Submit A Story

Got a story about what your local church, school, or ministry is doing? We want to hear about it!

Submission Guidelines

All submissions are subject to the approval of the UCC communications department.
We reserve the right to edit, use, or not use any submissions.
Submissions that are coauthored or require rewriting will be credited as a “contributed report.”
In general, we do not publish opinion pieces, sermons, open letters, political commentary, or works of fiction.
If you have questions regarding our submission guidelines, please contact news@uccsda.org.

For conference news, we typically cover stories illustrating mission and ministry activities of churches, schools, and ministries within Upper Columbia Conference.
For reference, an archive of the Upper Columbia Conference’s section of the Gleaner is available online here.
Stories are subject to the approval of the UCC communications department.

Refer to the Gleaner’s information on style and content here.
We are here to help! We edit stories sent to us before publishing them, and can provide feedback on stories if requested.

Our blog is comprised of both news and feature stories, know which category your story falls under before you start writing.
In any style of writing, include quotes from people relevant to your story, such as event organizers, volunteers, community members, public officials, etc.
For news articles, start off with one or two sentences that summarize the news you are reporting. Begin with the most important and foundational details that answer the questions of who, what, when, where, and why.
For feature stories, write in an active style to present information through a short narrative. While less objective, feature stories should still present newsworthy information about a person, place, or event.

Avoid using vague language such as “recently” or “last month.” Once a story is published it will most likely not have been “recent” or “last month.”

All stories require at least 1 high quality horizontal image, but including more photos is always preferred.
Submit all photos with a caption explaining the content of the picture and names (if known) of anyone pictured, and photo credits for who took the picture.

To ensure the protection of individuals privacy, be sure to notify those attending your event that you will take pictures, videos, or livestream before you do so. Allow an opportunity for attendees to leave the event or otherwise opt out of pictures/video.
Minors cannot give permission to use their likeness and must have written consent from a parent/legal guardian.
Obtain permission for each picture or video posted in a blog or on social media. Written permission in advance is best, but verbal permission is acceptable in some scenarios.

Submit to UCC News at: news.uccsda.org/UCsubmission
When submitting to UCC News, you must include your full name, telephone number, and provide an email address.
All submissions are subject to our Submission Guidelines (see above)
Upload your story as a Word document (.docx preferred) or a PDF.
Upload one or more photos. Allowed file types for photos include: .jpg, or .png
Add a message with any relevant details or instructions.