About Us 2

God Is Love

Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. 1 John 4:7-8

God is love. How easily we say it; how often we hear it. I wonder if we really

incorporate this truth into our lives. Do we believe it at the core of our being?

John tells us in this scripture that the origin of all love is in God and that human love is a reflection of God’s love. He tells us that God’s love is the creative force in the universe.

Although we cannot see God, we can see the effect of God’s love throughout our lives. Holy love becomes visible through the people who have loved us and the compassion others have shown us. We find evidence of God’s love when we recognize that we have received grace in our darkest times. God’s love has the ability to change us. Even if our personal experiences of being loved have at times been disappointing, there is within our core, a sense of yearning. That yearning can be identified as the Spirit of God, which continues to nudge us to seek out God’s truth in our lives. It has the power to shape our way of seeing and our way of responding. God love is revealed to us when our hearts are able to focus on the needs of those around us.

During February, the month of Valentine cards and heart shaped boxes of

candy, let us remember to whom we first belong. Let us be open to the power

of love to open our hearts. As we read the headlines and as we witness chaos

in our world, may we reflect on the individuals or groups of people we might be

called to have a new level of compassion for. May our words and actions

reflect the love we have been freely given.

Ash Wednesday is on February 18th. We will pause and remember the

ultimate gift of love. We will spend the 40 days of Lent seeking ways to allow

our lives to reflect the love we have been freely given.

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.