About Us 2

This makes me profoundly thankful for the church, in particular for the United Church of Christ and the priorities the church holds. I am grateful that we are ready to respond with open arms to any child of God that comes through our doors. We are welcoming. There is no test, there is no requirement to receive Holy Communion. We trust that the sacrament is a holy mystery and that those who receive it will be open to knowing Christ. This is not true for all denominations.

The same is true with Baptism. All parents are welcome to ask to have their child

baptized. As pastor, I meet with each family letting them know the benefits of raising their child in the faith. We plant seeds of faith and strive to nurture those seeds. We value our youngest members. We offer Christian Education that teaches both Bible stories and Christian values, always supported by the message that God loves you! As a church we are committed to the spectrum of our membership. Our seniors are an active and dynamic group within our church.

We celebrate people as they are! Sexual orientation is not a barrier for wanting to

follow Christ and to know the love of God. We value being a safe and welcoming

church. The UCC has a proud history of speaking out on social issues. We believe in the power of peace. We support justice for immigrants. We seek to address racial inequality and seek ways to create unity. We seek to do our part to leave God’s creation in a healthy way.

Here at Hope Church we serve those in need through our food pantry along with a variety of missions programs. The UCC states; “to care is to do”. We support UCC special offerings that provide aid through several local, national and global ministries. At Hope Church, we open our doors to community support groups like AA, PFLAG and OA. We recognize that on life’s journey there are times when we need an encouraging word.

I celebrate and am grateful that the UCC, and in particular Hope Church, is committed to embracing all of God’s children. Let us strive to be a joyful place of worship, growth and service in Christ’s name.

The United Church of Christ (UCC) is a distinct and diverse community of Christians that come together as one church to join faith and action. With over 5,000 churches and nearly one million members across the U.S., the UCC serves God in the co-creation of a just and sustainable world. The UCC is a church of firsts, a church of extravagant welcome, and a church where "…they may all be one" (John 17:21).

The Church of Firsts

Since 1957, the United Church of Christ has been the church of firsts, weaving God’s message of hope and extravagant welcome with action for justice and peace. Together, we live out our faith in ways that effect change in our communities. The UCC's many "firsts" mean that we have inherited a tradition of acting upon the demands of our faith. When we read in Galatians: "There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus"—a demand is made upon us. And so we were the first historically white denomination to ordain an African-American, the first to ordain a woman, the first to ordain an openly gay man, and the first Christian church to affirm the right of same-gender couples to marry. We were in the forefront of the anti-slavery movement and the Civil Rights movement. Our response to the demands of our faith is woven into the history of our country.

A Church of Extravagant Welcome

Today, we continue to change lives throughout the world. We work alongside more than 200 mission partners. We labor ceaselessly to fight injustice, in the United States and abroad. We instill our vision into our youth and young adults, forging leaders who will imagine new dreams. And we sustain and develop church leaders, pastors, and our local churches to live their faith in exciting new ways. We believe in a God that is still speaking, a God that is all-loving and inclusive. We are a church that welcomes and accepts everyone as they are, where your mind is nourished as much as your soul.

We are a church where Jesus the healer meets Jesus the revolutionary, and where together, we grow a just and peaceful world.