Council for Health and Human Service Ministries

From the President

You are the Church

CHHSM member ministries often deal with questions about their relationship to "the church." We may talk about "the church" as if it were an entity external to our work in health and human service. Or we think of it as a "stakeholder" to which we owe some degree of accountability. Or, sometimes, "the church" is seen as an institution which, though historically connected to our ministries, has questionable value or is simply not well understood.

Founders of CHHSM institutions rooted in the Reformed and Evangelical traditions of the United Church of Christ had a clear and deeply acculturated understanding that health and human service was integral and essential to what it meant to be the Church of Jesus Christ. The institutions they founded were, and continue to be, an expression of justice in human community so clearly demanded by the Gospel of Christ. In their view, our ministries were not "related to" the church, they were the church.

At times, our contemporary self-understanding of being "faith-based" can reinforce the notion of being apart from, though related, to the church. In fact, faith is not only the basis of our commitment to health and human service - it is fundamental to our identity. As a covenantal church, the UCC gathers people of faith in a variety of settings - local churches, Associations, Conferences, colleges, seminaries and health and human service institutions - all of which, together, constitute "the church."

Recognition of the inclusion of CHHSM member ministries by UCC Conferences affirms our work and service as integral to the life of the whole church. Being included as part of, rather than related to, the church may not seem like much, but I invite you and your ministry's governance board to reflect on what inclusion means and how embracing its meanings and expressions can enrich and expand your mission and presence in church and society. You are the church, a vital, integral part of mission in Christ's name. May your ministry to those in need be the church in visionary, life-changing ways.

Bill Johnson
VP for Member Relations

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