Southeast Conference, United Church of Christ
Encyclopedia
The Southeast Conference of the United Church of Christ
is the regional body of the United Church of Christ within the states of Alabama
, northwestern Florida
, Georgia
, Mississippi
, South Carolina
, and Tennessee
(except the city of Memphis
). Headquartered in Atlanta, the conference's executive (Conference Minister) is the Rev. Dr. Timothy C. Downs.
This conference bears the strong heritages of several missionary efforts, dating back to the postbellum period of the late 19th century, although one church was founded as early as 1681. At least half of the cumulative membership of the Conference's churches is African-American, reflecting the mission work of the American Missionary Association
, as well as more recent church planting targeting that constituency. Although historically a mission territory and among the smaller conferences in the denomination, the Southeast Conference is beginning to see signs of growth, encouraged by an aggressive campaign to instigate new congregations and an increasing emphasis on peace and justice witness programs.
In addition to the conference minister, several associate conference ministers implement programming to provide educational, youth, and evangelistic ministries for the churches. The Conference holds its annual meeting every June, and is governed by a board of directors between those meetings. The board consists of officers and representatives elected by delegates to the annual meeting, themselves in turn elected or appointed by the local congregations. For the 2010–2012 term, Ginny Nixon, of Community Church, Pleasant Hill, Tennessee
, is moderator.
, which several clergy and churches fervently supported and/or played an active role in.
The different heritages were:
. In some cases, former Union
officers returned to territories they had conquered to aid the emancipated new citizens. Among those institutions still existing today are Fisk University
(Tennessee), Atlanta University (now Clark Atlanta University
, Georgia), Talladega College
(Alabama), and Tougaloo College
(Mississippi).
Alongside their activities in educating, many of the teachers, who were often Congregational pastors, founded churches for the freed people. A large number of them were founded in the beginning, but only 15 still remain in the Conference today. AMA congregations in the Southeast and South-Central states joined with "Afro-Christian" churches in North Carolina
and Virginia
to form the Convention of the South in 1950; that body was dismantled to distribute the congregations into their proper UCC geographical jurisdictions, ending segregation.
In the early 2000s, the Conference undertook a program to commemorate the legacy of those congregations and the AMA, titled "Rekindle the Gift." The Rev. Joyce Hollyday, then Associate Conference Minister and a former associate editor of Sojourners Magazine
, wrote a book in 2005 examining the AMA's past and the existing congregations' recollections and hopes, titled On the Heels of Freedom: The American Missionary Association's Bold Campaign to Educate Minds, Open Hearts, and Heal the Soul of a Divided Nation, released by Crossroad Publishing.
The AMA also undertook educational and social work in the mountains of Tennessee and Kentucky
during that period, operating several schools for Euro-American Appalachian youngsters, with some churches alongside them as well.
, emerged in the Chattahoochee River
valley of western Georgia and eastern Alabama in the mid-19th century with a number of congregations espousing the "five points" of Christian unity. This group later founded Southern Union College
in Wadley, Alabama
, now a part of the Alabama state junior/community college system. Most of their congregations were located in the open country and reflected the population's general preferences for Wesleyan
/Arminian theology and revivalism, typical of the rural South generally. Two institutions related to the Christian tradition, Elon College (now University
) and Elon Homes for Children, both located in North Carolina, received considerable financial support over the years from these churches.
Although a number of the churches in this group initially supported the UCC and the Conference in the 1960s and 1970s, most later reconsidered those commitments, in large measure due to increasing theological and political disagreements (instigated in part by pastors who came to those churches from other traditions) with those congregations in the metropolitan areas, especially over the issue of homosexuality
. Only one congregation from this tradition is known to remain affiliated with the UCC, but remnant members of some of the defecting congregations formed a new one in 2006, located in Chambers County, Alabama
.
Millard Fuller
, founder of Habitat for Humanity, grew up in the Congregational Christian Church of Lanett, Alabama
, a church which was affiliated with the Christian, Congregational Christian, and UCC tradition until 2010.
. Pockets of strength for this movement included northwestern, central, and southeastern Alabama; west central, south central, and northeastern Georgia; and the "Panhandle" region of northwestern Florida.
According to the book Southern Congregational Churches, self-published by UCC pastor and amateur historian Richard Taylor in 1994, the Congregational Methodist-heritage churches usually espoused extremely individualistic views, frequently opposing missionary societies and Sunday schools, very much akin to the Primitive Baptists and the Churches of Christ, two other groups that developed in the rural South during that same time. Therefore, they never developed close relations with Congregationalists in other parts of the U.S., since these stances were almost entirely opposite those honored in Congregational churches in most other regions, where education and mission work were held in very high regard.
Those churches not participating in this affiliation move (including some who recanted their earlier decisions to join the Congregationalists) constituted the Congregational Methodist Church
, a small evangelical denomination headquartered in Mississippi
. As with the Christians, nearly all of the Congregational Methodist-derived congregations eventually left the UCC over a period from the 1960s until the early 1990s, largely over the same theological and cultural disputes with denominational and Conference leadership. Only three of them remain in the UCC as of 2010, two in Alabama and one in Georgia.
, namely the Baptists, Methodists, and Presbyterians. Migration of Northern Congregationalists to the South helped start several churches, often in close proximity to Euro-American colleges and universities (e.g., Vanderbilt University
, Piedmont College
). In a few cases, however, parts of established congregations withdrew to form Congregational churches in protest over doctrinal rigidity and/or lifestyle restrictions. These churches were located in cities such as Atlanta and Nashville; subsequent UCC new church starts in the Conference (e.g., Huntsville, Alabama
and suburban Atlanta) have generally modeled themselves after this group, which has provided the dominant ethos to the UCC nationally ever since its inception.
By the mid-20th century, these became among the first Euro-American churches in the region to protest racial segregation and deeply involve themselves with advocating on African-Americans' behalf. And, since the 1990s especially, several of these have become ardent supporters of gay rights and have endorsed a stance to refrain from denying membership to those professing alternative sexual orientations, a move against the dominant social attitudes in the region.
Generally speaking, congregations in this group are the most aware of, and loyal to, the larger UCC, and are usually the most generous givers to Conference and national work. One reason for this is a high number of them have a significant percentage of members who previously belonged to UCC congregations elsewhere in the U.S., members who tend to be not only more aware of the denomination's heritage and program, but translate that knowledge into active support.
came, via Cincinnati, Ohio
and Louisville, Kentucky
, to northern Alabama and founded the town of Cullman
, starting a church of the unionist Evangelical
tradition; German immigrants to nearby Birmingham
established a sister congregation there also. Meanwhile, some farmers from Switzerland
, facing grave land shortages, responded to an advertisement in the 1870s offering farmland in Tennessee. Despite the fact that it amounted to a scheme to populate mountainous, infertile areas, the farmers (many of them dairymen) persevered, and some established Reformed parishes along the lines of the Swiss Protestant faith, several (only one survives) in southern middle Tennessee, and one in Nashville. As of today, only the Tennessee congregations remain affiliated with the UCC; the Alabama churches withdrew, led out in both cases by fundamentalist pastors in the same manner as most of the Christian- and Congregational Methodist-heritage congregations have been.
movement, the Southeast was one of the last regions in the country where all UCC congregations within its boundaries came together into one judicatory. Much of the immediate controversy was precipitated by a resolution from the Fourth General Synod, meeting in Denver, Colorado, in July 1963, that called for the termination of financial support for churches and institutions that practiced racial segregation
and encouraged other UCC entities to do likewise. Only the adjoining Southern Conference, consisting of churches in North Carolina
and southeastern Virginia
, experienced difficulty organizing because of this, other than the Southeast.
After a failed attempt in 1964, the Southeast Convention, by a vote of only 54 percent, agreed to receive churches from the Congregational Christian (UCC) Convention of the South (African-American) and the southernmost congregations of the South Indiana Evangelical and Reformed Synod (the main portion of which became the Indiana-Kentucky Conference, UCC). This occurred at the Convention's annual meeting on April 24, 1965 at Central Congregational Church, Atlanta. The agreement brought the conference officially into being on January 1, 1966. On April 23 of that year, meeting at First United Church (Evangelical and Reformed), Nashville
, annual meeting delegates adopted a constitution, consummating the process. The first officers of the new conference were the Rev. Frederick A. Meyer, pastor, Central Church, Atlanta, moderator; Mr. J. Hubert Richter, member, St. John's (Evangelical Protestant) UCC, Cullman, Alabama
, vice-moderator; Miss Ellen Hull, member, Langdale Congregational Christian Church, Valley, Alabama
, recording secretary; Mr. Leslie Beall, member, Central Church, Atlanta, treasurer. The board of directors consisted of association representatives and chairpeople of commissions elected at large; initially, the conference consisted of nine associations, but that number dropped to six by the early 1970s due to several of them merging.
Meanwhile, Conference staff and leaders, espousing the predominantly liberal outlook of the denomination, made extraordinary efforts to encourage churches to pursue aims such as advocating for peace in Vietnam
, improved racial relations, and formulating a more articulate and relevant faith for the needs of the younger generations. This was particularly remarkable because Conference ministers, and associates, undertook these aims in addition to the daunting task of servicing the needs of churches spread over a seven-state region, which entailed much time and expense in travel and meetings distant from the Atlanta headquarters. Some churches were quite enthusiastic about all of these programs, engaging in experimental ministries and worship; others, mostly those outside the major metropolitan areas, resisted what they saw as an intrusion upon their traditions and autonomy, and these gradually began keeping to themselves, often only supporting their associations or customary benevolences. By the 1990s, many congregations simply decided to withdraw and form their own groupings or, just as often, become totally independent, a trait increasingly noticeable also among recently-established churches of fundamentalist or charismatic persuasion in the region. Those moves reduced the six associations down to the present four.
As with most UCC conferences, most of the Southeast Conference's current congregations antedate the 1957 union that formed the denomination. Until about the late 1990s, the Conference was either financially unable to support significant church expansion or experienced great frustration and lack of success on those projects it did enter into. Most of these have been centered in the metropolitan Atlanta area, where demographic experts have perceived the greatest patterns of growth. Even more problematic was the fact that the Conference was dependent for many years on national subsidies simply to operate on a "maintenance" mode, let alone venture into expensive church building programs. Of course, the denomination was hindered by its lack of name recognition in the South (or, worse even, its confusion with the Churches of Christ, an entirely different evangelical Protestant tradition).
But, after years of decline and loss of disgruntled churches (which were mostly located in rural Alabama and Georgia), the Conference began to turn a corner in the 1990s, as it made an intentional effort to market its peculiar blend of evangelism and social justice witness to both its existing congregations (through renewal programs) and especially individuals and churches disaffected from their historic traditions (e.g., Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians, and non-denominational predominantly-gay groups). The Conference, and some of its churches, has recently made particularly effective use of the UCC "God Is Still Speaking,
" branding campaign. In 2006, the conference launched a major church-planting campaign called the "Nehemiah
Initiative", led by two associate conference ministers. This, in turn, has evolved into a new non-profit agency, the Center for Progressive Renewal, supported by the Conference, the UCC Local Church Ministries division, and the Cathedral of Hope (UCC) in Dallas, Texas
.
. A resolution passed by synod delegates affirming the right of gay and lesbian persons to marry instantly drew national media attention, as this made the UCC the first traditional Protestant denomination in the U.S. to publicly espouse such a stand.
Aside from the generated publicity, two Conference members played noteworthy roles at that Synod: Dr. Annie Wynn Neal, an administrator at Meharry Medical College
in Nashville (member, Howard Congregational Church) acted as one of two vice-moderators of Synod; and Milton Hurst, former Synod moderator, longtime Conference leader and pastor of First Congregational Church, Talladega, Alabama
, gave a stirring speech recalling his grandfather, born into slavery in rural Alabama, telling stories about the racial discrimination and violence he witnessed and suffered. Mr. Hurst did this to recognize the culmination of the Conference's "Rekindle the Gift" project, on which he worked as a consultant. Sadly, one month after Synod, Mr. Hurst died at his Birmingham
residence from injuries sustained in a fall.
1) The Alabama-Mississippi Association, consisting of the AMA-heritage churches in both states, most of which grew alongside the academies and colleges founded by missionaries from that organization in the late 19th century.
2) The Alabama-Tennessee Region of the Evangelical and Reformed Church, founded in 1952 as a division of the South Indiana E&R Synod. The four churches in this body briefly affiliated, by default, with the Indiana-Kentucky Conference (Kentuckiana Association) of the UCC (the legal successor of the South Indiana Synod) from 1963 through 1965.
3) The Kentucky-Tennessee Association, which included Euro-American congregations in both states (the Kentucky churches were located in the mountainous southeastern corner of that state, all of which have since closed or joined other denominations) from 1915 through 1965.
4) Three congregations of the North Alabama Association, which consisted of Euro-American congregations in Alabama from Birmingham northward. Most churches in this group, which derived overwhelmingly from the Congregational Methodist tradition, did not approve of this arrangement for cultural and theological reasons and remained in the earlier body, until they withdrew from the UCC in a group action, circa 1990.
5) The Tennessee-Kentucky Association, the African-American (mostly AMA) counterpart of the K-T Association, along with Trinity Church in Athens, Alabama
. This association once included congregations in Little Rock, Arkansas
, Lexington, Kentucky
, Louisville, Kentucky
, and Memphis, Tennessee
, all of which had joined other UCC judicatories by the early 1960s.
The Rev. Gary Myers, pastor, Trinity Congregational Church, Athens, Ala., serves currently as moderator.
. Most of these churches were found in rural locations and originated from the "Christian Connection" movement.
Only four congregations remain members of this association, and its future as of 2011 is uncertain. The Rev. Wayde Washburn, pastor, Sandy Creek UCC, LaFayette, Ala., is moderator.
Like the nearby EA-WG Association, the Euro-American GSC group had a predominantly rural, evangelical-oriented constituency (predominantly Congregational Methodist), which often found itself at odds with Central Congregational Church in Atlanta. However, with several new missions in metropolitan Atlanta bearing Central's influence, support for liberal causes grew among the better part of the churches, and disaffected conservative congregations began leaving.
Meanwhile, the African-American grouping, who used the same name as the Euro-American body, began moving closer to the Euro-American GSC by ecumenical contacts initiated by several strong pastors, notably the Rev. Homer C. McEwen of First Congregational in Atlanta and the Rev. John Enwright of Plymouth Congregational in Charleston, S.C.
By 1967, the two associations were meeting jointly and working together, enabling a smooth merger two years later.
This association is located in one of the fastest-growing parts of the U.S., and has received several new congregations into its ranks since 2000, most notably the 5,000-plus-member Victory Church, an African-American congregation in Stone Mountain, Ga.
, an Atlanta suburb. Two other congregations in the Atlanta area are jointly affiliated with the Alliance of Baptists
, a liberal breakaway group from the Southern Baptist Convention
.
Mr. Cornelius Watts, Jr., First Congregational Church, Atlanta, serves currently as moderator.
and the Florida
Gulf Coast
that came from the Congregational Methodist tradition. By 2000, all but two churches had departed, and the Association stopped holding meetings. The churches continue to relate to the UCC and the Conference, however, albeit nominally.
(AT)--Alabama-Tennessee Association
(EW)--East Alabama-West Georgia Association
(GS)--Georgia-South Carolina Association
(SN)--South Alabama-Northwest Florida Association (no longer functioning)
*--indicates congregation endorses the "Open and Affirming" program of the UCC Coalition for Gay, Lesbian
, Bisexual and Transgender
Concerns, a recognized affinity group.
#--indicates congregation derived from AMA heritage.
$--indicates congregation in process of applying for membership to the association.
Several other existing congregations from other traditions and new church starts have been forecast by Conference officials as prospective members in the near future.
United Church of Christ
The United Church of Christ is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination primarily in the Reformed tradition but also historically influenced by Lutheranism. The Evangelical and Reformed Church and the Congregational Christian Churches united in 1957 to form the UCC...
is the regional body of the United Church of Christ within the states of Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
, northwestern Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
, Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
, South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
, and Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
(except the city of Memphis
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
). Headquartered in Atlanta, the conference's executive (Conference Minister) is the Rev. Dr. Timothy C. Downs.
This conference bears the strong heritages of several missionary efforts, dating back to the postbellum period of the late 19th century, although one church was founded as early as 1681. At least half of the cumulative membership of the Conference's churches is African-American, reflecting the mission work of the American Missionary Association
American Missionary Association
The American Missionary Association was a Protestant-based abolitionist group founded on September 3, 1846 in Albany, New York. The main purpose of this organization was to abolish slavery, to educate African Americans, to promote racial equality, and to promote Christian values...
, as well as more recent church planting targeting that constituency. Although historically a mission territory and among the smaller conferences in the denomination, the Southeast Conference is beginning to see signs of growth, encouraged by an aggressive campaign to instigate new congregations and an increasing emphasis on peace and justice witness programs.
In addition to the conference minister, several associate conference ministers implement programming to provide educational, youth, and evangelistic ministries for the churches. The Conference holds its annual meeting every June, and is governed by a board of directors between those meetings. The board consists of officers and representatives elected by delegates to the annual meeting, themselves in turn elected or appointed by the local congregations. For the 2010–2012 term, Ginny Nixon, of Community Church, Pleasant Hill, Tennessee
Pleasant Hill, Tennessee
Pleasant Hill is a town in Cumberland County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 563 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Pleasant Hill is located at ....
, is moderator.
Heritage and predecessors
Although the Southeast Conference as a legal entity dates back only to 1966, it had several predecessors whose separate histories had to be reconciled in the new body. This work coincided almost precisely with the social ferment and upheavals of the Civil Rights MovementCivil rights movement
The civil rights movement was a worldwide political movement for equality before the law occurring between approximately 1950 and 1980. In many situations it took the form of campaigns of civil resistance aimed at achieving change by nonviolent forms of resistance. In some situations it was...
, which several clergy and churches fervently supported and/or played an active role in.
The different heritages were:
American Missionary Association
As mentioned above, the American Missionary Association planted numerous academies and colleges for those African-Americans freed from slavery by virtue of the South's defeat in the American Civil WarAmerican Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. In some cases, former Union
Union (American Civil War)
During the American Civil War, the Union was a name used to refer to the federal government of the United States, which was supported by the twenty free states and five border slave states. It was opposed by 11 southern slave states that had declared a secession to join together to form the...
officers returned to territories they had conquered to aid the emancipated new citizens. Among those institutions still existing today are Fisk University
Fisk University
Fisk University is an historically black university founded in 1866 in Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. The world-famous Fisk Jubilee Singers started as a group of students who performed to earn enough money to save the school at a critical time of financial shortages. They toured to raise funds to...
(Tennessee), Atlanta University (now Clark Atlanta University
Clark Atlanta University
Clark Atlanta University is a private, historically black university in Atlanta, Georgia. It was formed in 1988 with the consolidation of Clark College and Atlanta University...
, Georgia), Talladega College
Talladega College
- External Links :* -- Official web site*...
(Alabama), and Tougaloo College
Tougaloo College
Tougaloo College is a private, co-educational, liberal arts institution of higher education founded in 1869, in Madison County, north of Jackson, Mississippi, USA.Academically, Tougaloo College has received high ranks in recent years...
(Mississippi).
Alongside their activities in educating, many of the teachers, who were often Congregational pastors, founded churches for the freed people. A large number of them were founded in the beginning, but only 15 still remain in the Conference today. AMA congregations in the Southeast and South-Central states joined with "Afro-Christian" churches in North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
and Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
to form the Convention of the South in 1950; that body was dismantled to distribute the congregations into their proper UCC geographical jurisdictions, ending segregation.
In the early 2000s, the Conference undertook a program to commemorate the legacy of those congregations and the AMA, titled "Rekindle the Gift." The Rev. Joyce Hollyday, then Associate Conference Minister and a former associate editor of Sojourners Magazine
Sojourners Magazine
Sojourners magazine, a progressive monthly publication of the Christian social justice organization Sojourners, was first published in 1971 under the original title of The Post-American. The magazine publishes editorials and articles on Christian life, the church and the world, Christianity and...
, wrote a book in 2005 examining the AMA's past and the existing congregations' recollections and hopes, titled On the Heels of Freedom: The American Missionary Association's Bold Campaign to Educate Minds, Open Hearts, and Heal the Soul of a Divided Nation, released by Crossroad Publishing.
The AMA also undertook educational and social work in the mountains of Tennessee and Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
during that period, operating several schools for Euro-American Appalachian youngsters, with some churches alongside them as well.
Christian Connection in Alabama and Georgia
The "Christian Connection," a group of churches loosely associated with the Restoration MovementRestoration Movement
The Restoration Movement is a Christian movement that began on the American frontier during the Second Great Awakening of the early 19th century...
, emerged in the Chattahoochee River
Chattahoochee River
The Chattahoochee River flows through or along the borders of the U.S. states of Georgia, Alabama, and Florida. It is a tributary of the Apalachicola River, a relatively short river formed by the confluence of the Chattahoochee and Flint Rivers and emptying into Apalachicola Bay in the Gulf of...
valley of western Georgia and eastern Alabama in the mid-19th century with a number of congregations espousing the "five points" of Christian unity. This group later founded Southern Union College
Southern Union State Community College
For the pipeline company, see Southern UnionSouthern Union State Community College is a public, two-year college located in Wadley, Alabama, USA...
in Wadley, Alabama
Wadley, Alabama
Wadley is a town in Randolph County, Alabama, United States. It is home to the Wadley campus of Southern Union State Community College. As of the 2000 census, the population of the town is 640.-Geography:Wadley is located at ....
, now a part of the Alabama state junior/community college system. Most of their congregations were located in the open country and reflected the population's general preferences for Wesleyan
John Wesley
John Wesley was a Church of England cleric and Christian theologian. Wesley is largely credited, along with his brother Charles Wesley, as founding the Methodist movement which began when he took to open-air preaching in a similar manner to George Whitefield...
/Arminian theology and revivalism, typical of the rural South generally. Two institutions related to the Christian tradition, Elon College (now University
Elon University
Elon University is a private liberal arts university in Elon, North Carolina, United States. Formerly known as Elon College, it became Elon University on June 1, 2001. The campus is a botanical garden and features oak trees, brick sidewalks, fountains, and lakes...
) and Elon Homes for Children, both located in North Carolina, received considerable financial support over the years from these churches.
Although a number of the churches in this group initially supported the UCC and the Conference in the 1960s and 1970s, most later reconsidered those commitments, in large measure due to increasing theological and political disagreements (instigated in part by pastors who came to those churches from other traditions) with those congregations in the metropolitan areas, especially over the issue of homosexuality
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
. Only one congregation from this tradition is known to remain affiliated with the UCC, but remnant members of some of the defecting congregations formed a new one in 2006, located in Chambers County, Alabama
Chambers County, Alabama
Chambers County is a county of the U.S. state of Alabama. Its name is in honor of Henry H. Chambers, who served as a United States Senator from Alabama. As of 2010 the population was 34,215. Its county seat is Lafayette...
.
Millard Fuller
Millard Fuller
Millard Dean Fuller was the founder and former president of Habitat for Humanity International, a nonprofit organization known globally for building houses for those in need, and the founder and former president of The Fuller Center for Housing...
, founder of Habitat for Humanity, grew up in the Congregational Christian Church of Lanett, Alabama
Lanett, Alabama
Lanett is a city in Chambers County, Alabama, United States. At the 2000 census the population was 7,897. Lanett, originally called Bluffton, is located in eastern Alabama, on the Chattahoochee River, southwest of Atlanta, Georgia...
, a church which was affiliated with the Christian, Congregational Christian, and UCC tradition until 2010.
Congregational Methodist acquisition
Among Euro-American residents of Alabama and Georgia in the late 19th-century, some members of the Methodist faith began opposing the rise in power of the superintendents who began calling themselves "bishops." They desired local control, particularly the ability to call their own pastors, rather than have them appointed, without their consent. When some of these individuals and churches left the main Methodist body in the 1850s, a few of them later joined the Congregational fellowship in the 1880s and 1890s, recruited by agents of the American Home Missionary Society seeking a presence for Congregationalism in the SouthSouthern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
. Pockets of strength for this movement included northwestern, central, and southeastern Alabama; west central, south central, and northeastern Georgia; and the "Panhandle" region of northwestern Florida.
According to the book Southern Congregational Churches, self-published by UCC pastor and amateur historian Richard Taylor in 1994, the Congregational Methodist-heritage churches usually espoused extremely individualistic views, frequently opposing missionary societies and Sunday schools, very much akin to the Primitive Baptists and the Churches of Christ, two other groups that developed in the rural South during that same time. Therefore, they never developed close relations with Congregationalists in other parts of the U.S., since these stances were almost entirely opposite those honored in Congregational churches in most other regions, where education and mission work were held in very high regard.
Those churches not participating in this affiliation move (including some who recanted their earlier decisions to join the Congregationalists) constituted the Congregational Methodist Church
Congregational Methodist Church
The Congregational Methodist Church is a Christian denomination located primarily in the southern United States and northeastern Mexico. It is within the Holiness movement and has its theological roots in the Wesleyan teachings of John Wesley....
, a small evangelical denomination headquartered in Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
. As with the Christians, nearly all of the Congregational Methodist-derived congregations eventually left the UCC over a period from the 1960s until the early 1990s, largely over the same theological and cultural disputes with denominational and Conference leadership. Only three of them remain in the UCC as of 2010, two in Alabama and one in Georgia.
Congregationalism as liberal alternative
Probably the most active of the several groups that formed the Southeast Conference were those Congregational churches founded, mostly in the early 20th century, as theologically liberal, socially tolerant alternatives to the dominant expressions of Southern ProtestantismProtestantism
Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...
, namely the Baptists, Methodists, and Presbyterians. Migration of Northern Congregationalists to the South helped start several churches, often in close proximity to Euro-American colleges and universities (e.g., Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University is a private research university located in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, the university is named for shipping and rail magnate "Commodore" Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided Vanderbilt its initial $1 million endowment despite having never been to the...
, Piedmont College
Piedmont College
Piedmont College is a private liberal arts institution founded in 1897 to serve residents of the Appalachian area of northeast Georgia, USA. When the college was first founded, it was established as the J.S. Green Collegiate Institute named after a local banker. In 1899, the name was shortened to...
). In a few cases, however, parts of established congregations withdrew to form Congregational churches in protest over doctrinal rigidity and/or lifestyle restrictions. These churches were located in cities such as Atlanta and Nashville; subsequent UCC new church starts in the Conference (e.g., Huntsville, Alabama
Huntsville, Alabama
Huntsville is a city located primarily in Madison County in the central part of the far northern region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Huntsville is the county seat of Madison County. The city extends west into neighboring Limestone County. Huntsville's population was 180,105 as of the 2010 Census....
and suburban Atlanta) have generally modeled themselves after this group, which has provided the dominant ethos to the UCC nationally ever since its inception.
By the mid-20th century, these became among the first Euro-American churches in the region to protest racial segregation and deeply involve themselves with advocating on African-Americans' behalf. And, since the 1990s especially, several of these have become ardent supporters of gay rights and have endorsed a stance to refrain from denying membership to those professing alternative sexual orientations, a move against the dominant social attitudes in the region.
Generally speaking, congregations in this group are the most aware of, and loyal to, the larger UCC, and are usually the most generous givers to Conference and national work. One reason for this is a high number of them have a significant percentage of members who previously belonged to UCC congregations elsewhere in the U.S., members who tend to be not only more aware of the denomination's heritage and program, but translate that knowledge into active support.
Euro-American Congregational Christian bodies
In the late 19th century, churches in the above three categories formed state conferences in Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, and Tennessee. The Alabama conference included churches in northwestern Florida, and the Tennessee conference included African-American churches prior to 1915. Because none of the conferences was able to support a full-time superintendent (now known as conference minister, in the UCC) to itself, the conferences united in 1949 and became the Southeast Convention, with only minor adjustments to the territorial boundaries. This body had three superintendents:- The Rev. Dr. David W. Shepherd, 1949-1952
- The Rev. Erston M. Butterfield, 1952-1957
- The Rev. James H. Lightbourne, Jr., 1957-1965
Evangelical and Reformed, German and Swiss
After the Civil War, a group of settlers from GermanyGermany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
came, via Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...
and Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
, to northern Alabama and founded the town of Cullman
Cullman, Alabama
Cullman is a city in Cullman County, State of Alabama. Cullman is located along Interstate 65, about north of Birmingham, and about south of Huntsville. According to the U.S...
, starting a church of the unionist Evangelical
Evangelical Synod of North America
The Evangelical Synod of North America, before 1927 German Evangelical Synod of North America, in German Evangelische Synode von Nord-Amerika, was a Protestant Christian denomination in the United States existing from the mid-19th century until its 1934 merger with the Reformed Church in the...
tradition; German immigrants to nearby Birmingham
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
established a sister congregation there also. Meanwhile, some farmers from Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, facing grave land shortages, responded to an advertisement in the 1870s offering farmland in Tennessee. Despite the fact that it amounted to a scheme to populate mountainous, infertile areas, the farmers (many of them dairymen) persevered, and some established Reformed parishes along the lines of the Swiss Protestant faith, several (only one survives) in southern middle Tennessee, and one in Nashville. As of today, only the Tennessee congregations remain affiliated with the UCC; the Alabama churches withdrew, led out in both cases by fundamentalist pastors in the same manner as most of the Christian- and Congregational Methodist-heritage congregations have been.
History, 1966-present
In large measure, the Southeast Conference was the product of the determination of national and regional leaders to comply with the mandate from the denomination's General Synod to align inter-church relationships according to geography instead of racial and ethnic groupings inherited from the past. Because of differences among the churches and pastors in the Euro-American Southeast Convention regarding the denomination's involvement in the Civil RightsCivil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
movement, the Southeast was one of the last regions in the country where all UCC congregations within its boundaries came together into one judicatory. Much of the immediate controversy was precipitated by a resolution from the Fourth General Synod, meeting in Denver, Colorado, in July 1963, that called for the termination of financial support for churches and institutions that practiced racial segregation
Racial segregation
Racial segregation is the separation of humans into racial groups in daily life. It may apply to activities such as eating in a restaurant, drinking from a water fountain, using a public toilet, attending school, going to the movies, or in the rental or purchase of a home...
and encouraged other UCC entities to do likewise. Only the adjoining Southern Conference, consisting of churches in North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
and southeastern Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, experienced difficulty organizing because of this, other than the Southeast.
After a failed attempt in 1964, the Southeast Convention, by a vote of only 54 percent, agreed to receive churches from the Congregational Christian (UCC) Convention of the South (African-American) and the southernmost congregations of the South Indiana Evangelical and Reformed Synod (the main portion of which became the Indiana-Kentucky Conference, UCC). This occurred at the Convention's annual meeting on April 24, 1965 at Central Congregational Church, Atlanta. The agreement brought the conference officially into being on January 1, 1966. On April 23 of that year, meeting at First United Church (Evangelical and Reformed), Nashville
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
, annual meeting delegates adopted a constitution, consummating the process. The first officers of the new conference were the Rev. Frederick A. Meyer, pastor, Central Church, Atlanta, moderator; Mr. J. Hubert Richter, member, St. John's (Evangelical Protestant) UCC, Cullman, Alabama
Cullman, Alabama
Cullman is a city in Cullman County, State of Alabama. Cullman is located along Interstate 65, about north of Birmingham, and about south of Huntsville. According to the U.S...
, vice-moderator; Miss Ellen Hull, member, Langdale Congregational Christian Church, Valley, Alabama
Valley, Alabama
Valley is a city steeped in tradition in Chambers County, Alabama, United States. Valley was incorporated in 1980 combining the four textile mill villages of Fairfax, Langdale, Riverview, and Shawmut...
, recording secretary; Mr. Leslie Beall, member, Central Church, Atlanta, treasurer. The board of directors consisted of association representatives and chairpeople of commissions elected at large; initially, the conference consisted of nine associations, but that number dropped to six by the early 1970s due to several of them merging.
Meanwhile, Conference staff and leaders, espousing the predominantly liberal outlook of the denomination, made extraordinary efforts to encourage churches to pursue aims such as advocating for peace in Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
, improved racial relations, and formulating a more articulate and relevant faith for the needs of the younger generations. This was particularly remarkable because Conference ministers, and associates, undertook these aims in addition to the daunting task of servicing the needs of churches spread over a seven-state region, which entailed much time and expense in travel and meetings distant from the Atlanta headquarters. Some churches were quite enthusiastic about all of these programs, engaging in experimental ministries and worship; others, mostly those outside the major metropolitan areas, resisted what they saw as an intrusion upon their traditions and autonomy, and these gradually began keeping to themselves, often only supporting their associations or customary benevolences. By the 1990s, many congregations simply decided to withdraw and form their own groupings or, just as often, become totally independent, a trait increasingly noticeable also among recently-established churches of fundamentalist or charismatic persuasion in the region. Those moves reduced the six associations down to the present four.
As with most UCC conferences, most of the Southeast Conference's current congregations antedate the 1957 union that formed the denomination. Until about the late 1990s, the Conference was either financially unable to support significant church expansion or experienced great frustration and lack of success on those projects it did enter into. Most of these have been centered in the metropolitan Atlanta area, where demographic experts have perceived the greatest patterns of growth. Even more problematic was the fact that the Conference was dependent for many years on national subsidies simply to operate on a "maintenance" mode, let alone venture into expensive church building programs. Of course, the denomination was hindered by its lack of name recognition in the South (or, worse even, its confusion with the Churches of Christ, an entirely different evangelical Protestant tradition).
But, after years of decline and loss of disgruntled churches (which were mostly located in rural Alabama and Georgia), the Conference began to turn a corner in the 1990s, as it made an intentional effort to market its peculiar blend of evangelism and social justice witness to both its existing congregations (through renewal programs) and especially individuals and churches disaffected from their historic traditions (e.g., Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians, and non-denominational predominantly-gay groups). The Conference, and some of its churches, has recently made particularly effective use of the UCC "God Is Still Speaking,
God is still speaking,
"God is still speaking," also known as "The Stillspeaking Initiative", is the name of the identity, branding, and advertising campaign of the United Church of Christ that was launched in 2002....
" branding campaign. In 2006, the conference launched a major church-planting campaign called the "Nehemiah
Nehemiah
Nehemiah ]]," Standard Hebrew Nəḥemya, Tiberian Hebrew Nəḥemyāh) is the central figure of the Book of Nehemiah, which describes his work rebuilding Jerusalem and purifying the Jewish community. He was the son of Hachaliah, Nehemiah ]]," Standard Hebrew Nəḥemya, Tiberian Hebrew Nəḥemyāh) is the...
Initiative", led by two associate conference ministers. This, in turn, has evolved into a new non-profit agency, the Center for Progressive Renewal, supported by the Conference, the UCC Local Church Ministries division, and the Cathedral of Hope (UCC) in Dallas, Texas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
.
Host of 25th General Synod
From July 1-5, 2005, the Conference played host to the historic 25th General Synod of the UCC, which was held in Atlanta's Georgia World Congress CenterGeorgia World Congress Center
The Georgia World Congress Center or GWCC is the major convention center in Atlanta. It is the fourth-largest convention center in the United States at 3.9 million ft2 and hosts more than a million visitors each year. At the time opened in 1976 the Georgia World Congress Center was the first state...
. A resolution passed by synod delegates affirming the right of gay and lesbian persons to marry instantly drew national media attention, as this made the UCC the first traditional Protestant denomination in the U.S. to publicly espouse such a stand.
Aside from the generated publicity, two Conference members played noteworthy roles at that Synod: Dr. Annie Wynn Neal, an administrator at Meharry Medical College
Meharry Medical College
Meharry Medical College, located in Nashville, Tennessee, United States, is a graduate and professional institution affiliated with the United Methodist Church whose mission is to educate healthcare professionals and scientists. Founded in 1876 as the Medical Department of Central Tennessee...
in Nashville (member, Howard Congregational Church) acted as one of two vice-moderators of Synod; and Milton Hurst, former Synod moderator, longtime Conference leader and pastor of First Congregational Church, Talladega, Alabama
Talladega, Alabama
Talladega is a city in Talladega County, Alabama, United States. At the 2000 census the population was 15,143. The city is the county seat of Talladega County. Talladega is approximately 50 miles east of Birmingham, Alabama....
, gave a stirring speech recalling his grandfather, born into slavery in rural Alabama, telling stories about the racial discrimination and violence he witnessed and suffered. Mr. Hurst did this to recognize the culmination of the Conference's "Rekindle the Gift" project, on which he worked as a consultant. Sadly, one month after Synod, Mr. Hurst died at his Birmingham
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
residence from injuries sustained in a fall.
Conference ministers
- The Rev. Dr. Jesse H. Dollar (interim), 1966
- The Rev. Dr. William J. Andes, 1966-1980
- The Rev. Dr. Emmett O. Floyd, 1980-1987
- The Rev. Horace S. Sills (interim), 1988
- The Rev. Roger D. Knight, 1988-1995
- The Rev. Edwin Melhaff (interim), 1995-1996
- The Rev. Dr. Timothy C. Downs, 1996-present
Associations
As with most conferences in the UCC, the Southeast Conference is composed of several associations.Alabama-Tennessee Association
The Alabama-Tennessee Association was established over a period from 1965 through 1969 from the following bodies:1) The Alabama-Mississippi Association, consisting of the AMA-heritage churches in both states, most of which grew alongside the academies and colleges founded by missionaries from that organization in the late 19th century.
2) The Alabama-Tennessee Region of the Evangelical and Reformed Church, founded in 1952 as a division of the South Indiana E&R Synod. The four churches in this body briefly affiliated, by default, with the Indiana-Kentucky Conference (Kentuckiana Association) of the UCC (the legal successor of the South Indiana Synod) from 1963 through 1965.
3) The Kentucky-Tennessee Association, which included Euro-American congregations in both states (the Kentucky churches were located in the mountainous southeastern corner of that state, all of which have since closed or joined other denominations) from 1915 through 1965.
4) Three congregations of the North Alabama Association, which consisted of Euro-American congregations in Alabama from Birmingham northward. Most churches in this group, which derived overwhelmingly from the Congregational Methodist tradition, did not approve of this arrangement for cultural and theological reasons and remained in the earlier body, until they withdrew from the UCC in a group action, circa 1990.
5) The Tennessee-Kentucky Association, the African-American (mostly AMA) counterpart of the K-T Association, along with Trinity Church in Athens, Alabama
Athens, Alabama
Athens is a city in Limestone County, Alabama, United States. As of the 2000 census, the population of the city is 18,967. According to the 2009 U.S. Census estimates, the city had a population of 24,234...
. This association once included congregations in Little Rock, Arkansas
Little Rock, Arkansas
Little Rock is the capital and the largest city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 699,757 people in the 2010 census...
, Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington is the second-largest city in Kentucky and the 63rd largest in the US. Known as the "Thoroughbred City" and the "Horse Capital of the World", it is located in the heart of Kentucky's Bluegrass region...
, Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
, and Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
, all of which had joined other UCC judicatories by the early 1960s.
The Rev. Gary Myers, pastor, Trinity Congregational Church, Athens, Ala., serves currently as moderator.
East Alabama-West Georgia Association
The East Alabama-West Georgia Association derived from the former Alabama Christian Conference (pre-1930s) and consists of churches in eastern central Alabama and western central Georgia, in the valley of the Chattahoochee RiverChattahoochee River
The Chattahoochee River flows through or along the borders of the U.S. states of Georgia, Alabama, and Florida. It is a tributary of the Apalachicola River, a relatively short river formed by the confluence of the Chattahoochee and Flint Rivers and emptying into Apalachicola Bay in the Gulf of...
. Most of these churches were found in rural locations and originated from the "Christian Connection" movement.
Only four congregations remain members of this association, and its future as of 2011 is uncertain. The Rev. Wayde Washburn, pastor, Sandy Creek UCC, LaFayette, Ala., is moderator.
Georgia-South Carolina Association
The Georgia-South Carolina Association represented a 1969 merger of the two previously racially-defined bodies bearing that name; self-evidently, it contains churches in both states (except for Georgia churches in the East Alabama-West Georgia territory).Like the nearby EA-WG Association, the Euro-American GSC group had a predominantly rural, evangelical-oriented constituency (predominantly Congregational Methodist), which often found itself at odds with Central Congregational Church in Atlanta. However, with several new missions in metropolitan Atlanta bearing Central's influence, support for liberal causes grew among the better part of the churches, and disaffected conservative congregations began leaving.
Meanwhile, the African-American grouping, who used the same name as the Euro-American body, began moving closer to the Euro-American GSC by ecumenical contacts initiated by several strong pastors, notably the Rev. Homer C. McEwen of First Congregational in Atlanta and the Rev. John Enwright of Plymouth Congregational in Charleston, S.C.
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
By 1967, the two associations were meeting jointly and working together, enabling a smooth merger two years later.
This association is located in one of the fastest-growing parts of the U.S., and has received several new congregations into its ranks since 2000, most notably the 5,000-plus-member Victory Church, an African-American congregation in Stone Mountain, Ga.
Stone Mountain, Georgia
Stone Mountain is a city in eastern DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. The population was 5,802 at the 2010 census. It is an outer suburb of the Atlanta Metropolitan Area.-Geography:...
, an Atlanta suburb. Two other congregations in the Atlanta area are jointly affiliated with the Alliance of Baptists
Alliance of Baptists
The Alliance of Baptists is a fellowship of Baptist churches and individuals in the United States. In its theology and social stances, the Alliance is characterized as a progressive or liberal Christian fellowship...
, a liberal breakaway group from the Southern Baptist Convention
Southern Baptist Convention
The Southern Baptist Convention is a United States-based Christian denomination. It is the world's largest Baptist denomination and the largest Protestant body in the United States, with over 16 million members...
.
Mr. Cornelius Watts, Jr., First Congregational Church, Atlanta, serves currently as moderator.
South Alabama-Northwest Florida Association
The South Alabama-Northwest Florida Association was entirely composed of congregations between Montgomery, AlabamaMontgomery, Alabama
Montgomery is the capital of the U.S. state of Alabama, and is the county seat of Montgomery County. It is located on the Alabama River southeast of the center of the state, in the Gulf Coastal Plain. As of the 2010 census, Montgomery had a population of 205,764 making it the second-largest city...
and the Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
Gulf Coast
Gulf Coast of the United States
The Gulf Coast of the United States, sometimes referred to as the Gulf South, South Coast, or 3rd Coast, comprises the coasts of American states that are on the Gulf of Mexico, which includes Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida and are known as the Gulf States...
that came from the Congregational Methodist tradition. By 2000, all but two churches had departed, and the Association stopped holding meetings. The churches continue to relate to the UCC and the Conference, however, albeit nominally.
Currently affiliated churches
LEGEND:(AT)--Alabama-Tennessee Association
(EW)--East Alabama-West Georgia Association
(GS)--Georgia-South Carolina Association
(SN)--South Alabama-Northwest Florida Association (no longer functioning)
*--indicates congregation endorses the "Open and Affirming" program of the UCC Coalition for Gay, Lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
, Bisexual and Transgender
Transgender
Transgender is a general term applied to a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups involving tendencies to vary from culturally conventional gender roles....
Concerns, a recognized affinity group.
#--indicates congregation derived from AMA heritage.
$--indicates congregation in process of applying for membership to the association.
Alabama
- King's Chapel, AlpineTalladega County, AlabamaTalladega County is a county of the U.S. state of Alabama. Talladega is a Muscogee Native American word derived from TVLVTEKE, which means "border town." As of 2010, the population was 82,291...
(AT)# - Trinity Congregational, AthensAthens, AlabamaAthens is a city in Limestone County, Alabama, United States. As of the 2000 census, the population of the city is 18,967. According to the 2009 U.S. Census estimates, the city had a population of 24,234...
(AT)# - Beloved Community, BirminghamBirmingham, AlabamaBirmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
(AT)* - First Congregational Christian, Birmingham (AT)#
- Pilgrim, Birmingham (AT)*
- Liberty Congregational Christian, BrantleyBrantley, AlabamaBrantley is a town in Crenshaw County, Alabama, United States. At the 2000 census the population was 920. It is the home of former NBA stars Chuck Person and Wesley Person.Brantley is located at 31°35'4" North, 86°15'24" West ....
(SN) - New Hope Congregational Christian, ClioClio, AlabamaClio is a city in Barbour County, Alabama, United States. The population was 2,206 at the 2000 census, at which time it was a town. It is the birthplace of former Alabama governor George C. Wallace, as well as Baseball Hall of Famer and current Atlanta Braves broadcaster, Don...
(SN) - United, HuntsvilleHuntsville, AlabamaHuntsville is a city located primarily in Madison County in the central part of the far northern region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Huntsville is the county seat of Madison County. The city extends west into neighboring Limestone County. Huntsville's population was 180,105 as of the 2010 Census....
(AT) - Sandy Creek, LaFayette (EW)
- First Congregational, MarionMarion, AlabamaMarion is the county seat of Perry County, Alabama. As of the 2000 census, the population of the city is 3,511. First called Muckle Ridge, the city was renamed after a hero of the American Revolution, Francis Marion.-Geography:...
(AT)# - Open Table Community, MobileMobile, AlabamaMobile is the third most populous city in the Southern US state of Alabama and is the county seat of Mobile County. It is located on the Mobile River and the central Gulf Coast of the United States. The population within the city limits was 195,111 during the 2010 census. It is the largest...
(AT)$* - Community Congregational, MontgomeryMontgomery, AlabamaMontgomery is the capital of the U.S. state of Alabama, and is the county seat of Montgomery County. It is located on the Alabama River southeast of the center of the state, in the Gulf Coastal Plain. As of the 2010 census, Montgomery had a population of 205,764 making it the second-largest city...
(AT) - First Congregational Christian, Montgomery (AT)#
- Unity, Montgomery (AT)
- First Congregational, TalladegaTalladega, AlabamaTalladega is a city in Talladega County, Alabama, United States. At the 2000 census the population was 15,143. The city is the county seat of Talladega County. Talladega is approximately 50 miles east of Birmingham, Alabama....
(AT)#
Georgia
- Central Congregational, Atlanta (GS)*
- First Congregational, Atlanta (GS)#
- Kirkwood, Atlanta (GS)
- Open Community, Atlanta (GS)--predominantly Korean-American membership
- Praxis, Atlanta (GS)$*
- Rush Memorial Congregational, Atlanta (GS)#
- Sankofa, Atlanta (GS)
- Virginia-Highland (UCC/Alliance of BaptistsAlliance of BaptistsThe Alliance of Baptists is a fellowship of Baptist churches and individuals in the United States. In its theology and social stances, the Alliance is characterized as a progressive or liberal Christian fellowship...
federated), Atlanta (GS)* - Evergreen Congregational, BeachtonGrady County, GeorgiaGrady County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of 2000, the population was 23,659. The 2007 Census Estimate shows a population of 25,042. The county seat is Cairo.- History :...
(GS)# - United Congregational Christian, ColumbusColumbus, GeorgiaColumbus is a city in and the county seat of Muscogee County, Georgia, United States, with which it is consolidated. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 189,885. It is the principal city of the Columbus, Georgia metropolitan area, which, in 2009, had an estimated population of 292,795...
(EW) - UCC, DecaturDecatur, GeorgiaDecatur is a city in, and county seat of, DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. With a population of 19,335 in the 2010 census, the city is sometimes assumed to be larger since multiple zip codes in unincorporated DeKalb County bear the Decatur name...
(GS) - Methodist-Congregational Federated (UCC/United MethodistUnited Methodist ChurchThe United Methodist Church is a Methodist Christian denomination which is both mainline Protestant and evangelical. Founded in 1968 by the union of The Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church, the UMC traces its roots back to the revival movement of John and Charles Wesley...
/NACCCNational Association of Congregational Christian ChurchesThe National Association of Congregational Christian Churches is an association of about 400 churches providing fellowship for and services to churches from the Congregational tradition. The Association maintains its national office in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, a suburb of Milwaukee...
), DemorestDemorest, GeorgiaDemorest is a city in Habersham County, Georgia, United States. The population was 1,465 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Demorest is located at ....
(GS) - Pilgrimage, MariettaMarietta, GeorgiaMarietta is a city located in central Cobb County, Georgia, United States, and is its county seat.As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 56,579, making it one of metro Atlanta's largest suburbs...
(GS)* - Congregational, MidwayMidway, GeorgiaMidway is a city in Liberty County, Georgia, United States. It is a part of the Hinesville-Fort Stewart metropolitan statistical area. Midway is situated near Savannah, Brunswick, St. Simons Island, and Jekyll Island. The population was 1,100 as of the 2000 census.Midway has several museums...
(GS)# - Oak Grove Congregational Christian, Pine Mountain (EW)
- Church of the Savior, RoswellRoswell, GeorgiaRoswell is a city located in northern Fulton County; it is a suburb of northern Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The 2010 Census population was 88,346. It is the eighth largest city in Georgia...
(GS)* - First Congregational, SavannahSavannah, GeorgiaSavannah is the largest city and the county seat of Chatham County, in the U.S. state of Georgia. Established in 1733, the city of Savannah was the colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later the first state capital of Georgia. Today Savannah is an industrial center and an important...
(GS)# - Victory, Stone MountainStone Mountain, GeorgiaStone Mountain is a city in eastern DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. The population was 5,802 at the 2010 census. It is an outer suburb of the Atlanta Metropolitan Area.-Geography:...
(GS) - Bethany Congregational, ThomasvilleThomasville, GeorgiaThomasville is the county seat of Thomas County, Georgia, United States. The city is the second largest in Southwest Georgia after Albany.The city deems itself the City of Roses and holds an annual Rose Festival. The town features plantations open to the public, a historic downtown, a large...
(GS)# - Jones Chapel Congregational Christian, WoodburyWoodbury, GeorgiaWoodbury is a city in Meriwether County, Georgia, United States. The population was 1,184 at the 2000 census.- History :Woodbury is one of the oldest towns in Meriwether County. It grew up about ten miles southeast of Greenville in the late 1820s. It was first named Sandtown for the white sand that...
(EW)
Mississippi
(All churches are members of the Alabama-Tennessee (AT) Association.)- Safe Harbor Family, JacksonJackson, MississippiJackson is the capital and the most populous city of the US state of Mississippi. It is one of two county seats of Hinds County ,. The population of the city declined from 184,256 at the 2000 census to 173,514 at the 2010 census...
- Union, Tougaloo CollegeTougaloo CollegeTougaloo College is a private, co-educational, liberal arts institution of higher education founded in 1869, in Madison County, north of Jackson, Mississippi, USA.Academically, Tougaloo College has received high ranks in recent years...
#
South Carolina
(All churches are members of the Georgia-South Carolina (GS) Association.)- Circular Congregational, CharlestonCharleston, South CarolinaCharleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
*--Conference's oldest church, founded in 1681; see also articleCircular Congregational Church and Parish HouseCircular Congregational Church and Parish House is a church in Charleston, South Carolina that was built in Richardsonian Romanesque style circa 1892 , and its Greek revival-style parish house built in about 1806. The parish house was designed by Robert Mills, along with the original church on the... - Plymouth Congregational, Charleston#
- Peace Congregational, ClemsonClemson, South CarolinaClemson is a college town located in Pickens County in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The population was 11,939 at the 2000 census and center of an urban cluster with a total population of 42,199...
* - Garden of Grace United, ColumbiaColumbia, South CarolinaColumbia is the state capital and largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The population was 129,272 according to the 2010 census. Columbia is the county seat of Richland County, but a portion of the city extends into neighboring Lexington County. The city is the center of a metropolitan...
* - Jubilee, Columbia$
Tennessee
(All churches are members of the Alabama-Tennessee (AT) Association.)- First United (Evangelical and Reformed), BelvidereFranklin County, TennesseeFranklin County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of 2010, the population was 41,052. Its county seat is Winchester.Franklin County is part of the Tullahoma, Tennessee, Micropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
- Pilgrim Congregational, ChattanoogaChattanooga, TennesseeChattanooga is the fourth-largest city in the US state of Tennessee , with a population of 169,887. It is the seat of Hamilton County...
* - United, CookevilleCookeville, TennesseeCookeville is a city in Putnam County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 23,923 at the 2000 census. of Cookeville's population was 30,435, and the combined total of those living in Cookeville's in 2010 was 65,014. It is the county seat of Putnam County and home to Tennessee...
* - Congregational, Deer Lodge#
- Community (UCC/Presbyterian Church (USA)Presbyterian Church (USA)The Presbyterian Church , or PC, is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination in the United States. Part of the Reformed tradition, it is the largest Presbyterian denomination in the U.S...
federated), Fairfield GladeFairfield Glade, TennesseeFairfield Glade, a resort and retirement community, is a census-designated place in Cumberland County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 6,989 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Fairfield Glade is located at .... - Church of the Savior, KnoxvilleKnoxville, TennesseeFounded in 1786, Knoxville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Tennessee, U.S.A., behind Memphis and Nashville, and is the county seat of Knox County. It is the largest city in East Tennessee, and the second-largest city in the Appalachia region...
* - Brookmeade Congregational, NashvilleNashville, TennesseeNashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
* - First United (Evangelical and Reformed), Nashville
- Holy Trinity Community, Nashville*
- Howard Congregational, Nashville#
- Community, Pleasant HillPleasant Hill, TennesseePleasant Hill is a town in Cumberland County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 563 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Pleasant Hill is located at ....
*# - First United Christian, SweetwaterSweetwater, TennesseeSweetwater is a city in Monroe and McMinn counties in the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the most populous city in Monroe County. The population was 5,586 at the 2000 census. Sweetwater is the home of the Craighead Caverns which contains the Lost Sea, the United States' largest underground...
Several other existing congregations from other traditions and new church starts have been forecast by Conference officials as prospective members in the near future.
External links
- Southeast Conference, United Church of Christ
- Fisk University
- http://www.piedmont.edu/Piedmont College, Demorest, Ga.Demorest, GeorgiaDemorest is a city in Habersham County, Georgia, United States. The population was 1,465 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Demorest is located at ....
, which became affiliated with the UCC in 2002] - Talladega College
- Tougaloo College