The United Church of Christ was formed in 1957 by the union of two Protestant denominations; The Congregations Christian Churches and The Evangelical and Reformed Church. Those two denominations in turn were both unions of two earlier denominations. In whole the United Church of Christ is comprised by the following denominations:
1. The Congregational Churches
2. The Christian Churches
3. The Evangelical Synod of North America
4. The Reformed Church in the United States
Together these four churches make up the United Church of Christ.
The emblem of the United Church of Christ comprises of a crown, a cross, and an orb enclosed within a double oval bearing the name of the church. The text, "That They May all Be One" is right out the bible. It is a prayer of Jesus written into the book of John, chapter 17, verse 21.
Each piece has its own significance. The crown symbolizes the sovereignty of Christ. The Cross recalls the suffering of Christ. The orb is purposefully divided into three parts to remind us of Jesus' command to be his witness in Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria.
The verse from the book of John captures the core belief of the United Church of Christ. That is our historic commitment to the restoration of unity among the separated churches of Jesus Christ. We're all in this together, right?
