As the Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations Committee (EIRC), a joint ministry of the PSWR and Southern California Nevada Conference (SCNC) of the United Church of Christ (UCC), our call is to be a knowledge base and resource for PSWR and SCNC congregations looking to connect to compatible ministries beyond the denomination. As leaders in our churches, we are called to have congenial relationships with the other Christian churches (ecumenical) and other faith groups (interfaith) in our respective communities.
As we have experienced collective trauma this year, first with COVID 19 which saw our congregations ordered out of our buildings and into our homes and onto the internet; and then with the murder of George Floyd by four police officers in Minneapolis; it is more important than ever to engage with our neighbors. Whether it be your next door neighbor with whom you arrange mutual care or the congregation down the street with whom you share community ministry or the interfaith group that serves as the faith presence at government meetings.
As we start to adjust to a new way of being the church, I encourage you to reach out to the EIRC for resources that connect your community to compatible ministries located in other denominations and faith communities around you. If you already do this work in your context, the EIRC wants to hear your stories. Email your inquiries and/or newsletters to rene.joseph.martin@gmail.com and someone will get back to you. You can also reach out directly to members of the EIRC:
Rene Martin (Co-Chair)
Dennis Short (Co-Chair)
Michael Kinnamon
Jeff Utter
Marcia Hoffman
Sally Welch
Elsa Seifert
Yvette Hernandez-Beccera
Mandye Yates
This month we are sharing the newsletter<https://www.grnewsletters.com/archive/ncc_newsletter/NCC-Newsletter-Seeing-Hope-771240005.html> for the National Council of Churches<https://nationalcouncilofchurches.us/>.
In it, you will see what our partners in Christ are doing at the national level; being the church God calls us to be.