Day 1 with host Peter Wallace is the voice of the mainline Protestant churches. Through sermons, blogs, and video & audio resources, Day 1 proclaims a positive, passionate faith for today.

• Learn More
• Donate

Services

Top Topics

Connections

Day1 Store

The Rev. Geoffrey Black is the General Minister and President of the United Church of Christ, headquartered in Cleveland, OH.

Member of:

United Church of Christ

The Rev. Geoffrey A. Black was elected General Minister and President of the United Church of Christ in June 2009. Prior to that, he served as Conference Minister of the UCC's New York Conference for nine years beginning in 2000.

Geoffrey Black previously served as a Minister for Church Life and Leadership with the then-Office for Church Life and Leadership (currently Parish Life and Leadership), a national agency of the United Church of Christ housed at the UCC's national offices in Cleveland, Ohio.

Prior to joining the staff of OCLL in 1994, he served as Pastor of the Congregational UCC of South Hempstead (N.Y.). During his years in ministry, Black also has served as assistant chaplain at Brown University, associate minister at St. Albans Congregational UCC in Queens, Lecturer in the Field Education Department at Union Theological Seminary in New York City, and Protestant chaplain at Adelphi University.

In his capacity as Minister for Church Life and Leadership, Black was active in several key aspects of the ministry. In addition to engaging in the work common to all OCLL staff such as ministerial authorization and search and call, he devoted special attention to ecclesiastical endorsement, ministerial formation, congregational life and the development of resources for the multiracial/multicultural church.

During his tenure as a local church pastor, Black also was active in Association and Conference life, serving on several committees and holding a number of elected offices. He served on the Ordination and Standing Committee and the Committee on Church in the Metropolitan Community of the New York Metropolitan Association. He was chairperson of the New York Conference Commission on Mission Priorities and he served as moderator of the Conference.

Ecumenical commitment, concern for equal justice, African-American empowerment, and community improvement have shaped Black's ministry in the church and in the communities in which he has lived. This has resulted in his work with organizations such as the Nassau Coalition for Safety and Justice, The Long Island Interracial Alliance for a Common Future, and the Amistad Cultural Center of Long Island, which he co-founded. While living in Ohio, he has been an active member of Caring Communities of Shaker Heights, Ohio, and Partnership 2000 of the Shaker Public schools.

Rev. Black is maried to Patricia Williams-Black. They have one daugher, Makeda Black, who resides in Hyattsville, Maryland.

Latest Content by The Rev. Geoffrey Black

The Rev. Geoffrey Black: Sharing the Joy of Christmas

The Rev. Geoffrey Black (UCC)

Dear sister and brother travelers and followers of the way;

With you I share the joy of anticipation of even greater joy:

I

t is the joy that comes in the assurance of God's love for us and God's eternal presence with us.   
 
In the coming days we will celebrate God's desire and initiative to be present with us in the person of Jesus, the child born to Mary and Joseph.

Read full article...

The Rev. Geoffrey Black: The Buzz on "Mission 1"

The Rev. Geoffrey Black (UCC)

These days there is a buzz throughout the United Church of Christ and it has to do with Mission: 1. There has been growing excitement about this new coordinated effort to address the needs of hungry people in the U.S. and abroad. As I travel about the church visiting congregations and associations, I meet many people who are taking the initiative in their churches and communities to advance Mission: 1. Yes indeed, there is a buzz throughout the UCC.

From 11.1.11-11.11.11 we will work together as one United Church of Christ to collect more than 1 million food items for local food banks, raise $111,111 in online donations for Neighbors in Need and $111,111 for East Africa famine relief, and write 11,111 letters to Congress. That's what the excitement is all about. These are tangible and challenging goals, but what I sense is a real can-do spirit in our midst. Might it be the Holy Spirit nudging us forward?  

Read full article...

Other Recent Content by The Rev. Geoffrey Black

October 23, 2011

The Rev. Geoffrey Black: Ten Years Later, Shoulder to Shoulder

The Rev. Geoffrey Black (UCC)

September 11, 2011, has come and gone, and I'm feeling that now, the heavy lifting begins again. The period of reflection and commemoration was as rich as it was long.

May 30, 2011

The Rev. Geoffrey Black: In storms' aftermath, give, pray, respond

The Rev. Geoffrey Black (UCC)

We observe Memorial Day this year with a keen awareness that many in our nation are reeling in the aftermath of several massive tornados and flooding that have caused loss of life and destruction of homes and businesses leaving many homeless and unemployed.

May 05, 2011

The Rev. Geoffrey Black: A Call for Prayer for the Pathways to Peace

The Rev. Geoffrey Black (UCC)

While many celebrate the death of bin Laden and feel that it has provided the nation with a fitting response to the horrific and brutal attack on citizens of the United States, there are others who see no reason to rejoice and instead feel a deep sense of disquiet and unease.

December 22, 2010

The Rev. Geoffrey Black: Keeping It Real at Christmas

The Rev. Geoffrey Black (UCC)

In its fullness, the nativity story is about beauty, intrigue, suffering, risk and sacrifice along with the realities of immigration and poverty. It gives cause for hope and expresses our yearning for peace.

December 23, 2009

The Rev. Geoffrey Black: A Christmas Message

The Rev. Geoffrey Black (UCC)

The new General Minister of the United Church of Christ, the Rev. Geoffrey Black, shares a meditation for Christmas.