Hello! My name is Andrea and I'm 21 years old from Connecticut.  I recently saw UCC's commecial on t.v. and wanted to discover more of what UCC and its people are all about.  I was baptized Catholic and my boyfriend was baptised Mormon, however, during our lives before we met each other we each had bad personal experiences which unfortunately turned us away from our churches.  My heart has never turned away from God or his son Jesus and I feel as though if God was there himself the day I was turned away from the Catholic church He would have prevented the occurance and welcomed me with open arms- I truely believe that! (It's quite a long story which I don't know if anyone's interested in.  if anyone is, please express your curiosidy and I will post what happened soon!)  So when I saw the ad for UCC and its acceptance of all- no matter who you are, I was anxious to learn more! Although my boyfriend and I are not engaged at the moment, we plan to be by the end of this year and the though of finding a church that will welcome us with open arms and marry us is stressful!  I'm to the point of tears thinking that we'll not be allowed to be married in a church any where!  But I have faith, and maybe seeing your commecial was a sign from God letting me know it'll be alright! However, how will I know that the people who belong to UCC in my home town will be accepting? I'm basically just here today to see if anyone is listening and will reply to my posting.  Any comments/feedback will be greatly appreciated! Is UCC right for my boyfriend and myself? I don't know. But I do know that we need assistance and guidance and will greatly appreciate anyones efforts in welcoming us.  I hope to hear from anyone with their thoughts on our situation. I will be checking back in a few days. Everyone enjoy your weekend! God Bless!!

Sincerely- Andrea

Thank you so much baronsabato for your reply. I truely appreciate you genuine interest in my posting.  Here's the story on my bad experience with the Catholic church.  When I was 6 yrs old and my sister was 4, our mother wanted to get us back into going to church so she decided to sign us up for sunday school.  My mother contacted the chuch which her and my father were married in, and that my sister and i were baptized in, and when she called her heart was broken that day.  When the nun asked my mother how long it had been since we last attended church the nun put my family down.  She set up a time for my mother to go and meet with the priest and the nun informed my mother that she'd be letting the priest know that my mother was "the negligent mother" she spoke to on the phone. that tore my mother up- seeing as how she's very religious, no one could understand why a women who's dedicated her life to God, the only being who truly is the definition of LOVE, would say something so hurtful.  It took my mother quite a long time to get over that inccodent but in time she realized that if God or Jesus were on the other end of that phone they would have welcomed us with open arms.  Since then, I no longer associate with the Catholic church.  The personal experiences I've had suggest that "if you don't go to church you'll go straight to hell". I think church is a good source for guidance and meeting others who share your beliefs, but I strongly believe I can have my own personal relationship with God and still be welcomed into Heaven- not depending on how many times I have gone to church.  From what I've experienced some people go to church every Sunday but aren't good people every other day of the week.  So in that aspect, going to church doesn't mean anything when it comes to living our lives the way God would like us to. I just feel like Im rambling now.  Thank you for the link- I know there are 2 UCC churches in my town. I'm going to give them a try soon- it'll have to be on a week night because I work Sundays from 8am-4pm.  I've just attended a couple of Christian churches after leaving the Catholic church and I didn't feel welcome at each church.  For the most part it seems as though people form their little cliques and are unwilling to allow new comers into the circle.  I really hope I have a good experience with UCC- I don't want to be discouraged again. Thanks for listening!

God Bless!  -ANDREA

Hi, Andrea.  I'm Lisa and I am a minister of a UCC church in Wyoming.  I'm so glad you're willing to ask about churches and maybe even try some again.  Hurt that comes from a church is so exceptionally painful and long-lasting.  Unfortunately that can never be totally avoided because any church of any denomination is made up of imperfect people.  Within the UCC, we do try, however, to be welcoming of everyone.  I hope you try some churches near you.  A really good way to find one is to go to www.stillspeaking.com.  There you can click on "find a church" and enter your city and state.  Churches listed there have made a particular commitment to be open and welcoming of you, no matter where you are on life's journey.  As to the wedding, my policy is to meet with a couple several times before  the wedding and talk about what marriage means and where God would enter into your life together.  I don't care whether the couple is Catholic, Mormon, or have never been into church.  So I urge you to visit some churches, talk to the pastors there, and begin asking them questions about your upcoming wedding.  If you don't find one with a service that fits your work schedule, you can still call and have a talk with the pastor.  Be assured--there are many of us listening; we care and we hope that God blesses you and your boyfriend in your life journeys.

Lisa