The about-to-be Southern New England Conference of the United Church of Christ has a new logo designed to symbolize the Conference's vision: "Living the Love and Justice of Jesus."
That phrase is a distillation of the Conference's overall Vision and Mission Statement.
The logo features four hearts arranged to form a cross. Each of the hearts represents one of the four main values of the Conference: Making Disciples of Jesus, Making God's Love and Justice Real, Bringing New Life as Agents of Change, and Forming Covenant Partnerships. Each heart is in a different color - all drawn from the national United Church of Christ's brand guidelines - and those colors will be used on the Conference website and in other publications to draw connections between various ministries and the part of the vision to which they relate.
"We are really excited about this logo as an expression of what the new Conference stands for," said Tiffany Vail, Associate Conference Minister for Communications.
A number of concepts were considered for the logo. One idea was to have three strands coming together into one piece - such as in a rope or braid - to represent the three historic Conferences (Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island) joining together. Another idea was to use ship's sails or a lighthouse to connect with the Pilgrims and the Amistad which are part of the histories of the Conferences.
"In the end, we decided to move away from those ideas, because they were about looking back, rather than looking forward," Vail said. "This logo represents who we are today, and who we are striving to become as a new Conference."
The logo was designed by Erin Murphy, who attends the South Congregational Church UCC in Pittsfield, MA. Murphy is the part-time Marketing Coordinator/Graphic Designer at IS183 Art School of the Berkshires, and also does freelance work. She can be reached through her website.
The logo and guidelines for its use will be made available to churches early in the new year.
The new Conference officially comes into being on Jan. 1.