Affiliations
The United Church of Christ
UCC is a liberal Protestant denomination within
the Christian tradition. It offers for reflection a traditional
Statement of Faith, yet values the individual's right and ability
to prayerfully and thoughtfully determine what to believe regarding
God, creation, the Holy Spirit, etc. UCC gets its inspiration
from the bible, and considers Jesus a unique figure, the incarnation of God. Authority
is held by of the local congregation, not the church's pastor or national
staff. The UCC values outreach and justice work, and seeks to be inclusive.
The Unitarian Universalist Association
The modern UUA is not Christian, although there are Christians in
the denomination (as well as Buddhists, humanists, etc.). UUA organizes
around principles of behavior, not theological belief. Sources of
inspiration include not only the bible, but also poetry, essays, literature.
Jesus is generally understood as a wise teacher and leader, similar
to Buddha, Gandhi, Martin Luther King. As in the UCC, authority is
held by members of the local congregation, not the church's pastor
or national staff. The UUA also values outreach and justice work,
and seeks to be inclusive.
United
The UUA and the UCC united as First Parish to best use financial and
human resources. There are many different denominations represented
here, not just two; some of us are Christian, some are not. We are
together because we value diversity, want to listen to each other,
and do not believe there is a single "truth". In worship
we use the bible as well as other resources. We present a variety
of perspectives on Jesus, God, the bible, creation, heaven and hell,
etc. We find the common ground of our member denominations in that
we uphold the individual's ability and right to determine belief,
we value outreach and justice work, and rest authority in the congregation
instead of the pastor or national staff.
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