Justice Ministries

Seeking justice is central to our congregation’s identity. You are sure to notice that in the way our ministers approach sermons and in the way we have organized our community. We are a congregation that talks about the justice concerns of our world. Racial equity, immigration, queer inclusion, women’s empowerment, climate change, gun violence, and the moral problems of war are among the themes that show up regularly in our church’s faithful dialogues. 

We belong to a religious tradition that compels us to speak and act in the public square. 

In the early 1990’s our church was known throughout North Carolina as a leading light of LGBTQ equality. Another memory we celebrate at UCCH is our proud leadership in the Moral Mondays Movement, when many of us were arrested with Dr. William Barber for civil disobedience at the state Capitol. 

We see the public pursuit of justice as integrative with a life of faith. Politics and the Spirit do not operate in separate spheres. Rather, we are called to active participation in our community’s civic life. In worship and in our shared life of faith, we seek to speak prophetically to understand God’s will for our nation and world. 

You can find more information about some of our most active justice ministries here. Nevertheless we see justice as a calling to be present to the people and the situations that we experience in our walk of life. New moments teach us new duties, and we would love for you to join us in seeking a just world for all of God’s people.

Every Sunday, we collect nonperishable food items in the lobby outside of the sanctuary. The Deacons bring those items forward in a large basket that we bless with the weekly offering before we send those gifts off to our food security partners. We have an active ministry team that “gleans” food from area grocery stores to deliver each week to the IFC.

Outreach to Spanish speaking communities has been an important part of our church’s ministry for many years. Our La Mesa community is the hub of bilingual worship and community. We have many members of our church who are connected to asylum seekers and immigrants from many countries, especially countries in Central and South America. We are often organizing to support newcomers to our country and to advocate for their needs, which often have to do with legal assistance, housing, and finding employment.

We are deeply moved by the suffering of Palestinians who have lived under occupation for many years. Since the violence of October 7 and the devastation of Gaza, we have been educating ourselves and mobilizing our community to advocate for our Palestinian neighbors. We have a responsibility to speak faithfully into complex histories, to challenge hateful rhetoric that demonizes anyone because of their Jewish or Muslim faith, and to hold our governments accountable for unjust actions. We pray unceasingly for a future in which all of God’s children can flourish. Learn more.

Our community of queer people meets regularly for fellowship, education, and social action. Each year we sponsor a special Pride worship service in the month of June. In the fall during Sunday worship, we have a special practice of prayer for Transgender Day of Visibility.

Our congregation has spent many years studying the history and structures of racism, and organizing ourselves to advocate for racial equity. We know that our culture privileges whiteness in so many ways in law, housing, healthcare, education, and finances. In a country where Black lives are so vulnerable to gun violence and the criminal justice system, we feel called to bear witness to the truth that Black lives are precious in God’s sight.

Worship
In worship each year we observe Black history with two special observances of prayer and proclamation. We always observe Martin Luther King, Jr. day in worship in January and Juneteenth on the Sunday closest to June 19th. 

Negro Spirituals Royalties Project
Because African American composers and hymnwriters have never been compensated for the Negro Spirituals that are in public domain and contribute so much to the life of Christian worship, we take a special offering every time we sing a spiritual in worship. These funds are used to support musical education in African American communities in Chapel Hill and Durham.

Vigils
We hold a vigil on Friday afternoons to pray for an end to racism and to stand in prayerful solidarity with African American communities.