Intergenerational Mission Work Trip
A mission work trip, open to all people ages 16 and up, is being planned for August 21 - 26, 2010.  This trip will provide an opportunity for sharing in the culture and providing hands-on support of people in an impoverished area in the southwestern corner of Virginia.  We will help refurbish homes for three days in and around the town of Nora, Virginia, an area long dependent on coal mining but now suffering from high unemployment as well as environmental degradation caused by mountaintop removal strip mining.  We will also have an opportunity to share in the music and culture of the people of rural southwestern Virginia, to worship with them, and to discuss the current economic and environmental climate of the region.  Click here to learn more about this trip.  If you might be interested in participating, please send an e-mail to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .  This does not oblige you to participate.

Missionary Support
Little River UCC has established a relationship with Dr. Anil Henry, acting medical superintendent and surgeon, Mungeli Christian Hospital, India, that expresses our interest and support through correspondence, personal contact, and financial contributions. In return, the congregation gains an understanding of how Global Ministries, a joint program of the United Church of Christ and the Disciples of Christ, assists people in other, less prosperous countries who are part of our Christian concern.

Lancaster Theological Seminary
Lancaster Theological Seminary is the United Church of Christ seminary that serves our geographic area (Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington, D.C., and West Virginia.)  For over 175 years, Lancaster has prepared people for ministry.  Little River UCC provides financial support to Lancaster Theological Seminary.

Anti-Torture
Little River UCC joined the National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT) and its local chapter, Washington Region Religious Campaign Against Torture, and endorsed their “Declaration of Principles for a Presidential Executive Order on Torture and Prisoner Treatment.” Church members were encouraged to sign an NRCAT petition calling for the establishment of an independent commission to investigate U.S. detention and interrogation practices in the “Global War on Terror.”

Protecting our Environment
Consistent with Little River UCC’s adopted policy of Going Green in our own church, information provided on issues – such as a prospective new coal-fired power plant in Virginia and potential legislative action regarding the Stream Buffer Zone Rule – prompted members to write their legislators.

Nazaneen Education Centre
A designated fund at Little River UCC provides financial support for the Nazaneen Education Centre, which was established in 1980 as a nonpartisan, nonprofit education center for the children of Afghan refugees living in Pakistan. Beginning with 27 students in one school, there are now several schools accommodating nearly 800 students, mostly but not exclusively girls. English is the medium of instruction in many classes, to enable students to pursue higher education in technical fields such as medicine and engineering.

Thelma Morris Fellowship for Missions
Thelma Morris Fellowship for Missions is a fund that honors a former member of Little River UCC whose interest was the mission work of the church. Upon applying, one or more adult or youth church members may receive funds to defray the costs of participating in a mission project of the United Church of Christ or other appropriate mission project.

United Church of Christ Funds
Little River UCC contributes regularly to several special funds of the wider United Church of Christ.

Church's Wider Mission
Our Church's Wider Mission(OCWM) provides essential support for missionaries both at home and overseas, new church starts, the staff of the UCC's 38 conferences, and development of church school curricula, as well as support and resources to about 5,600 UCC churches nationwide.

Strengthen the Church
Strengthen the Church is an all-UCC offering that supports the God is Stillspeaking Ministry, building youth and young adult ministries, nurturing leadership, funding new church starts, and invigorating existing congregations.

Neighbors in Need
This is an all-UCC offering to benefit our disadvantaged homeland neighbors, as well as Native American ministries in the United Church of Christ.

One Great Hour of Sharing
We support ecumenical ministries that provide for the needy all over the world. The offering underwrites the disaster relief, refugee response, and long-term development work of ten Protestant denominations. Most of the focus is overseas, but it also recognizes and supports similar needs in the U.S.

The Christmas Fund
The Christmas Fund provides financial aid to retired and active ministers and their surviving spouses and children who face overwhelming financial demands.

Potomac Association
The Potomac Association is the representative body of the 29 UCC churches in the greater Washington, D.C., area.  Support of the Association underwrites special mission initiatives and programming within the communities it covers.