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.

We would love to welcome you at our in-person service each Sunday at 10 am. A digital service is also offered on line on Sunday evening at 5 pm. Our service is streamed on YouTube and Facebook. You will find the links just below this section on our home page. The weekly 5 pm service is  available on line after it is initially presented on Sundays..

We strive to walk in the path of Jesus, and to offer an authentic welcome to everyone who walks through our door or joins us online. If you are new to us, we would love to get to know you and answer your questions about our church, even if we cannot greet you in person. A member of our Welcome Committee, or a pastor, would be happy to correspond on email or talk with you on the phone. Click here to arrange for a meeting.

Our in-person worship service starts at 10 am and includes hymns, prayers, scripture reading and a sermon. It usually lasts about an hour and fifteen minute.. 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."

Children are an important part of our community, and are welcome for all or part or the service.

UCUCC Parking Map

View for detailed Google Map.

Parking can be a challenge in the University District! Persistence, patience and an early start are keys to success.

UW has free parking on Sundays. Enter the main campus gate at NE 45th and 17th Ave NE and turn left past the toll booth. It's about a three-block walk to the church. The UW Meany Garage at 15th Ave. NE and NE 41st St. is a five-block walk.

The church also owns three parking lots - Lot A is across the street from the church on 16th Ave. E. Lot B is beneath Sortun Court, just north of the church on the east side of 16th Ave. E. (It closes at 2 p.m.) Lot C (for those with difficulty walking, young children and visitors) is at the corner of 15th NE and NE 45th St., next to the church.

If you need to be assured of a close parking spot, you can call the church office before noon on Friday to reserve one: 206-524-2322.

From time time we host lunches for people who are interested in learning more about our church and/or possibly becoming a member.  We are also happy to meet with you over coffee or at the church to explore and explain a range of topics about our church, from history, to theology, to membership. Click here to arrange a meeting with a Welcome Committee Volunteer or pastor or to set up a meeting and/or to learn when the next Welcome Lunch is planned.

Thank you for your interest in our church community.

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 or email Margaret Swanson, our Director of Children, Youth and Family Ministries..

Our programs for children and youth continue during this pandemic. Sign up at the bottom of the home page to receive our Children's Ministries and/or Youth Ministries newsletter.

Hearing Impaired: Our sanctuary has an induction loop system that uses the T-Coil mode of your hearing aids. You can get the necessary equipment just before entering the Sanctuary on the right or ask any usher.

Visually Impaired: We offer each Sunday's program in large print for easier readability.

Wheelchair Access: The front entry is wheelchair accessible as are the rest rooms. Please don't hesitate to ask for assistance.

New Here?

Mwanzo – Hope has a home here!

by | Oct 17, 2022 | General News, Mwanzo

Submitted by Lily Lahiri

What does Hope has a home here! Look like in practice?

This, from Country Manager, Jonathan Aluoka:

Madam Careen Owino’s heart is full of joy and gratitude for how Mwanzo has shaped her life. She can’t believe that she is now a fully trained teacher who started working at Mwanzo with a high school education. She registered for her certificate in ECDE and thereafter proceeded to do her diploma in ECDE. She is the true testimony of our theme “HOPE HAS A HOME HERE.”

And from Mwanzo Board Member, Mary Sue Galvin:

Adult hope starts to shift away from self to making a difference in the world – leaving a legacy of some sort – like teaching children, knowing that an education will make a difference.

What does, “Hope has a home here!” mean to us in practice? This question arises often when I think about how to make our Mwanzo value proposition real in my life and in my work for Mwanzo. Lately, I’ve been reading The Five Invitations: Discovering What Death Can Teach Us About Living Fully, by Zen Hospice founder Frank Ostaseski. I found his chapter on the maturation of hope especially powerful. Much of what I’ll share here today is based on this chapter.

Mature hope fuels motivation and action directed toward a goal that will serve us and our community. It gives the Mwanzo’s Board of Directors the courage to launch a funding drive for a school, a bus, and a community center. It strengthens us and encourages us to persist in constructive action. It energizes us to engage in activities that we imagine will enrich our future. This version of hope is a basic need.

Mature hope is founded in trust, experience, and relationship. We trust in the dedication and skills of the community in Rabuor to faithfully undertake the planning and the construction of a center that will provide access to life-giving resources and services through a health center, a library, an internet café and more. We trust the women’s entrepreneurial groups to creatively and wisely administer the savings and loan projects, and we share in their vision of a future that’s good for themselves and their neighbors.

Václav Havel, the philosopher and first president of the Czech Republic, suggested that hope is “an orientation of the spirit.” Frank Ostaseski thinks of hope as “an innate quality of being, an open, active trust in life that refuses to quit.” In the spirit of Ubuntu, I will leave you with this from Frank Ostaseski, “Hope that is active has an imaginative daring to it, which helps us to realize our unity with all life and find the resourcefulness required to act on its behalf.”

This kind of hope inspires our friends in Rabuor and our Mwanzo Board to hope in your continued interest, friendship, and support as well. Thanks be to God!