On Saturday, June 21, UCM hosted Boxing for a Cause: An Arthur Johnson Invitational in support of gun violence awareness. Here’s what a few members of our team had to say about the event.

On Saturday, May 17, 2025, United Congregations of Metro-East (UCM) partnered with the East St. Louis chapter of the NAACP, L.O.V.E., and East Side Aligned to host Seats Taken: Now Let’s Talk Solutions—a youth-led community forum organized by the young leaders of L.O.V.E. The goal was to formally introduce the new school board to the community and open a dialogue about the urgent issues facing local schools. Not a single board member attended.

What happens when you put local changemakers in one room together? Change! On Tuesday, April 22, 2025, UCM partnered with Advanced Energy Group for the East St. Louis Stakeholder Challenge on Health, Prosperity and Resilience to answer this question…

We cannot thank you enough for being part of our 25th Anniversary Celebration! We hope you left feeling uplifted, motivated, and encouraged — and that you enjoyed yourself, too! Check out our blog for a photo recap of the event. Feel free to share your favorite pictures on social media and tag us! #UCMTurns25

Hosted by the NAACP and UCM it was a well attended 90 minute forum representative of a cross section of residents and concerned citizens. Each candidate spoke about their plans for the City on a myriad of topics,  from policing practices, to economic development to Street repairs and City lighting concerns.

On Saturday, March 8, 2025, The UCM EJ Team hosted Listen. Lead. Share at Southern Mission Missionary Baptist Church. Community members gathered to learn more about the initiatives being taken throughout the state to eliminate diesel pollution. These reoccurring conversations not only educate residents on the importance of electric vehicles but also provide action steps to make them more affordable and hold leaders accountable to providing clean air.