About

Beatitudes | United Church of Christ

Our Values Capture Who We Are

We are Christian

“Christian” with an evolving approach means our perception of God and self are authored in Jesus. Despite the human account of Jesus’ life and teachings, we are still able to perceive in him both the divine and human qualities of love, compassion, and impartiality.

We Are Open-Minded

“Open-Minded” means we value the Bible and the insights tradition, the humanities, and the various sciences bring to our 21^st century interpretation of it.

“Open-Minded” means we value questions that encourage us to expand our understanding of God and humanity.

“Open-Minded” means knowing that the way we behave towards one another is the fullest expression of what we believe.

We Are Spiritual

“Spiritual” means we acknowledge there are life experiences we have that can be difficult to either put into words or explain. The Divine is intertwined with all of life making it nearly impossible to demarcate the sacred from the secular.

“Spiritual” means a sense of connection with oneself, others, and that which is larger than oneself. Spirituality finds expression by tangibly making love real through words and actions while seeking justice and compassion.

We Are Evolving

“Evolving” means we accept evolutionary theory and the insights it provides as the dominant model of our understanding of humanity, various life forms, and our planet. We are active participants in evolution. Our actions now influence our future.

“Evolving” means we endeavor to be rooted but not stuck. Wise but not arrogant. We are committed to a path of life-long learning and of maturing in self-love and love toward others. As the model for “church” evolves, we eagerly experiment with new ways of journeying towards wholeness of body, mind and spirit.

We Are Diverse

“Diversity” means we acknowledge all ideologies and religions that are rooted in the principle of love for others and accept that diversity does not equal uniformity. As a spiritual community we are not accommodating of those who discriminate through public actions or words against others based on race, sexual orientation or gender identity, mental or physical abilities/background, and socio-economic status.