Storrs Congregational Church-UCC Becomes “Just Peace” Church

[[Storrs]] Storrs Congregational Church UCC has become one of four Connecticut congregations within the United Church of Christ to become a “Just Peace” church.

The congregation voted unanimously to adopt this formal designation at the church’s most recent annual meeting.

The Just Peace movement is a call to non-violent action to alleviate systematic injustice of every kind. It affirms the right of people everywhere in the world to basic needs such as food, healthcare, safe housing, employment, and education.

“In declaring ourselves a Just Peace Church we are committing ourselves to a vision of Christian discipleship that knows it is not enough only to feed the hungry and tend the wounded,” said the Rev. Matthew Emery, the congregation’s senior minister. “Rather, our faith also calls us to try to transform our world so that there are fewer hungry and fewer wounded in the first place.”

The decision to become a Just Peace Church places the Storrs congregation among more than 150 UCC churches nationwide, including one in Mansfield Center and two in New Haven, to attain the Just Peace church status.

A church task force spent nearly five months discussing and drafting a resolution on the measure before presenting it for a vote. The task force engaged the congregation in a conversation on the importance of not only charity—the act of giving to someone in need—but also advocacy, the effort to change the system that created that need.

The resulting Just Peace designation marks the church’s commitment to speak out and take action on pressing social issues such as gun violence, mental health, immigration, war, poverty, the environment, and racial inequality.

“The movement is rooted in the Scriptures,” said the Rev. Nancy McLaren, the church’s Minister for Faith Formation and Discipleship. “For example, peace-making is the topic of more than 30 Bible passages, and loving one’s neighbor is addressed, in various ways, at least 35 times. Moreover, the Bible makes numerous references to welcoming strangers, mentioning the Hebrew word ger, which is similar in concept to the English word immigrant, no fewer than 92 times.”

Noted Emery: “By becoming a Just Peace Church, we renew our commitment to these clear Biblical mandates for practicing peace and justice.”

Other Just Peace Church congregations throughout the country have found unique ways to fulfill the Just Peace mission in their communities.

For example:

• In Oregon, an environmentally minded Just Peace congregation decided to sell three acres of its land at a deep discount in order to ensure that a local park district could develop the land as a regional park.
• In Florida, a Just Peace congregation initiated a literacy program to address the local cradle-to-prison pipeline.
• Members of a Just Peace church in Indiana traveled to war-torn Sri Lanka on a peace-making mission, where they found themselves among the few outsiders allowed into the conflict zone. The assemblage subsequently became one of the few faith-based groups positioned to lobby Washington lawmakers on the Sri Lankan people’s behalf.

For more information about these and other Just Peace Church activities, visit the United Church of Christ website at http://www.ucc.org/justice_just-peace

To learn more about the Storrs church’s Just Peace program, contact matt@storrscongchurch.org or call 860.429.9382

The Just Peace ministry team meets on the fourth Tuesday of each month at 7 p.m. in the church’s Parish House, 2 N. Eagleville Road in Storrs. The public is invited to participate.

ABOUT STORRS CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH UCC

Storrs Congregational Church UCC is a welcoming, historic, and progressive Christian community located at 2 North Eagleville Road in Storrs Mansfield, CT.

The congregation has been officially “Open and Affirming” since 1994, meaning that it is committed to accepting into full participation in the life of the church people of any age, economic status, gender, marital status, race, sexual orientation, and physical, emotional and mental capability.

It regularly sponsors outreach activities in the areas of hunger and food justice, homelessness, refugee resettlement, environmental stewardship, and more.