No matter who you are, or where you are on life's journey, you are welcome here at University Congregational United Church of Christ. Young, old, sure of your path, or still searching --- we invite you to join us in imagining love and justice - as Jesus did - in acting to change the world.
Our in-person worship service starts at 10 am and includes hymns, prayers, scripture reading and a sermon. It usually lasts about an hour. During the 10 am service we also offer live-streaming to a nearby room that offers those with compromised immune systems to be more isolated. We also offer a separate space for children, with supervised play and crafts during the 10 am service. Sections of the 10 am service are programed into the 5 pm digital service, which is offered as a "vespers."
We are an inter-generational church and strive to be family-friendly, with an active ministry for children and youth. All ages are welcome in worship. We also offer nursery and child-care, Younger children begin the 10 am service with us and usually leave after about 15 minutes. Older children have the option of leaving for a special sermon time. Junior high and high school youth meet at 9 am and then often sit together in worship. Give us a call at 206-524-2322 for more specifics.
Wheelchair Access: The front entry is wheelchair accessible as are the rest rooms. Please don't hesitate to ask for assistance.
Now that you may be lingering a little longer at church, stop by the Scheyer Library! Did you know the library has subscriptions or donations of several magazines, including Yes!, Sojourners, Biblical Archaeology, and Christian Century? In addition, you may find a recent New Yorker to borrow!
The library has several new volumes, including After Jesus, Before Christianity, which Royce Morrison donated and has reviewed for us below.
What happened to early followers of Christ, the Anointed, in the over two hundred years between Jesus’ death and the emergence of what could be called a coherent “Christianity” of creed, canon and enforcing hierarchy? From the Westar Christianity Seminar, After Jesus – Before Christianity does not lead toward any scripture-based orthodoxy. Instead, it opens to critical examination both old biblical canon and rich volumes of Jesus-related texts discovered since the mid-twentieth century. It asks questions and proposes some answers.
Revealed are disparate communities of the Anointed – surviving, scattered remnant communities in an overwhelmingly violent empire. Some steeped in and others only somewhat aware of biblical Judaism, they heard new gospel stories, leaned on each other and sought to understand the Way, to claim meaningful identity, to reject the gods of the dominant societies.
What interests were served by writing the conventional histories we have inherited? What limits of community roles were dictated by class or gender? Who was Paul, and what did they know of him? Why did the Greek word for “choice” become “heresy,” deserving death? When was it conveniently useful to invent Gnosticism? And for us, what will those early faith communities teach about any community’s search to live in the heart of Christ’s Way?