Our mission is to follow Jesus Christ by worshipping and learning together, caring for ourselves and others, and working to preserve justice, peace, and the sanctity of God’s world.
The most important thing to notice about this statement is that it begins with an independent clause upon which all the other things listed lean: “Our mission is to follow Jesus Christ…” In Gospel accounts of Jesus’s life, we hear him repeatedly calling others to follow him. He didn’t want people to just believe in him; he wanted us to love as he loved, to challenge the status quo as he challenged the status quo, and to worship God with our actions, not just our hearts.
We are a church that strongly emphasizes what Jesus did in his life, not just in his death. We worshipfully learn and listen for the still-speaking, still-moving God in this world. As we do so, here are some of the missional areas where we have found focus:
LGBTQIA+ ISSUES
We became a church open and affirming of LGBTQIA+ persons in the late 1990s. This collective identity is very important to us and is something we lovingly embrace and celebrate, raising our collective voice on LGBTQIA+ justice issues and seeking to be a strong, visible Christian ally to the LGBTQIA+ community.
HOMELESSNESS
Equity issues surrounding housing have been a concern in the congregation since the days when church member Elliot Couden labored hard for passage of the Fair Housing Act, an important part of the federal Civil Rights Act of 1968.
As home prices and rent have skyrocketed in Seattle, the growing problem of unaffordable housing and homelessness brought our church to form a Homelessness Task Force, which continues an active ministry today. This group works in conjunction with local schools, the West Seattle Food Bank’s helpline services, the Westside Interfaith Network, St. Vincent de Paul’s and others to prevent homelessness and to respond when it occurs.
In 2019, the City of Seattle, the Low Income Housing Institute (LIHI), and the residents of Camp Second Chance, our closest tiny-home village, approached our congregation about partnering with them to lease the land so the thriving camp would not need to move. The congregation overwhelmingly supported this new missional effort. By early 2020, the city had removed the need for a lease but we have continued to support camp residents through a sponsorship understanding.
IMMIGRATION ISSUES
In the late 1950s, our congregation formed a Refugee Resettlement Committee that worked with volunteers in helping many immigrants from around the world to make a new home in the Seattle area. The group was active for decades, and recent memorial services for members like May Commeree and the Rev. Paul Pruitt have been attended by some of the many families helped, reminding us of the good work of those who have gone before us.
In the last few years, our congregation has become increasingly active around immigration issues we are presently facing in the U.S., calling for the humane and just treatment of people at the border and on paths to possible citizenship. In 2019, the congregation approved hosting an asylum-seeking family recommended to us by the Church Council of Greater Seattle, and we are preparing basic accommodations for our first immigrant family as we look into other housing/hosting possibilities.
SYSTEMIC RACISM
While we cannot claim to be a church that is fully aware and adequately repentant of the ways we have and still support systemic racism, we actively seek to better understand our privilege, listen deeply to concerns raised by persons of color in and beyond our congregation, honor the first peoples of the land on which our church stands, and look for ways in which we can disrupt systemic racism in our personal and collective lives. We recognize the importance of beginning this journey with humility and of seeking God’s guidance to deepen our awareness and resolve to act.
CARRYING OUR FAITH TO OUR VOTE
We are people of faith and integrity who follow a God of justice, not just a God in personal relationship with us. As Jesus did, we recognize the importance of carrying our faith to every facet of our lives, including our political actions. While we do not promote political candidates, you will hear messages of faith that we encourage members to apply as they make political decisions.
Environmental Stewardship
Caring for creation is important to our church, as are issues of environmental justice. While we do not presently have a group actively driving our involvement in environmental issues, we speak to them in and outside of worship. Our congregation fiscally supports the Earth Ministry organization and national environmental efforts of our UCC denomination. We use recyclable and compostable products and ask the same of guest groups in our building, host twice-yearly Recycle Roundups, and applaud congregants who are actively advocating around climate change.
HOW ELSE DO WE LIVE OUR MISSION?
Of course, our mission is not just about outreach. Like any healthy congregation, we recognize that we are strongest when we seek to model the same community and world for which we strive alongside God. To that end, we are a congregation that reaches inwardly too. We highly value building authentic community by collectively caring for one another in both challenging and joyful times. We also recognize that our journey of discipleship is a lifelong endeavor that requires us to commit to learning, to open ourselves to new possibilities, and to constantly reorient ourselves as a congregation around our mission and God’s call.
As our God covenants with humanity, we covenant with one another, saying these words of promise when anyone is comfortable enough to join this congregation and walk alongside us:
Trusting in Christ's love for us in this place and time; building on the legacy of previous generations; mindful of our needs and of those we seek to help; respectful of our differences in an inclusive, caring community; seeing peace and justice as the work of the people of God; believing that worship, service, and learning are life-giving; we yearn for God's grace. We draw strength from God's presence. We dare to commit ourselves to the challenges of following Christ.
