Search PNC News for stories of people and churches in our UCC Conference:

 

Board members say covenant is about relationships

Covenant in the Pacific Northwest Conference connects 76 churches in Washington, Alaska and North Idaho. Churches are invited to consult and collaborate with one another in a covenantal partnership.

Relationships among churches in the conference nurture each other and are empowered by resources and relationships through the conference with the national UCC, with global partners and ecumenically with churches around the world.

In that setting, Conference News editor Mary Stamp interviewed several members of the PNC Board of Directors about the impact of those relationships and resources on them and their ministries in the local and wider church settings.

They shared about the mutual empowerment they experience as they encounter ideas of how different churches are doing ministry where they are, about the exchange of resources and ideas from the global, national, regional and local churches.

Sandy Wisecarver: We can do more together

Sandy Wisecarver, pastor at Blaine UCC and moderator, came to the UCC 15 years ago from the United Methodist Church, finds that the ties between congregations, the conference and the national church strengthen her ministry:

We can do more together. If we join together across churches, we can reach more. We can support each other. When the elevator at our church in Blaine failed, we approached the conference which provided funds to help us repair it. In turn, our church believes in helping others beyond our local church, so we give to all five designated national UCC offerings.

When a No Hate Washington bill was proposed in the state, I learned about them at a board meeting. I shared the information with our church, and we joined in the advocacy to pass those bills in the state.

I appreciate the PNC email listserve as a resource. People around the conference post information on events, concerns and ideas. In addition, I look at Weekly Seeds on national UCC website for ideas for sermons for the week based on the lectionary.

In the Come and See videos for Annual Meeting, I learned what churches across the conference are doing. They are posted on our youtube page as a resource and continue to give us ideas on what we might and on different ways to be the church.

Ron Patterson: Excited people excite other people

Ron Patterson, who is scribe, came to the PNC 10 years ago after retiring in Florida. He brings experience on the local, conference and national levels of the UCC, including attending every General Synod of the national UCC since 1977. He served churches in Ohio, New York and Florida, retiring from a 1,200-member UCC church in Naples, Fla.:

I served on the national board, executive council and was moderator in three conferences. I’m now on the nominating committee for the national board of the UCC.

I have seee a more positive spirit in the conference, beyond financially, for two years ago. I’m speaking of the spirit I have experienced at recent installations of new pastors and the active engagement of local churches and pastors. That spirit was demonstrated by the “Come and See” videos churches prepared for Annual Meeting. My fifth grade Sunday school class prepared the video for Fox Island UCC.

Our conference has many churches with exciting things happening. For me, the connection of churches is enhanced as clergy hold one another accountable and support one another emotionally, while striving for excellence in local churches that empower local leaders through mission.

For example, my Sunday school class went to Tacoma to give lunches to detainees when they were released from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Detention Center.

If a local church gets mission right everything else falls in place. Giving follows enthusiasm. People are excited when other people are excited and that happens as churches connect with each other.

Amy Johnson: We are blessed by our relationships

Amy Johnson, a board member, serves as minister for sexuality, education and justice education for the Faithful Action Team of the UCC National Ministries:

I’ve worked and volunteered in many settings of the church over the past several decades—from local church youth ministry, being in a Community of Practice, conference camp directing, regional and national youth events, being a member of the PNCUCC board and being on staff of the UCC National Ministries.

Everywhere I serve, and in whatever way, I am blessed by the relationships I have with people within and among the church.

To me, being a follower of Jesus is to be in community with one another, and to stay in community over time—to say and listen to the hard things, to celebrate together, mourn together, eat together, sing together.

In these ways, whether we are in a local church pew, an outdoor chapel at one of our camps, or in a sanctuary in Minneapolis with people of many faiths, we create and strengthen community.

When we do that in one place, we carry it to other places and other people. Our community becomes larger and wider, and we get to see more and more of God’s beloved kin-dom in the making.

 

Pacific Northwest United Church of Christ Conference News © June 2026

 

Share this article on your favorite social media