THE HISTORY OF OUR CHURCH
Our Church history harkens back to the beginning of time when, “God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light;” continued when God created us “in the image of God;” and moved forward when we became part of a family of faiths when God told Abraham, “You shall be the ancestor of a multitude of nations.”
Our Church history journeys from the birth of Jesus in 4 C.E., and the start of Christianity in 33 C.E.; through the split of the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches in 1054; to the Protestant Reformation of the 16th Century; to Calvinism, Lutheranism, Episcopalianism, and Congregationalism, when spiritual people came to the colonies seeking religious freedom.
Our denomination, the United Church of Christ,
was formed in 1957. The UCC grew out of the Evangelical and Reformed Church, and the Congregational Christian Churches. In 1785, our spiritual ancestors ordained Lemuel Haynes, the first African American to become a minister in a Protestant denomination. In 1853, our spiritual ancestors ordained Antoinette Brown, the first woman since New Testament times to become a Christian minister. And in 1972, the UCC ordained William R. Johnson, the first openly-gay person to be a minister in a mainline Christian denomination.
Our Church opened its doors in 1958. Back then, according to founding member Marve Davis, the doors were on a chicken farm, bought by the UCC. Then, perhaps during construction of Our Church sanctuary, people met in a bar. Over the years, hundreds have found a spiritual home here (not a chicken coop) as they have come for Sunday Services to hear the Good News in song, scripture, and sermon.
THE THEOLOGY OF OUR CHURCH
We believe in a God of love, not hate. “God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them.”
We believe in Jesus, the son of Mary and Joseph and God, who taught us how to live and love. “I give you a new commandment that you love one another.”
We believe in The Holy Spirit, who connects us to God and leads us onward and upward. “Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness.”
We believe in Humankind, as God’s children, made in God’s image, created “very good,” and with whom God is “well pleased.”
We believe in the Earth, protecting it for future generations.
We believe in the Bible, not always taking it literally, but sometimes taking it liberally, as Jesus did when he helped people on the Sabbath, even though the Scriptures say do nothing on the Sabbath.
We believe in Heaven — on earth and above — when people experience eternal joy over the rainbow; and when they help others to experience eternal joy under the rainbow: “on earth as it is in heaven.”
We believe in Baptism, when the church recognizes that a child of creation is really a Child of God, blessed by God and loved by God.
We believe in Communion, in community, in our common unity; welcoming all to the Table; accepting the bread of life and the cup of the spirit, remembering Jesus’ spirit and life, and our own.
We believe in the Church, nurturing people in body, mind, and soul. As Catholic comedian Gracie Allen wrote in a letter to her Jewish comedian husband George Burns, “Never place a period where God has placed a comma,” which inspired the UCC slogan, “God is Still Speaking,” and which inspires us to have an ever-evolving faith.
THE GOVERNANCE OF OUR CHURCH
Jesus is the leader of Our Church. “Christ is the head of the church.”
Our Church is a congregational church, meaning it is run by the congregation. The congregation votes annually to approve the church budget and to elect the church council to run the church on a daily basis. The congregation also votes to call or dismiss the minister. The council, which includes the minister, appoints committees as necessary. Those wishing to join Our Church are approved for membership by the minister, then the council, and finally are received into membership by the congregation during a Sunday Service. Only members can vote in congregational meetings and can serve on the council. If the council does something the congregation disagrees with, or doesn't do something the congregation wants done, five members of the congregation can sign a petition calling for a congregational meeting, then the congregation can vote for what they want.
Our Church denomination, the UCC, speaks to local congregations, but not for them. Our Church is one of nearly 5,000 churches that make up the UCC, which has almost one million members. Members and member churches of the UCC, including Our Church, meet every two years at General Synod to elect national officers, set denominational policy, and vote on a budget.
Our Church is part of the Southern California Nevada Conference of the UCC, which gathers annually and works with member churches to help them to grow spiritually, educationally, financially, and numerically. Our Church is one of several churches that belongs to the Northern Association of the SCNC of the UCC, which ordains ministers and sets rules and procedures for ministers.
THE MINISTRY OF OUR CHURCH
The Ministry of Our Church is about helping people to share the love of God, to follow the teachings of Jesus, and to listen for The Holy Spirit. “As you go, proclaim the good news, ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’”
Our Ministry welcomes into Our Church all people — of every age, sex, race, faith, income, nationality, sexual orientation, and gender identity — and leads them in worship: music, singing, praying, reading the Bible, educating children and adults, preaching the Gospels, Baptizing adults and children, and sharing Communion with everyone.
Our Ministry includes performing weddings for any couple, including same-sex couples, and conducting memorial services for all.
Our Ministry offers people counseling, coaching, and pastoral care, calling on them in the hospital or at home, and visiting them in bars, and behind bars.
Our Ministry includes feeding people every Sunday after church — members, friends, and those in need in the community — and around the major holidays: Christmas, Easter, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, and Thanksgiving. We also distribute boxes of food to people in need every Saturday at our Food Pantry.
Our Ministry includes offering children and adults free books from our Book Box in front of Our Church, co-sponsored with the Chatsworth Kiwanis Club. We also perform other acts of kindness in the community, like bringing food to the homeless; and speaking out and working for justice for everyone, including refugees. And Our Church, along with our denomination, helps people during disasters; protects our environment; and promotes peace around the world.
Our Church history harkens back to the beginning of time when, “God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light;” continued when God created us “in the image of God;” and moved forward when we became part of a family of faiths when God told Abraham, “You shall be the ancestor of a multitude of nations.”
Our Church history journeys from the birth of Jesus in 4 C.E., and the start of Christianity in 33 C.E.; through the split of the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches in 1054; to the Protestant Reformation of the 16th Century; to Calvinism, Lutheranism, Episcopalianism, and Congregationalism, when spiritual people came to the colonies seeking religious freedom.
Our denomination, the United Church of Christ,
was formed in 1957. The UCC grew out of the Evangelical and Reformed Church, and the Congregational Christian Churches. In 1785, our spiritual ancestors ordained Lemuel Haynes, the first African American to become a minister in a Protestant denomination. In 1853, our spiritual ancestors ordained Antoinette Brown, the first woman since New Testament times to become a Christian minister. And in 1972, the UCC ordained William R. Johnson, the first openly-gay person to be a minister in a mainline Christian denomination.
Our Church opened its doors in 1958. Back then, according to founding member Marve Davis, the doors were on a chicken farm, bought by the UCC. Then, perhaps during construction of Our Church sanctuary, people met in a bar. Over the years, hundreds have found a spiritual home here (not a chicken coop) as they have come for Sunday Services to hear the Good News in song, scripture, and sermon.
THE THEOLOGY OF OUR CHURCH
We believe in a God of love, not hate. “God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them.”
We believe in Jesus, the son of Mary and Joseph and God, who taught us how to live and love. “I give you a new commandment that you love one another.”
We believe in The Holy Spirit, who connects us to God and leads us onward and upward. “Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness.”
We believe in Humankind, as God’s children, made in God’s image, created “very good,” and with whom God is “well pleased.”
We believe in the Earth, protecting it for future generations.
We believe in the Bible, not always taking it literally, but sometimes taking it liberally, as Jesus did when he helped people on the Sabbath, even though the Scriptures say do nothing on the Sabbath.
We believe in Heaven — on earth and above — when people experience eternal joy over the rainbow; and when they help others to experience eternal joy under the rainbow: “on earth as it is in heaven.”
We believe in Baptism, when the church recognizes that a child of creation is really a Child of God, blessed by God and loved by God.
We believe in Communion, in community, in our common unity; welcoming all to the Table; accepting the bread of life and the cup of the spirit, remembering Jesus’ spirit and life, and our own.
We believe in the Church, nurturing people in body, mind, and soul. As Catholic comedian Gracie Allen wrote in a letter to her Jewish comedian husband George Burns, “Never place a period where God has placed a comma,” which inspired the UCC slogan, “God is Still Speaking,” and which inspires us to have an ever-evolving faith.
THE GOVERNANCE OF OUR CHURCH
Jesus is the leader of Our Church. “Christ is the head of the church.”
Our Church is a congregational church, meaning it is run by the congregation. The congregation votes annually to approve the church budget and to elect the church council to run the church on a daily basis. The congregation also votes to call or dismiss the minister. The council, which includes the minister, appoints committees as necessary. Those wishing to join Our Church are approved for membership by the minister, then the council, and finally are received into membership by the congregation during a Sunday Service. Only members can vote in congregational meetings and can serve on the council. If the council does something the congregation disagrees with, or doesn't do something the congregation wants done, five members of the congregation can sign a petition calling for a congregational meeting, then the congregation can vote for what they want.
Our Church denomination, the UCC, speaks to local congregations, but not for them. Our Church is one of nearly 5,000 churches that make up the UCC, which has almost one million members. Members and member churches of the UCC, including Our Church, meet every two years at General Synod to elect national officers, set denominational policy, and vote on a budget.
Our Church is part of the Southern California Nevada Conference of the UCC, which gathers annually and works with member churches to help them to grow spiritually, educationally, financially, and numerically. Our Church is one of several churches that belongs to the Northern Association of the SCNC of the UCC, which ordains ministers and sets rules and procedures for ministers.
THE MINISTRY OF OUR CHURCH
The Ministry of Our Church is about helping people to share the love of God, to follow the teachings of Jesus, and to listen for The Holy Spirit. “As you go, proclaim the good news, ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’”
Our Ministry welcomes into Our Church all people — of every age, sex, race, faith, income, nationality, sexual orientation, and gender identity — and leads them in worship: music, singing, praying, reading the Bible, educating children and adults, preaching the Gospels, Baptizing adults and children, and sharing Communion with everyone.
Our Ministry includes performing weddings for any couple, including same-sex couples, and conducting memorial services for all.
Our Ministry offers people counseling, coaching, and pastoral care, calling on them in the hospital or at home, and visiting them in bars, and behind bars.
Our Ministry includes feeding people every Sunday after church — members, friends, and those in need in the community — and around the major holidays: Christmas, Easter, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, and Thanksgiving. We also distribute boxes of food to people in need every Saturday at our Food Pantry.
Our Ministry includes offering children and adults free books from our Book Box in front of Our Church, co-sponsored with the Chatsworth Kiwanis Club. We also perform other acts of kindness in the community, like bringing food to the homeless; and speaking out and working for justice for everyone, including refugees. And Our Church, along with our denomination, helps people during disasters; protects our environment; and promotes peace around the world.