largest Protestant denomination in Massachusetts. Our roots go back to the Puritans and Pilgrims who founded this country, making us the Commonwealth’s oldest denomination.
The Massachusetts Conference is one of 39 regional bodies of the United Church of Christ (UCC), which has 5,300 churches and 1.1 million members. The motto of the UCC is “That They May All Be One.” This is from the prayer of Jesus (Holy Bible, John 17:11) for the unity of the church. Members of the United Church have been leaders in the movement to heal the divisions in the Christian church, and local congregations welcome into membership people from a diversity of religious backgrounds. Today, approximately two-thirds of our members have come to the UCC from other denominations, or from no denomination. Our churches are large and small, urban, suburban and rural. As a Conference, we support one another in spreading the Word and doing the work of Jesus Christ. On any given weekend in our churches, you may hear traditional hymns or something more contemporary. You may meet people whose families have been in America for generations, or those who still speak the languages of their homelands in Asia, Central and South America. You may find a church hall that houses a soup kitchen or one that houses a coffee house for local performers. You may find a church that has declared itself Open and Affirming to gay and lesbian people, or you may find a congregation that is theologically more conservative.
We are a gathering of 386 churches with over 73,000 members, making us the largest Protestant denomination in Massachusetts. Our roots go back to the Puritans and Pilgrims who founded this country, making us the Commonwealth’s oldest denomination.
The Massachusetts Conference is one of 39 regional bodies of the United Church of Christ (UCC), which has 5,300 churches and 1.1 million members. The motto of the UCC is “That They May All Be One.” This is from the prayer of Jesus (Holy Bible, John 17:11) for the unity of the church. Members of the United Church have been leaders in the movement to heal the divisions in the Christian church, and local congregations welcome into membership people from a diversity of religious backgrounds. Today, approximately two-thirds of our members have come to the UCC from other denominations, or from no denomination. Our churches are large and small, urban, suburban and rural. As a Conference, we support one another in spreading the Word and doing the work of Jesus Christ. On any given weekend in our churches, you may hear traditional hymns or something more contemporary. You may meet people whose families have been in America for generations, or those who still speak the languages of their homelands in Asia, Central and South America. You may find a church hall that houses a soup kitchen or one that houses a coffee house for local performers. You may find a church that has declared itself Open and Affirming to gay and lesbian people, or you may find a congregation that is theologically more conservative.
The UCC Logo
The symbol of the United Church of Christ comprises a crown, cross and orb enclosed within a double oval bearing the name of the church and the prayer of Jesus, "That they may all be one" (John 17:21). It is based on an ancient Christian symbol called the "Cross of Victory" or the "Cross Triumphant."
The crown symbolizes the sovereignty of Christ. The cross recalls the suffering of Christ—his arms outstretched on the wood of the cross—for the salvation of humanity. The orb, divided into three parts, reminds us of Jesus' command to be his "witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth" (Acts 1:8).
The verse from Scripture reflects our historic commitment to the restoration of unity among the separated churches of Jesus Christ.
The crown symbolizes the sovereignty of Christ. The cross recalls the suffering of Christ—his arms outstretched on the wood of the cross—for the salvation of humanity. The orb, divided into three parts, reminds us of Jesus' command to be his "witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth" (Acts 1:8).
The verse from Scripture reflects our historic commitment to the restoration of unity among the separated churches of Jesus Christ.
