{"id":154,"date":"2026-07-24T21:42:26","date_gmt":"2026-07-24T20:42:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/citychurchcommunity.online\/?page_id=154"},"modified":"2026-07-24T21:42:27","modified_gmt":"2026-07-24T20:42:27","slug":"office-of-general-counsel","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/citychurchcommunity.online\/?page_id=154","title":{"rendered":"Office of General Counsel"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Welcome to the Office of General Counsel (OGC)! OGC serves the National Setting and the Conferences of the United Church of Christ.<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The General Counsel also serves as the Secretary to the United Church of Christ Board. OGC provides legal counsel and training on a variety of matters including governance, contracts, abuse prevention policies, and intellectual property compliance.&nbsp;OGC also oversees the United Church of Christ federal group tax exemption and provides proof of tax-exempt status to Local Churches and Conferences.&nbsp;To request proof of tax-exempt status for a Local Church, and for more information, please visit&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ucc.org\/office-of-general-counsel-2\/tax-exemption-resources-for-local-churches-and-ucc-related-religious-organizations\/\">Tax Exemption Resources for Local Churches and UCC-Related Organizations<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><br>We have included information here that is helpful to some of the most common legal-related inquiries that we receive.&nbsp;Under Church Resources, you will find information on Local Church bylaws, as well as information on copyright compliance for Local Church worship services, whether in-person or online.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The blog below will be updated periodically, so please check back to read more.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><a class=\"advertisement-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ucceverywhere.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ucc.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/UCC2403_UCCEMarketingPlan_DigitalAds_728x90blue.png\" alt=\"\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Church Resources<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ucc.org\/how-to-share-our-content\/\">How to Share Our Content<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ucc.org\/what-we-do\/justice-local-church-ministries\/local-church\/abuse-prevention\/\">Abuse Prevention Resources<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ucc.org\/what-we-do\/justice-local-church-ministries\/local-church\/music-and-liturgical-arts\/music-arts_copyright-and-the-church\/\">General Copyright FAQs<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ucc.org\/what-we-do\/justice-local-church-ministries\/local-church\/worship-resources\/copyright\/\">Hymnal Copyright FAQs<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ucc.org\/local-church-bylaws-information\">Local Church Bylaws Information<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ucc.org\/office-of-general-counsel-2\/state-nonprofit-corporate-codes\">State Nonprofit Corporate Codes<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.ucc.org\/supreme-court-amicus-briefs\">Supreme Court Amicus Briefs<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ucc.org\/who-we-are\/constitution-and-bylaws\/\">United Church of Christ Constitution &amp; Bylaws<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ucc.org\/office-of-general-counsel-2\/tax-exemption-resources-for-local-churches-and-ucc-related-religious-organizations\/\">Tax Exemption Resources<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Thoughts from General Counsel<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ucc.org\/church-funds-and-donor-intent\/\"><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ucc.org\/category\/general-counsel-blog\/\">General Counsel Blog<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ucc.org\/church-funds-and-donor-intent\/\">Church Funds and Donor Intent<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Church operations and ministries can be funded through offerings and donations, investment\u2026<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ucc.org\/church-funds-and-donor-intent\/\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ucc.org\/the-group-exemption-proving-your-churchs-tax-exempt-status-and-your-churchs-ein-what-local-churches-need-to-know\/\"><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ucc.org\/category\/general-counsel-blog\/\">General Counsel Blog<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ucc.org\/the-group-exemption-proving-your-churchs-tax-exempt-status-and-your-churchs-ein-what-local-churches-need-to-know\/\">The Group Exemption, Proving Your Church\u2019s Tax-Exempt Status, and Your Church\u2019s EIN:&nbsp; What Local Churches Need to Know<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This post was updated on January 26, 2026 following the issuance of IRS Rev. Proc. 2026-8,\u2026<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ucc.org\/the-group-exemption-proving-your-churchs-tax-exempt-status-and-your-churchs-ein-what-local-churches-need-to-know\/\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ucc.org\/local-churches-and-first-amendment-rights\/\"><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ucc.org\/category\/general-counsel-blog\/\">General Counsel Blog<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ucc.org\/local-churches-and-first-amendment-rights\/\">Local Churches and First Amendment Rights<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On September 25, 2025, the President of the United States released a Presidential Memorandum\u2026<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ucc.org\/local-churches-and-first-amendment-rights\/\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Meet Our General Counsel Staff<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ucc.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/image.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-163123\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">H<strong>eather E. Kimmel<\/strong>,&nbsp;<em>General Counsel<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Heather E. Kimmel is the General Counsel of the United Church of Christ.&nbsp;She has been serving in that capacity since December 1, 2015.&nbsp;She joined the Office of General Counsel as Associate General Counsel in 2013.&nbsp; Before joining the National Setting of the United Church of Christ, she was an attorney at two large law firms and served as a federal judicial clerk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ucc.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/ORisko-edited.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-240672\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Olivia Risko,&nbsp;<em>Paralegal<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Olivia Risko joined the Office of General Counsel of the United Church of Christ as a paralegal in 2024. Olivia previously worked in a domestic relations firm as well as a local city\u2019s law department doing municipal level prosecution. She holds a Bachelor\u2019s degree in Criminology from Cleveland State University. Additionally, she holds an Associate of Applied Science and an Associate of Applied Business with a concentration in Paralegal Studies, both from Cuyahoga Community College.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Information Disclaimer<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">OGC writes and compiles information with United Church of Christ settings specifically in mind.&nbsp;Information on these pages should not be relied upon as legal advice, and your access to this information does not establish an attorney-client relationship. Local Churches and United Church of Christ pastors in need of legal advice may contact their Conference for assistance with a referral to an attorney.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Welcome to the Office of General Counsel (OGC)! OGC serves the National Setting and the Conferences of the United Church of Christ. The General Counsel also serves as the Secretary to the United Church of Christ Board. OGC provides legal counsel and training on a variety of matters including governance, contracts, abuse prevention policies, and intellectual property compliance.&nbsp;OGC also oversees the United Church of Christ federal group tax exemption and provides proof of tax-exempt status to Local Churches and Conferences.&nbsp;To request proof of tax-exempt status for a Local Church, and for more information, please visit&nbsp;Tax Exemption Resources for Local Churches&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":142,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"template-no-sidebar.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-154","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/citychurchcommunity.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/154","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/citychurchcommunity.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/citychurchcommunity.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citychurchcommunity.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citychurchcommunity.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=154"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/citychurchcommunity.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/154\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":155,"href":"https:\/\/citychurchcommunity.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/154\/revisions\/155"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citychurchcommunity.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/142"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/citychurchcommunity.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=154"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}