Special Offerings and Basic Support

In addition to the regular programs, the Mission Board also coordinates special offerings throughout the year during the normal CSCC service for the following programs.

One Great Hour of Sharing is the special offering of the United Church of Christ that serves persons with needs resulting from natural disasters and political or economic crises. For more information, see http://www.ucc.org/oghs/.

Neighbors in Need is the all-church offering of the United Church of Christ that expresses our commitment to ministries of justice and compassion in the United States and Puerto Rico, as we speak prophetically to those in power and advocate for the voiceless, see http://www.ucc.org/nin/.

The Christmas Fund, administered by the Pension Boards United Church of Christ, provides Christmas gift checks to low-income retired clergy and their widowed spouses; provides emergency assistance to clergy in financial need; and helps finance the UCC pension and health benefits supplementation plans for low-income retired clergy and lay workers. For online information see http://www.pbucc.org/christmas/intro.html.

Tools of Hope & Blanket Sunday organizes your congregation, group, or workplace to help provide the right "tools" to meet immediate and long-term needs of people in crisis: from blankets, tents, and emergency supplies in the wake of disaster to material assistance, education and training, and small-enterprise loans as part of sustainable development programs. For online information, see www.churchworldservice.org/tools-blankets/index.html.

Our Church’s Wider Mission (OCWM) is the name used to describe the work done by the United Church of Christ beyond the local church–through conferences, national ministries, and UCC-related institutions. Our Church’s Wider Mission is also the name given to the basic financial support given by UCC members and congregations that make this broader mission possible. This basic support constitutes nominally 10% (usually between 10 and 11%) of CSCC operating budget minus the mission board's budget, which does not include the special offerings. About 50% of this basic support goes to the Vermont Conference, and the other 50% goes to the National UCC. For amore detailed description of the use of these funds, please refer to the web site: http://www.ucc.org/ocwm/.