UCC Disaster Response in Pennsylvania

The Pennsylvania Southeast Conference (PSEC) of the UCC Disaster Recovery Mission Team organizes the disaster response ministries of our conference, helping UCC churches throughout the southeast of Pennsylvania cooperatively work together to effectively and efficiently bring aid to those in need.

The mission of the Disaster Recovery Mission Team is to prepare congregations to deal with disaster events by providing preparedness training and acting as a communication nexus for receiving and dispersing human services referrals, volunteer relief opportunities, recovery supplies availability, and timely information on disaster management. The Disaster Recovery Mission Team represents PSEC in its work with other faith-based and community organizations to constantly discover and disseminate best practices of dealing with disaster.

UCC National & International Disaster Ministries

All Disaster Recovery activities are coordinated with the UCC National Disaster Ministry, which oversees related activities on the national and international level.

The members of First UCC send financial support for many special disaster relief efforts, and offer support of the UCC’s disaster relief efforts through direct emergency appeals, support of the annual One Great Hour of Sharing (OGHS) offering; and support of the ongoing Our Church’s Wider Mission (OCWM) offering.

Click on this UCC Disaster Ministries link for the latest relief efforts of the UCC in our nation and throughout the world.

The above picture is from a UCC disaster relief mission trip of Pennsylvania UCC churches providing relief aid in Tennessee.

The United Church of Christ is divided into conferences by geography. The conferences are further divided into associations. First UCC in Hamburg belongs to the Pennsylvania Southeast Conference (PSEC) of the UCC and the Covenant Association of the UCC. The Covenant Association essentially includes all of the UCC churches in Berks County.

Our Covenant Association has an annual spring and an annual fall meeting, to which we send two lay delegates, one youth delegate, and our pastor to vote on matters of the association and to share information between our church and association setting.

From time to time we also have special ecclesiastical council meetings of the association where we vote to whether or not to approve an individual seeking to become an ordained pastor in the UCC. The Covenant Association also gives approval for congregations in Berks County as to whether or not they may be a UCC church.

The Covenant Association came to be in October 2016 from a merger of the Heidelberg, East Berks, and Reading Associations. Prior to that merger, First UCC was a part of the Heidelberg Association.

To learn more about our association, click on this Covenant Association link.

The above picture is from our “March 4th for Literacy” children’s book drive collection and picnic.

The United Church of Christ is divided into conferences by geography. The conferences are further divided into associations. First UCC in Hamburg belongs to the Pennsylvania Southeast Conference (PSEC) of the UCC and the Covenant Association of the UCC. The Covenant Association essentially includes all of the UCC churches in Berks County.

Our PSEC has an annual spring and an annual fall meeting, to which we send two lay delegates, one youth delegate, and our pastor to vote on matters of the conference and to share information between our church and conference setting.

To learn more about our conference, click on this PSEC link.

Pictured here is our Pastor with the our Conference Minister, the Rev. Bill Worley, at the Spring 2024 Annual Meeting.

Seminary is a graduate school that offers masters and doctoral level educational programs and degrees. Seminary provides the educational component to those individuals preparing for ordained ministry. Our UCC Lancaster Theological Seminary (LTS) also offers certificate and non-degree educational programs for lay adults and teen youth leaders.

There are six theological seminaries in the United Church of Christ throughout our country, to which each UCC congregation offers support. LTS is the one closest to us, and the one to which First UCC in Hamburg is assigned to be of support.

Many of the pastors who have served First UCC are graduates of LTS, including the Rev. Dr. Benjamin Motz, who earned his Master of Divinity at LTS.

First UCC provides annual financial support for LTS. During the month of February UCC churches take a special offering for their seminary. This offering enables the seminary to provide quality educational programs for persons seeking to become ordained ministers within the UCC, as well as programs for lay leaders and teen youth leaders.

To learn more, click on this Lancaster Theological Seminary link.

Our Church's Wider Mission (OCWM) is our basic offering contribution to support the UCC beyond our local congregational setting; OCWM makes the all other UCC national and conference ministries possible. OCWM funds the work we do in the Associations, Conferences, and in the national and global church. OCWM funds are invested in programs, resources, and tools needed to keep local UCC churches strong, effective, and growing.

OCWM helps provide pastoral placement and education for church leaders; worship materials and theological interpretation; resources and training for stewardship and fundraising; and so much more. We are one church—a united and uniting church. We are the United Church of Christ.

OCWM is one of our national "Five for Five" UCC annual offerings.

Support for OCWM is an inherent part of First UCC’s annual budget. Contributions to OCWM can also be made by marking a donation as "OCWM".

One Great Hour of Sharing (OGHS) supports partners in countries with ministries that fund health, education and agricultural development, emergency relief, refugee ministries and both international and domestic disaster response, administered by Wider Church Ministries, Global Sharing of Resources.

OGHS is one of our national UCC "Five for Five" annual offerings, and is received on the Fourth Sunday in Lent.

Strengthen the Church (STC) supports church growth, pastoral and lay leadership development, youth and young adult ministries within conferences and administered by Local Church Ministries.

STC is one of our national UCC "Five for Five" annual offerings, and is received on Pentecost Sunday.

One-third of the Neighbors In Need (NIN) offering supports the Council for American Indian Ministry (CAIM), and two-thirds is administered by Justice and Witness Ministries to support a variety of justice initiatives, advocacy efforts, and direct service projects through grants.

NIN is one of our national UCC "Five for Five" annual offerings, and is annually received on the first Sunday in October (World Communion Sunday).

"The Christmas Fund for the Veterans of the Cross and the Emergency Fund" has been caring for active and retired clergy, surviving spouses, and lay employees of the United Church of Christ for over 100 years. The fund provides pension and health premium supplementation, emergency assistance, and Christmas thank you checks.

The emergency financial needs of many who serve the church have increased dramatically. These difficult times make the need for the Christmas Fund more urgent than ever.

The Christmas Fund (Veterans of the Cross) is a ministry of the UCC Pension Boards, one of our national UCC "Five for Five" annual offerings, that is received annually on the Sunday before Christmas.

The Council for American Indian Ministry (CAIM) is the voice for American Indian people in the UCC. CAIM provides Christian ministry and witness to American Indians and to the wider church. Justice issues that affect American Indian life are communicated to the whole UCC by CAIM.

Historically, the forebears of the UCC established churches and worked with Lakota, Dakota, Nakota, Mandan, Hidatsa, Arickara, and Hocak in North and South Dakota, Wisconsin and northern Nebraska. Today there are 20 UCC congregations on reservations and one urban, multi-tribal UCC congregation in Minneapolis, Minnesota. CAIM supports these local churches and their pastors. In addition, CAIM strives to be a resource for more than 1,000 individuals from dozens of other tribes and nations who are members of other UCC congregations and to strengthen their participation in the life of the church.

Support for CAIM is a part of our annual Neighbors In Need offering. To offer specific support to CAIM, you may designate “CAIM” on a donation made payable to “First UCC.”

This offering of the Pennsylvania Southeast Conference (PSEC) of the UCC provides financial assistance, including healthcare and dental insurance assistance to UCC pastors, spouses, and widows within our local conference.

The first Sunday in November is designated as All Saints Sunday. We celebrate long ago saints and those we know as saints today; people who inspired us by grit and determination to “keep on trying.”

Many of these people are pastors whose lives shaped and influenced our own. Some of our Pennsylvania Southeast Conference (PSEC) pastors who retired years ago are now in need of special assistance. Because their retirement income is low, the churches of the Pennsylvania Southeast Conference supplement the cost of their health benefits.

For more information, click on this PSEC All Saints Day Offering link.

The General Minister and President of the United Church of Christ is the Rev. Dr. Karen Georgia A. Thompson. You can learn more about her by clicking on this Bio of the Rev. Dr. Thompson link. She is pictured here at our 2024 Pennsylvania Southeast Conference with the Rev Dr. Benjamin Motz, who first met her while on a mission trip in Florida, as they were seeking to bring relief aid following the devastation of hurricane Katrina.

To learn more about the United Church of Christ, and the many, many ways in which we serve our God as a denomination, click on this UCC link.