West Park United Church of Christ is an Open and Affirming congregation of the United Church of Christ. We are a community of faith seeking to share our time and talents to strengthen our relationships with God, with each other and with our world. We, the members and friends of West Park United Church of Christ, support spiritual growth through community worship and educational programs. We welcome anyone seeking to know our Still Speaking God.
Worship
We gather for in-person worship at 10AM on Sunday mornings. Livestream at 10AM.
We've made a few mistakes in the past. We have even sinned. We don't pretend to be perfect and neither should you. We believe that the church is a school for sinners, not a shrine for saints. We gather to learn and grow in our faith, trying to be better than we were yesterday.
The guiding principle of our church and our denomination is covenant. Our God intends us to live in harmonious relationships with all of our siblings. We try to do that here, not in spite of our differences, but in embracing our differences.
The Boss
West Park United Church of Christ acknowledges as its sole head, Jesus Christ. We look to the word of God in the scriptures, and to the presence and power of the Holy Spirit, to prosper our creative and redemptive work in the world. We claim as our own the faith of the historic Church expressed in the ancient creeds and reclaimed in the basic insights of the Protestant Reformers. We affirm the responsibility of the Church in each generation to make this faith our own in reality of worship, in honesty of thought and in purity of heart before God.
The Bible
We take the Bible much too seriously to believe in a simple, literal reading of an English translation. We believe that in great wisdom and foresight, our God endowed us with human reason and the ability to learn. We study the Bible in its historical context, knowing that the human written words were inspired by our Still Speaking God and are relative and authoritative to our lives today. So, yes, we are Bible believing Christians. And we also believe in God's gift of intellect to humanity.
Christ-like Love
We are a community of faithful witnesses and in accordance with Holy Scripture, we believe that all people are created in the image of God. In living out this belief, we welcome people of all sexual orientations, gender identities, ages, abilities, ethnicities, races, and economic backgrounds into the full life and ministry of our church. We don’t just want you to sit in the pew, we want you to join us in fellowship, conversation and working to make this world a better place for all!
The Sacraments
In accordance with the teachings of Jesus Christ and the practice prevailing among Protestant Christians, we recognize and celebrate two Sacraments: Baptism and Holy Communion.
The United Church of Christ practices a truly open communion. Anyone called to God’s table is welcome to celebrate the Sacrament of Holy Communion when it is offered during any service. Our church offers the Sacrament on the first Sunday of the month and at many other special services during the year.
The 3 Rs
Relationship with God! Relationship with each other! Relationship with the world!
This is the essence of a life lived in Jesus Christ. We emphasize renewing and sustaining harmonious relationships as the core of our faith. Of the ways we maintain relationship with God is through our celebration of two Sacraments: Baptism and Holy Communion. We celebrate infant and adult baptism. Holy Communion is open to all who wish to know God through the Risen Christ.
