We are a church where "all may be one." We believe working together is essential. We value ecumenical relationships between churches united in a common mission and believe that the things we have in common are more important than denominational differences. That's why our motto is "that they all may be one," inspired by Jesus' prayer in John 17 for the unity of all of his followers. The unity of the church is not of its own making. It is a gift of God. But expressions of that unity are as diverse as there are individuals. The common thread that runs through all is love.
We are in Full Communion with: The Presbyterian Church USA, the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and the Reformed Church in America; and have a special formula of agreement with the Alliance of Baptists. Outside the United States, the UCC has similar agreements with the United Church of Canada and the Evangelical Union of Germany.
Full communion means that divided churches recognize each others’ sacraments and provide for the orderly transfer of ministers from one denomination to another. While full communion opens up broad possibilities for cooperation among the national and regional ministries of participating churches, it is above all in relationships between local congregations that agreements of full communion become alive.
The UCC is active beyond denomination to denomination relationships. We are members of Churches Uniting in Christ, a Covenant between 11 Protestant denominations that work together in expressing unity in Christ by combating racism. We are active in the National Council of Churches and World Council of Churches, and the World Communion of Reformed Churches