We will have a Saturday morning Lenten Retreat with Traci Blackmon on March 4,  and on Sunday, March 5, Rev. Traci Blackmon will be our preacher. The Rev. Traci Blackmon is acting executive minister of the UCC Justice and Witness Ministries and the first female pastor of the 156-year-old Christ the King United Church of Christ in Ferguson, MO. She is a prominent civic leader and gifted preacher well known for racial justice work in her St. Louis community. She became one of the new voices for civil rights in America, thrust into the national spotlight after the Michael Brown shooting in Ferguson in 2014.

Sanctuary Matters: Testimony and Best Practices A Weekend of Reflection & Training Saturday and Sunday, September 16 and 17 9 am to 12:30 pm with Peruvian luncheon following CLICK HERE TO REGISTER Saturday, September 16:  Reflection and Training for congregations in discernment about offering sanctuary to immigrants facing deportation. Reverend Noel Andersen Keynote speaker, Rev. Noel Andersen Rev. Noel Andersen has served as Grassroots Coordinator for over three years with Church World Service out the Washington DC Advocacy Office. He became an expert on the 2014 Sanctuary Movement while serving as a national coordinator for the initiative meant to draw on the prophetic witness of congregation’s wanting to stop deportations and lift up the immigrant story of those struggling to keep their families together in midst of unjust immigration policies. Previously, he served as Assistant Pastor at the Good Shepherd United Church of Christ in Sahuarita, Arizona, just 40 miles form the U.S.- Mexico border where the congregation was very active in humanitarian aid for migrants on the border and in the struggle against anti-immigrant bill SB 1070. He has a Masters of Divinity from Pacific School of Religion where his emphasis was on theology of liberation which he studied extensively during his field study in El Salvador. He is fluent in Spanish and has worked for a number of nonprofit organizations in Central America and on the border focusing on community development, education and community organizing. North Carolina perspective offered by:  Jennie Belle Jennie Belle, NC Council of Churches Director, Immigration and Farmworkers Jennie Belle was born and raised in Savannah, GA. She moved to Texas for her undergraduate education at Rice University, during which time she studied in Mexico, Peru and Argentina and participated in service projects in Central America. After graduation she moved to Spain for a year to teach English. Jennie then came to North Carolina for a dual degree M.Div./M.S.W. graduate program at Duke and UNC-Chapel Hill where her work focused on advocating for farmworkers and organizing churches for social justice. Jennie is excited to use these skills in her role at the Council of Churches as she works to help improve conditions for immigrants and farmworkers in the state. Jessica Turner Jessica Turner, Faith & Community Engagement Coordinator Jessica Turner joined the American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina in August 2016 as the Faith and Community Engagement Coordinator. She works to strengthen grassroots support in local chapters and within faith communities to build relationships and coalitions around numerous justice issues with a special focus on reproductive justice. She received her bachelor’s degree from Elon University in Elon, North Carolina and worked with faith based advocacy groups in Baltimore, Maryland and Washington, DC before receiving her Master of Divinity from Candler School of Theology in Atlanta, Georgia. Prior to joining the ACLU of North Carolina, Jessica organized in faith communities to abolish the death penalty, advocated for workers’ rights, and led racial justice workshops. Reverend David Mateo Additional reflections offered by: Reverend David Mateo, Associate Pastor of Outreach and Language Ministries of United Church of Chapel Hill  Rev. David Mateo is an ordained minister of the United Church of Christ  and earned his masters degree in Divinity at Lancaster Theological Seminary, PA. For many years, he has been doing pastoral ministry with minorities, especially among Latino LGBTQI and immigrant communities in NC. He is a writer of the book, Jesus Deported: The Illegal Gospel of the Undocumented Son of God distributed by Amazon.  His blog on contemporary spirituality is read in more than 60 countries around the world. Derek Jones (not pictured)​, Chair of the Triangle Sanctuary Task Force. He is a lay preacher with the Episcopal Church.  Sunday, September 17: Worship and Conversation Nina Marie Fernando Worship 8:45 am 11 am: guest preacher Rev. Noel Andersen, with music offered by his wife, Nina Marie Fernando, a singer-songwriter with a jazzy-folk sound from California. As a Sri-Lankan American, Nina Marie lives out her unique blend of passions by combining jazzy/folk/groove genres to movement and sacred music Adult Forum at 10 am: A Conversation on Creating Sacred Space in Social Action with Rev. Noel Andersen and Nina Marie Fernando.  

Winter Retreat with Reverend Velda Love, UCC Racial Justice Minister Saturday, January 27 (8:30 to 11:30 am, followed by a light lunch) The Rev. Velda Love joined the UCC as Minister for Racial Justice on Feb. 1, 2017, beginning her ministry to help the church live into its vision of building a just world for all. On Saturday, January 27,  Rev. Love will share with us her work on SCOR.2, the movement to end racism through activism, advocacy and witness. She will help us deepen our understanding of how to unpack all the ~isms and to see the intersections more clearly. She'll also help us understand millennials and GenZ perspectives, and how critical these perspectives are. Please call United Church 919-942-3540 for more information.