The United Church of Christ

The United Church of Christ is considered by some to be the greatest
achievement of the twentieth century ecumenical movement, a
movement to bring visible unity to various Christian denominations.
The UCC joined two contrasting predecessor bodies, each of which
had merged two other denominations. The motto of the United Church
of Christ, "That They All May Be One, "reflects its distinctiveness as a
united and uniting church.

The UCC itself is a river fed by four denominational streams:

The German Reformed Church
out of which Corinth came - with ties to the Swiss/German Protestant
reformation led by the followers of sixteenth century reformers Ulrich
Zwingli and John Calvin. A wave of German immigration to the new
world in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries flowed mostly
through New York to Pennsylvania before some settlers sought new
land in the fertile river valleys of North Carolina.

• The German Evangelical Church,
  which merged in Germany the Reformed and Lutheran
  traditions in 1817. Immigrants from Germany in the nineteenth
  century were known as "Evangelical" instead of "Reformed" or
  "Lutheran," and settled mostly in the Midwest.
  
  
• The Congregational churches,
  descendants of the Mayflower Pilgrims who sought religious
  freedom and settled in New England before branching out
  across the United States.
  
  
• The Christian churches,
  part of the "restoration" movement c. 1800 which sought to
  restore the simplicity of the New Testament church and
  disavowed any denominational label (Presbyterian, Methodist,
  etc.) except just "Christian."

The Congregational and Christian churches merged in 1931, and
the Evangelical and Reformed synods joined in 1934. Almost
immediately negotiations began that resulted in the UCC merger in
1957.

Today the UCC includes 1.3 million members across the country,
divided into thirty-nine regional "conferences." National
headquarters are in Cleveland, Ohio. The Southern Conference
includes all of North Carolina and the eastern half of Virginia, with
offices in Graham, North Carolina.

The Southern Conference includes three associations - Eastern
Virginia, Eastern North Carolina, and Western North Carolina. The
latter has offices in Salisbury, North Carolina.

The UCC tries to balance the concerns of a "congregational polity"
(church government system which gives freedom and authority to
the local church) and a "connectional polity" (church government
system which recognizes the value of accountability to the wider
church). Ministers are ordained by the association, but hold
membership in the local church. Ministers are called by the local
church and remain in that congregation as long as both pastor and
church wish to continue the relationship.

Because of its diverse background, the UCC includes churches of
many different races, worship styles, theological emphases, and
distinctives. Each local church is unique, and one needs to get to
know a particular local church in order to find out of it can be a
place of mutual ministry for you and your family.

Find out more about Corinth Reformed Church:

What We Believe
Essentials and Non-Essentials: In Search of Unity