About Us
God
has showed you,
O people, what is good:
And what does the Lord
require
of you
but to do justice,
and to love kindness,
And to walk humbly
with
your God?
Micah 6:8
We are a Progressive Christian Church ...
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Welcome
to the home page of the Congregational Church of Belmont, located at 751
Alameda de las Pulgas in Belmont, California,
one-half mile north of Ralston
Avenue.
We can be reached at
Tel: 650-593-4547,
Fax: 650-593-4552,
or Email: BelmontUCC@comcast.net.
Our Sunday worship service begins at 10:30 a.m. with Bible Study and Sunday
School at 10:00 a.m. and coffee hour after worship. Child care is offered
during worship.
We
are an open and affirming church that warmly welcomes all people regardless
of race, gender, ability, or sexual orientation. Our historic
building is handicapped accessible and we offer enhanced hearing devices and
large-print bulletins.
We look forward to meeting you!
Our Covenant
I make this Covenant with God and the members of this church. I am here to seek God's truth and guidance for my life. I will support this church with my time, my resources and myself. As God has shown love to me through Jesus, I will share this love with others.
Our Mission Statement
As
members of the Congregational Church of Belmont, United Church of Christ,
we accept each other's diversity and remain open to one another's spiritual
interpretations as we strive to:
Worship
together seeking spiritual growth, inspiration
and inner peace;
Develop a close relationship with God;
Experience the joys and risks of allowing God to work
within each of us;
Be aware, with humility and love, of the individual
struggles and joys within our collective lives;
Minister faithfully and effectively to one another as an
extended family within the local community;
Do justice in the world God loves;
Practice inclusiveness and openness to provide a sense
of worthiness and acceptance of all people;
Enable each of us to live a meaningful life.
We undertake this mission with the help of Jesus Christ.
Progressive Christianity
We call ourselves a Progressive Christian Church because of these Eight Points:
We have found an approach to God through the life
and teachings of Jesus.
We recognize the faithfulness of other people who have
other names for the way to God’s realm, and acknowledge
that their ways are true for them, as our ways are true for us.
We understand the sharing of bread and wine in Jesus's name
to be a representation of an ancient vision of God’s feast
for all peoples.
We invite all people to participate in our community and
worship life without insisting that they become like us
in order to be acceptable.
We know that the way we behave toward one another
and toward other people is the fullest expression
of what we believe.
We find more grace in the search for understanding than we do
in dogmatic certainty, more value in questioning than in
absolutes.
We form ourselves into communities dedicated to equipping
one another for the work we feel called to do: striving for
peace and justice among all people, protecting and restoring
the integrity of all God's creation and bringing hope to
those Jesus called the least of his sisters and brothers.
We recognize that being followers of Jesus is costly,
and entails selfless love, conscientious resistance to evil,
and renunciation of privilege.
Together We Share
Worship
each Sunday morning as well as special services
through the year.
Bible Study each Sunday morning and in seasonal
programs.
Christian education for our children, nursery through
high school years, including a youth group.
Celebration of music through our chancel and folk choirs,
our pipe organ, visiting local artists, recitals
and our participation
in ecumenical and community music programs.
Outreach into the community through our support for such programs as the Samaritan House Family Kitchen, the INCH Food
Network and the Center for the Independence of the Disabled.
Outreach
into the world with our support for Our Church's Wider Mission and the Children of Chernobyl Project of
Northern California, which was founded here.
Fellowship as a caring celebration of our church family
with good-time gatherings such as Shrove Tuesday
and
Harvest Dinner.
Family Camp as Camp Cazadero near the Russian River
each September.
Our Congregational tradition in which the business of the
church is conducted by the consent and full participation
of the congregation.
All-church fundraisers: the Rummage Sale in August and
Chocolate Fest in October.
Our historic building, which dates from 1925 when it was
the clubhouse of the Belle Monte Country Club.
It is now
handicapped-accessible.
United Church of Christ Home Page
Northern California Nevada Conference of the United Church of Christ
The Center for Progressive Christianity
The Pacific School of Religion: "Progressive Christian Witness"
The Solitary Way
I
don't want a hand-me-down religion.
I can't live on borrowed beliefs.
But let my feet
forsake the well-worn path
and go where
my own soul leads.
And
if, after
ecstacies of angels,
mountain heights,
and inner light...
If after deserts desolate-dim
and canyons dark...
If then, my journey brings
me back to that familiar path,
I1ll gladly re-embark.
But
the hymns will be my songs,
the Psalms my passion, praise,
the rituals my mysteries,
and my prayers will guide my days.
There
is no other way for me
but a private pilgrimage
where no other foot has trod.
But if I follow my soul's leading
I will dance on the path to God.
Ann
L. Keiffer, May 1988
A member of the Congregational Church of Belmont
