Finding the UCC: A Story of Gratitude and Giving Through The Christmas Fund

In 1977, Sharon Chace’s husband Ernest (Ernie) faced a difficult transition—he needed to resign from ministry. Financial support from The Christmas Fund Offering for the Veterans of the Cross provided Ernie with a new job-hunting suit to wear during interviews, giving him hope and dignity during a challenging time.

Today, Sharon and Ernie donate to The Christmas Fund through the First Congregational Church of Rockport, Massachusetts, where Sharon serves as Rockport’s Poet Laureate Emerita. Read Sharon’s story below to learn how The Christmas Fund and ministry changed her life.

Finding the UCC

Ernie was raised Baptist and learned about the UCC when he was a student at William Jewell College in Liberty, Missouri. His favorite professor—Murray Hunt—went to a UCC church in Kansas City. He was a graduate of Andover Newton Theological School, now Andover Newton Seminary at Yale Divinity School. Ernie wanted to follow in Murray’s footsteps, so he transitioned into the UCC after graduating from Andover Newton Theological School in 1970.

My family of origin would best be described as largely secular Puritans. In 1958 at age 14, I decided that I wanted to go to a church that understood humanity in a way that resonated more deeply with me, a view between a fundamentalist understanding of people as sinners and the Universalist belief in humanity’s goodness. So, I asked my family if I could go to the First Congregational Church, which was about to become affiliated with the UCC. My family wasn’t thrilled. I later learned that the only reason they let me go was because they noticed that church improved my mood. As Jesus said: “Let the children come to me, do not hinder them; for such belongs to the kingdom of God” (Mark 10:14 RSV).

Receiving The Christmas Fund

Ernie and I first learned about The Christmas Fund when the late Rev. Lois N. Sundeen contacted Veterans of the Cross, which provided us with money for Ernie’s new job-hunting suit. Receiving this support made us feel grateful and more able to believe that the world is ultimately friendly. Now, we give to The Christmas Fund because of these memories of my husband’s gift from Veterans of the Cross. The Christmas Fund has given us a sense of continuity and a belief in the future of ministry.

Encouraging Words to Givers and Receivers

I would tell anyone considering donating to The Christmas Fund that even with parsonages, funds for books, and other expense accounts, clergy can always benefit from more money for food and children’s needs. In my experience, sometimes a bit more money can lessen many problems. Paying attention to people in need is concentration akin to prayer offering a gift of comfort and cheer. Giving to The Christmas Fund is participation in wider ministry.

I suggest that if you need help and feel uncomfortable asking, get in touch with your pastor, your Conference Minister, or someone in your church who would be more than happy to write and advocate for you.

Because of Ministry

The phrase “Because of Ministry” implies parish ministry. Please note my change of “Ministry” to lower case and plural. In my thinking, because of ministries, the world is a better and more beautiful place.

When I was a child—depending upon where we lived in town—my family occasionally went to either a Universalist church or a fundamentalist church. Even at age nine, I knew that these churches were very different. However, there was one uniting theme that ran through both these denominations—all children are equal in God’s sight. That was good news for me because I was so clumsy that when playing kickball, I wouldn’t kick until the ball was in the catcher’s hand!

Because I want children in secular families as well as in church families to feel that they are of worth, I omitted mention of God in my book, Strengthening Hearts and Minds: Poems for Children, illustrated by my daughter Amy. My poem from the book expresses this idea.