1220
NE 68th St. Vancouver, WA 98665 | | 360-693-1476
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Mission Statement:
It is the mission of our church to follow Christ in faith and lead the community by example. We worship together with creativity and joy, being rooted in but not root-bound by Christian tradition. We commit ourselves to:
Encourage spiritual growth and loving service to others;
Reach out to people of all races, backgrounds and affectional orientations;
Work for social justice and peace.
Open and Affirming Covenant:
We, the members of the First Congregational Church of Vancouver, are a diverse group of people who have known the joy of having been accepted and affirmed by God and by one another. We are a diverse group of persons who celebrate that diversity and view it as a way to understand the inclusiveness of God's love. We believe that, although we are many individuals, we are one body in Christ. We are called upon to love each other, to do justice, to bring release to the oppressed, and to walk humbly with God. We seek to work together in the light of the Gospel to define principles of human relationships and behavior that are based upon nurturing each other as whole persons with love, responsibility, accountability and trust. Our sexuality is a gift of God which enriches our lives and deeply touches our own and each other's uniqueness and humanity. It is a channel through which we experience the abundant life.
As a congregation and as individuals, we lift up the following as evidence of our opennes to and affirmation of all persons:
We celebrate the image of God in every person, we rejoice in the sacredness of life, and we affirm all relationships of support that are founded on the principles of love and justice. We affirm the traditional family, and we further recognize and support single persons, lesbian and gay relationships, single parent families, and extended families.
We condemn all acts of discrimination and violence (physical, emotional, social, political, legal) against any person because of their race, age, gender, sexual orientation, religion, ethnic background, or physical or mental disabilities or limitations. We pledge to support advocacy efforts to assure that every individual is treated with fairness and justice in our society.
We affirm that all persons are welcome into the community of believers upon making the same affirmation of faith that all other members make. We believe that God, without discrimination or judgement, welcomes all who seek their Creator. We encourage all members to share talents, gifts and energy in the liturgy, life, and leadership of the congregation.
We pledge ourselves to support and honor committed partnerships of gay, lesbian, and bi-sexual persons, recognizing the difficulty of maintaining such partnerships in the absence of social validation and legal frameworks which do support heterosexual unions.
Therefore, we the members of First Congregational United Church Christ of Vancouver, declare ourselves to be an Open and Affirming Church in response to the call of the 15th General Synod of the United Church of Christ, July 2, 1985.
UCC Statement of Commitment:
Affirmed by the 1993 General Synod
We, the United Church of Christ, look toward the twenty-first century with anticipation. We trust God’s promises. We are eager to respond to God’s call. We believe that God does have more truth and light yet to break forth from God’s holy word. Thanks be to God.
A CHURCH ATTENTIVE TO THE WORD
By God’s grace, we will be an attentive church. We commit ourselves anew to listen for God’s Word in Holy Scripture, in our rich heritage, in faithful witness, and in the fresh winds of the Holy Spirit so that we might discover God’s way for us.
We are claimed in baptism as children of God, disciples of Christ, and members of Christ’s church. Through sustained Biblical and theological reflection on the challenges, confusions, injustices, mercies and possibilities that confront us, we hope to discern baptism’s claim so that we might be the faithful disciples these days require.
We want to remember whose we are. Therefore, we will be faithful in worship and study, attentive to the Word and nurtured at the Table. We will be a people of prayer.
We want to be faithful disciples. Therefore, we will relate our faith boldly to all of life’s demands.
We want all people to know of God’s gracious activity on our behalf. Therefore, we will share God’s Good News so that God’s way may be revealed, God’s forgiveness received, and God’s future affirmed.
A CHURCH INCLUSIVE OF ALL PEOPLE
By God’s grace, we will be an inclusive church. We commit ourselves to be a church for all people and, in Christ, we celebrate, affirm, and embrace the rich diversity of God’s good creation.
We seek to be a fully inclusive community of faith, sharing bread and cup with all who see, in Christ, the way to our common future. We believe that God desires our oneness with all people, everywhere, and we long for the day when we may all be one.
We acknowledge that we are far less inclusive than we are called to be. Therefore, we will intentionally reach out into the world and lovingly invite all to Christ, and to participate fully in the ordering of our common life.
We acknowledge that we sometimes find it difficult to accept the gifts that others bring. Therefore, we will seek to be open to those gifts, affirm them, learn from them, and, at the leading of the Holy Spirit, be transformed by them.
We acknowledge that the world in which we live is far more diverse than we have hitherto imagined. We celebrate this rich diversity. Therefore, united in Christ, we will reach toward it in anticipation of God’s reign.
A CHURCH RESPONSIVE TO GOD’S CALL
By God’s grace, we will be a responsive church. We commit ourselves to be a church of justice and mercy and peace so that lives may be renewed, spirits revived, and worlds transformed.
So many of God’s people suffer. So many are maltreated. God’s good earth cries out in pain. Our world needs those who will pursue justice, show mercy, and seek peace. That is the church we hear God calling us to be. We want "to join oppressed and troubled people in the struggle for liberation . . . and to work for justice, healing, and wholeness of life." (UCC Statement of Mission)
We envision a world wherein "justice will flow down like mighty waters." Therefore, we will stand alongside those who hurt so that the hungry may be fed, the excluded embraced, and the creation renewed.
We envision a world wherein mercy reigns. Therefore, we will heal the sick, encourage the weary, and support the dying.
We envision a world of peace for all people, everywhere. Therefore, we will be peacemakers so that hostilities and hatreds may cease and love, mercy, and justice prevail.
A CHURCH SUPPORTIVE OF ONE ANOTHER
By God’s grace, we will be a supportive church. We commit ourselves to strengthen Christ’s body through renewed resolve and mutual support in our common ministries.
In the immediate days ahead, our servant church will face days of challenge. We will need dedicated pastors and teachers. We will need vibrant congregations. Only a people who share a common vision, who support each other whatever the cost, and who are committed, together, to strengthen Christ’s Church for ministry will be equal to the task. We want to be that church.
We believe that a vital church is a covenantal church. Therefore, we will be supportive of each other and accountable to each other.
We believe that a vital church is a sacrificial church. Therefore, we will give sacrificially of our resources so that Christ’s Church may be strengthened and God’s people served.
We believe that a vital church is a "united and uniting church." Therefore, we will seek to embody the oneness of Christ’s church through ecumenical commitment, witness, and ministries in Christ’s name.
This we believe, and for this we live. Amen.