United Church of Christ (national site)
Every week we are welcomed to worship by a member of the congregation. Here’s today’s welcome from Tracy Fossum.
A couple of weeks ago,my friend’s 8-year-old daughter asked her, “What do they believe at Tracy’s church?” So my friend posed the question to me.
I paused, panicked, and then sputtered something about social justice, open and affirming, just peace, etc., but I couldn’t clearly articulate what we believe outside of “be a good person.” I was horrified.
Having grown up in a strict religious household, I was trained very early to be able to defend my beliefs to anyone, anytime — even to perfect strangers.
But then I was ecstatic. I realized that it was precisely because of this hesitation that I loved coming here. While the church is physically beautiful, there is a strong sense of social justice, and the people here are wonderful, it is not a doctrine factory. It is an interpretive guide to the world around us and the faith that sustains us. It is a place that reinforces decency but allows you to embark on your faith journey and explore what is meaningful to you. Through your own prism of reality– gay, straight, male, female, young, old, rich, poor– you co-exist with others who are on their own faith journeys that are surprisingly unique and surprisingly the same. That is what we believe.
The Lord be with you (and also with you).
