Rev. Roberto Ochoa
“I am grateful to Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because he considered me faithful and appointed me to his service, even though I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a man of violence. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.” (1 Tim 1:12-14 – NRSVue)
My Friends of the Iowa Nebraska South Dakota Conferences of the United Church of Christ and beyond:
Greetings in the Name of the Jesus that shows us the Way to our Creator with faith and love!
This past Sunday, while at my home base in Iowa Falls, I was able to have the privilege of spontaneously visiting a local UCC congregation for the joy of worship and hanging out. So, I called my dear friend Rev Laura Renault a couple of days before and asked if it was okay to come visit the good folks at Zion UCC in Hubbard. Pastor Laura gave me an enthusiastically thumbs up. It turned out she was having an orientation meeting with the confirmands (eight of them), their parents and chaperones coming to the Confirmand/Youth Rally in Sioux Falls, SD. Timing of the visit couldn’t have been better.
I’ve been to Zion UCC on a few occasions, even participating in one of the confirmation classes last December, so the confirmands know me and I have always been received well by the congregation. I was tickled to see the excitement these young women have on coming to the youth rally. I am especially touched by the Zion UCC congregation’s commitment to their children’s faith formation to generously subsidize most of the expenses to make their attendance possible. On behalf of the Iowa Nebraska South Dakota Conferences, thank you Zion UCC for your support for the Confirmand/Youth Rally this year.
Earlier, in her sermon on “Saints and Sinners”, Pastor Laura’s reflection on 1 Timothy’s first chapter on the gratitude for mercy, was a great reminder for me that we all fall short as God’s people. I appreciated Pastor Laura’s take on the text, that as Christians we are “sinners AND saints not sinners OR saints” and framing our faith journeys as “saints in progress”. Affirming that when we sin or get separated from our relationship with God, our faith in Christ provides reconciliation and forgiveness through an unconditional grace. Which is sometimes difficult to accept if we have made bad choices that have done harm to others or often to ourselves. Paul is that model of how a sinner becomes a saint (though never perfect) through mercy and grace of Jesus Christ. That everlasting hope that all of us have value and potential for good and worthy of love.
I believe in that merciful hope, faith, and love. And I believe that all of it will be present at our Iowa Nebraska South Dakota Joint Annual Meeting (JAM) as we explore what it means to live as neighbors in Christ together. I am so excited to see our young people being engaged in the life of the Church, meeting others as themselves of what it means to be part of the United Church of Christ. Today more than ever, the adults that make up our UCC conferences, associations, and local churches are called upon to be examples of what it means to love our neighbor and to demonstrate merciful grace in a world that seems to advocate hate and violence. Pastor Laura’s question for us to ponder this week was “What kind of people is God shaping us to be under grace? And how do we manifest it to the world? For we need each other.”
Church, we need each other as the United Church of Christ, which is why a gathering of the Iowa Nebraska South Dakota UCC congregations and pastoral leaders is so important…to be present…to see each other…and most importantly to pray for one another. Let us be examples for our young…that we are not alone during fearful times of turmoil…for we follow a God that is merciful and powerful through the love of Jesus Christ and the comfort of the Holy Spirit.
There is still time to register for JAM and the Confirmand/Youth Rally. See you in Sioux Falls – September 17-20, 2026.
Bendiciones y Paz,
Rev Roberto
JAM info: https://ucctcm.org/jam-2026/
Confirmand/Youth Rally info: https://ucctcm.org/jam-2026-youth-rally-celebration/