Our Faith and Covenant  

Our Faith

As part of the United Church of Christ (UCC), we are rooted in the spirit of reform, and are committed to on-going learning about our faith and our world, to meaningful worship and spiritual growth, to social justice and to advocacy, to ecumenicity, and to mission and outreach. We are a community of faith that seeks to respond to the Gospel of Jesus Christ in both word and deed.

Our denomination has sometimes been called the "early church" because we're usually among the first in addressing important issues facing our society. For example:

o Our Congregational forebears were among the first to take a stand against slavery.
o We were the first Protestant denomination to ordain an African-American minister, as well as the first in this country to publish the works of an African American poet.
o We ordained the first woman since New Testament times as a minister (over 150 years ago!).
o We were leaders of the Social Gospel movement, and we formed the first united church in U.S. history.
o We were leaders in the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and '60s, and we were the first denomination to ordain an openly gay person.

We believe that "God is still speaking" in our world today, and calling us always to new ways of understanding and living out our faith. As members of our particular church, and of the United Church, we adhere to no specific formula that is a test of faith, but we do take seriously historic statements of faith, including the historic creeds of the Christian church. We believe in the authority of Holy Scripture, and believe that its study should not be limited solely to past understandings and interpretations, but that it should be pursued with hope for new insights and help for our living in today's world. We believe, in the words of one of our early ministers, that "There is yet more light and truth to break forth from God's Holy word."

We believe in the priesthood of all believers - that is, that all church members are called to minister to others, and to participate as equals in the worship of God. And we believe in the importance o responsible freedom - that as individual members of the Body of Christ, we are free to believe and act in accordance with our perception of God's will for our lives. But we are also called to live in a loving, covenantal relationship with one another.

Our members at First Congregational come from many different faith traditions, and from many life paths. Some of us grew up in the root denominations of the UCC, while others are newer to the United Church. Some of us are long-time residents of the Western Slope, and others are newly-arrived from elsewhere. We are young, we are old, we come from different educational and work backgrounds, we have different physical and mental abilities, we live in different types of families, we have widely-differing theological beliefs, we have different spiritual gifts and longings. And we believe that this diversity is a gift from God, and that it strengthens us as a faith community. We affirm the ideal that Christians do not always have to agree completely, to live and learn and worship together in communion. In all that we do here, we try to live out our belief that no matter who you are, no matter where you are on life's journey, you're welcome here.
 

Our Purpose*

It is the purpose of this church to be a community of Christian love, freely committed to the search for God’s truth as expressed in Christ’s ministry through
Christian Fellowship,
Union in prayer, praise and worship,
Reaching out in caring service and mission; in all
Enabled by the indwelling Holy Spirit.

Our Covenant*

This church freely accords to each member unrestricted liberty of conscience. In this spirit:

WE, the members of this congregation, covenant with God and with each other to walk together, trusting in God’s way as we know it and as it shall be made known to us.

WE strive to grow in our understanding of God and of Christ, our Lord.

WE pledge our time, our talent, and our treasure to strengthen the Christian witness of this Church, serving each other and the wider community in Christ’s name.

WE will nurture and care for those in need, opening our hearts to each other and to all who unite with us on this, our Holy Way.
 

* From our Constitution (which can be read with our Bylaws at Constitution and Bylaws)