What We Believe

Beckoned to this place of belonging, we, of Umstead Park United Church of Christ, with body, mind, and spirit, gather to worship, serve, and proclaim God, unknowable mystery whose center is love, and Jesus the Christ, who makes this loving mystery known.

With inarticulate words and unfinished lives, we yearn to further embody this holy love, shaping the future as partners with God, who dances and weeps with us along the way.

We come together as travelers on a journey, each bringing our unique histories, traditions, and stories of faith, and we prayerfully establish this covenant, seeking:

• A closer communion with God, 
• A more intimate community with one another, and
• A committed, mutual relationship with the wider world.

On our path to a closer communion with God, we will:

• Look to the historical Jesus and the present Christ; 
• Search the scriptures with open-minded thoughtfulness; taking the Bible seriously while knowing it cannot always be taken literally; 
• Seek, in our quest for truth, the presence of the divine: in worship and prayer; in all of creation; in every person, sacred in worth; and in faiths and traditions other than our own; while always appreciating with awe the mysteries inherent in life. 

In our efforts to walk more intimately in community, we will:

• Welcome fully persons of every race, religious background, age, ability, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, and economic condition, who each reflect the image of God; 
• Establish a safe haven, free from the fear of judgment, where wounds are healed, differences are celebrated and inclusivity is intentional; 
• Invite all to participate in the choices which shape us, sharing decisions equally and responsibly, and, in so doing, reclaim the constructive use of power; 
• Embrace our common life, overflowing with compassion and liberal in love; 
• Call forth and nurture our individual and collective creative gifts; 
• Delight in humor and, through joyous celebration, savor the goodness of life. 

With our steps toward a mutual relationship with the wider world, we will:

• Share freely of our wealth and resources; 
• Recognize our identity as global citizens, intimately tied to and partnered with all of God’s children in every land; 
• Demonstrate our concern for neighbor through service and prophetic voice; 
• Claim our inescapable connection with the sacred earth and all of creation; 
• Live justice as the social expression of love, and peace as the present manifestation of the world to come. 

This we know:

In our faithful sojourning
We do not walk alone. God is present with us.
We have not yet arrived. God continues to beckon.
We seek no destination. The sacred journey is our home.

Umstead Park United Church of Christ is a place where we are important
and it is a place that is important to us.
This is where we learn more about God:
that God loves us and cares for us;
and also the place where we learn what God wants us to do:
love each other and take care of other people.
Every single person is important to God.
We also believe God loves all of nature and we should too.
This means keeping the environment clean and not polluting, 
and also that animals and trees and mountains are all other ways we can learn more about God.
We believe that Church is a place that should be fun, because fun is good.
And finally, we believe that questions are good, and that church is a great place to ask them…
And we have lots of questions.
So we will come to Umstead Park United Church of Christ to learn more, and love more, and have fun, and be with our friends, and share with others, and ask questions, and listen for answers.
These are the promises we make.

We at Umstead Park United Church of Christ welcome and affirm all as we journey to seek the divine, to embody loving community, and to strive for justice as a progressive community of faith.

If you understand that faith is a matter of mind as well as heart, and that taking the Bible seriously means it cannot always be taken literally…

If you know that God’s love embraces all persons equally, no matter their gender, race, or sexual identity…

If, for you, diversity, tolerance and inclusivity are strengths to be taught…

If you believe that the Christ calls us to be nothing less than global citizens, that the social expression of love is justice, and that spiritual concerns are inseparable from commitment to the natural world…

If you’ve wished for a more open and embracing community of faith to nurture your spirit and raise your children, and haven’t yet found a like minded place of belonging…then we warmly invite you to help us build the family of Umstead Park UCC.

We believe that all people are God’s people, that every child is holy, that every person is a part of the sacred family.

We believe that God’s love embraces all, and that to exclude any person would be contrary to the message of Jesus.

We proclaim that this community of faith, Umstead Park UCC, will strive to be as open as the radical realm of God, and as liberating as the love of Christ.

And so we journey into our hopeful future with joy, pledging to offer each other welcome, compassion and care. May God grant us wisdom, grace, and guidance in our life together.

Umstead Park United Church of Christ is an open and affirming church which supports the full inclusion of gays, lesbians, bisexuals, transgender, and queer persons (LGBTQ+) in the church’s life and ministry.

UPUCC affirms marriage equality, and welcomes fully persons of every race, religious background, age, ability, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, and economic condition, who each reflect the image of God. Learn more about the United Church of Christ’s Open and Affirming Coalition.

We are part of the United Church of Christ: www.ucc.org

• The United Church of Christ has a vision of a just world for all. In this world all are welcomed, everyone is loved and justice is inherent. The 3 Great Loves is the denomination’s opportunity to express how our Love of Neighbor, Love of Children, and Love of Creation work together to address the inequities in our current world.   
• Over the course of the next two years, through the lens of the 3 Great Loves, the United Church of Christ tells the story of how we are impacting and transforming the world, united in common purpose and mission. 
• During these upcoming two years, there will be moments of special invitation to participate in this denomination-wide undertaking. One by one we will focus on each of the 3 Great Loves in service to our communities. 
• Our expression of love, is and will be our living testimony. 

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 more than 5,100 churches and 1.1 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).