UCC creates another provocative video.

The video, called “Trading Places,” seeks to demonstrate that major religions, while unique and distinct, do share several common core values, like love, peace, family and justice. The :90 video shows three clergy members swapping their vestments and then going to preach in the others’ house of worship. The message is that, regardless of the specific rituals and beliefs, these faiths are all inherently good and loving.

 

“With all of the religious bigotry, hate crimes and talk of Muslim registries today, we believe it’s a good time for a message about interfaith understanding,” says John Dorhauer, General Minister and President of the UCC. “Given the current political mood, a message of togetherness has been absent from the national dialogue.”

 

Because of the important and universal nature of this message, the UCC is joined in presenting it by other faith organizations, such as the Council on American-Islamic Relations and the Unitarian Universalist Association.

 

 

This video is part of the UCC’s Still speaking Initiative. “God is still speaking is a core tenet of the UCC,” says Cheryl Williams, Chief Strategy Officer of the UCC. “We believe that God did not stop speaking 2000 years ago. Rather, God is still inspiring prophecy today.”

 

In 2003, the UCC launched its God is Still Speaking Initiative. The campaign featured a prominent comma, symbolic of the on-going, never-ending divine voice. The message back then was primarily focused on universal acceptance – particularly of the LGBTQ community. The campaign, especially two TV spots titled Bouncers” and “Ejector Pew,” created a national dialogue. Over the past dozen years, the UCC’s groundbreaking effort helped spearhead the tectonic shift in opinion towards the LGBTQ community, leading to the Marriage Equality Act and Supreme Court decision in 2015.

 

 

The 2003-6 effort was also notable as a few national TV networks refused to air the commercial because they claimed it was a political message supporting homosexuality. Suddenly the issue of the Church, the gay community and acceptance became front page news. And the United Church of Christ solidified its position as one of the most progressive and relevant Protestant denominations in the U.S.

 

About the United Church of Christ: The United Church of Christ is a mainline Protestant denomination with nearly 1 million members and more than 5,000 congregations nationwide. Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, the UCC is a church of many firsts, including the first mainline denomination to ordain a woman, the first to ordain an openly-gay man and the first predominantly white denomination to ordain an African American.

 

The UCC and its members are tireless advocates for social issues such as immigration reform, racial equality, LGBT rights, marriage equality, environmental protection and economic justice.

 

 

Preview; https://vimeo.com/32517804