In January 2018, we declared ourselves a Just Peace Church congregation by the adoption of the following statement:
Remembering that we are commanded to love God with all our being (Dt. 6:5), and to love our neighbors as ourselves (Lv. 19:18); and
Remembering that in 1985 the United Church of Christ laid the groundwork for churches to become Just Peace churches; that is, congregations of the United Church of Christ that boldly commit themselves to nonviolent means of righting unjust systems, and to deep exploration of the intersections of peace and justice; and
Knowing that all humanity needs and deserves just and fair access to air, water, food, housing, employment and health care, and knowing that too many are denied access to life’s necessities, and are denied access to legal redress; and
Believing that we are called into the church to accept the cost and joy of discipleship, we as a church and as individual people of faith commit ourselves to giving time, talents and dollars to
the ministry of advocacy to change unjust policies and systems; and
to ministries creating
abundance where there is scarcity,
justice where there is injustice,
cooperation and peace where there is confrontation and conflict,
restoration and healing of our common home, the earth;
and
Knowing that it is in God, that we live and breathe and have our being (Acts 17:18); we will be faithful in those practices which maintain and enhance our spiritual health, including spending time in fellowship with other disciples, in the study of scripture, and in prayer especially offering our Lord’s Prayer with keen awareness of the phrase, “thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth;” and
Knowing that we cannot do such work alone, we will seek many avenues of human collaboration and cooperation.
You can learn more about the Just Peace Church movement in the United Church of Christ on the Just Peace page of the United Church of Christ website.
You can learn more about all of the justice advocacy work of the United Church of Christ on the Advocate for Justice section of the United Church of Christ website.