Open and affirming

The phrase you see under our name at the top of this page -- "A welcoming community growing together in Christ -- says a lot about us. The first thing we hope you will notice if you come to visit us is that we are a friendly bunch. We have a commitment to welcome all people here, whoever they are, wherever they are on life's journey. We are an open and affirming congregation, which means, in our official language:  "We welcome persons of all ages, races, sexual orientations and church backgrounds to participate in the life and ministry of our church."

Progressive Christians

Within the range of Christian churches, we fall on the theologically progressive side of the spectrum. We are a congregation and a denomination that takes seriously what we learn from the Bible and from our Christian ancestors, but we are not a church of litmus tests.  The preamble to the constitution of the United Church of Christ puts it very well: we affirm the responsibility of people in each generation to make this faith their own "in reality of worship, in honesty of thought and expression and in purity of heart before God." We are a place where people wrestle together with questions, doubts and new insights even as we all strive to live out Jesus' teachings. 

Justice and peace

We are a community that is deeply engaged with the wider community. Our congregation has a long history of being involved with programs in Madison and around the world that work to foster justice and peace. You can read more about those in our Community Outreach section.  We also are a community where people do a great job of looking out for each other in the midst of life's struggles. 

Nurturing spirituality

And we are a community that tries to take the spiritual lives of people seriously. Our Sunday worship strives to create a place where people can experience a connection to God as well as to each other.  We look for opportunities to help people individually deepen their connection to God and to tap the spiritual resources they have within them. All of this fosters our growing together in Christ.

                                 Blessings,

Our mission statement
tells a lot about us:

We are a community of faith
called by God,
to gather for worship
and reach out
in ever-widening circles
as a witness
to God's all-inclusive love
in Jesus Christ,
and to act out
God's grace and mercy
in deeds of
teaching,
healing,
reconciling,
nurturing, and
feeding those who are hungry
in body
or in spirit.

 A few places on this web site you might want to look at:

What worship is like
(this will give you a sense of Sunday mornings around here)

Sermons
(you can see what kinds of things we talk about on Sundays)

Kids and Youth
(if you have children, this will help you find out what we offer them)

Videos about the UCC

A 90-second ad that gives a sense
of the kind of place we are.

A 4-minute video that tells
more about the UCC and its values.