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.

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Overview of Church Organizational Changes

by | May 9, 2023 | Church Council, Ministry Update, Stewardship and Finance

Below is an overview of church organizational changes, including the pastoral Leadership Team portfolios, excerpted from the forthcoming 131st Annual Report. 

For the past few years, UCUCC has been on a deliberate journey of self-reflection and transformation. This time of prayerful assessment was, in part, a reflection of the leadership staffing changes that began with the departure of Pastor Peter Ilgenfritz at the end of 2018. Accompanying this liminal time were three important actions in the life of the church: the vote to become a Racial Justice Church, the work of the Future’s Task Force (FTF), and the work of the Assets Enhancement Task Force (AETF).

The research, visioning, listening, and priorities articulated by the Future’s Task Force have shaped the path that we are walking together as a church. The FTF report included four recommendations to the Church Council: three were adopted unanimously, and further exploration was proposed for the other. A Staffing Proposal Committee (SPC) was formed to take those next steps, and in February 2020 the UCUCC Church Council unanimously adopted three new Leadership Team Portfolios for our clergy team based on the culmination of the FTF and SPC work: Minister of Worship & Christian Formation, Minister of Care and Outreach, and Minister of Vision & Stewardship.

Our commitment to the work of racial justice has also shaped who we are becoming, as we walk forward with the intention of undoing systems of dominant culture and working to create a kin-dom culture in our community. The impact of Covid-19 has changed our church in many ways, and through our fortitude, creativity, and faith, we are emerging into a new way of being church together on the other side of this global pandemic. Finally, the work of the Assets Enhancement Task Force has created a thoughtful inventory of our resources and how we might use them to do God’s work in the world. The AETF Inventory Report can be found here.

UCUCC has also been living through a liminal season of pastoral leadership change. With Pastor Peter’s departure, Pastor Todd Smiedendorf’s two-year bridge ministry provided grounding and breath for this transitional space. In 2021, we hired Pastor Steve Jerbi in the portfolio of Minster of Worship & Christian Formation and Pastor Amy Roon transitioned into the portfolio of Minister of Vision and Stewardship. Pastor Catherine Foote’s retirement at the end of 2021 was the middle of the arc of congregational leadership change. Pastor Loren McGrail joined the team as a bridge minister in early 2022 and resigned in August 2022. During Pastor Amy’s sabbatical last fall, we were buoyed by the talent and support of our retired clergy, our covenant partners, and especially the leadership of Jennifer Butner as the pastoral liaison with the Calling, Engagement, and Community Ministry.

We’re not the same church we were four years ago. The intentional work of these past few years—the Future’s Task Force, the Staffing Proposal Committee, Assets Enhancement Task Force, our Racial Justice commitment, the ways we’ve shifted in response to the pandemic—all this work will strengthen and guide us through this next leadership transition. With the candidacy of Pastor Michael Ellick, we are approaching a new aspect of this transformation journey, as we envision the potential for a settled three-clergy Leadership Team again for the first time since 2019. As we step into our congregation’s 132nd year, we do so with hope for the future.

Leadership Team Vision and Portfolios

As recommended by the Future’s Task Force and the Staffing Proposal Committee, here is the vision for the UCUCC Leadership Team and the portfolios for each minister that would be in effect with the call of our 3rd settled pastor. These were initially adopted by the Church Council in February 2020, which also outlined a process for pastors to shift portfolios.

Vision: UCUCC is served by a team of three ministers who are called to embody and encourage the faith of the Church to live the transformative adventure of God’s love and justice. The Leadership Team (LT) is called to be a highly functioning pastoral leadership team that is well supported and connected to an engaged congregation and Church Council. The LT is a team characterized by skill, synergy, creativity, anti-bias work, transformative approach, and the accomplishment of goals. Each LT member is challenged, mentored, well-supported, and accountable to the team and to the congregation.

Expectations of All Leadership Team Ministers Are To:

  • Nurture a healthy spiritual life individually and together.
  • Work collaboratively and collegially, sharing the responsibility for healthy Leadership Team connection and function.
  • Share preaching and pastoral care responsibilities within the Leadership Team.
  • Exercise responsibility, leadership, and authority within their designated portfolio while consulting with the other Leadership Team members and laity.
  • Collaborate with lay leadership, developing specific goals and outcomes related to the minister’s specific areas of portfolio ministry.
  • Support and participate in the portfolio ministries headed by other Leadership Team members.
  • Support all the church’s missions and ministries.
  • Demonstrate desire and sensitivity to working in diverse racial, ethnic, cultural and religious settings and be attentive to implicit-bias perspectives and training.
  • Communicate in a timely and effective manner to individuals and the congregation.
  • Be accountable to the congregation through the Church Council, Personnel Committee, and Leadership Parish Relations Committee.
  • Work diligently to grow in the UCC’s “Marks of Faithful and Effective Authorized Ministers.”


The Minister of Vision and Stewardship (MVS) has broad responsibility for the Ministry of Stewardship & Administration.  Thus, the MVS has the responsibility for helping the congregation discern and articulate its vision and for developing strategies, goals, and outcomes that embody that vision. The MVS also has broad responsibility for leading the congregation in our covenant to live responsibly within creation, sharing with gratitude the gifts we are given. The MVS has responsibility for developing, monitoring, and reporting to church leaders the effective management of the ministry of UCUCC, including ensuring that the activities of all Leadership Team members (individual and team functioning) are in line with the vision and goals of the congregation. The MVS is accountable to the Leadership Team, the UCUCC Church Council and the congregation for the fulfillment of these expectations.

Specific areas of responsibility of Minister of Vision and Stewardship include:

  • Supervise Director of Finance and Administration including hiring, training, direction, meetings, performance feedback, corrective action performance documentation, positive reinforcement, frequent communication and adherence to the policies and procedures in the UCUCC Personnel Handbook.
  • Liaising with Personnel Committee (PC) – working closely with the PC to ensure they are equipped to do their work, including an annual evaluation of all Leadership Team members.
  • Liaising with Leadership Parish Relations Committee (LPRC) – to ensure they are equipped to do their work to advise, assist and promote the growth and health of the relationship between congregants and clergy.
  • Liaising with Stewardship & Administration Ministry which includes the PC, Finance Committee and Facilities Committee.
  • Coordinating the Leadership Team meetings and functions.
  • Helping the Leadership Team articulate long term goals, short term objectives, and common understandings and expectations.
  • Liaising with Church Council. While all members of the Leadership Team are full, non-voting participants on Church Council, the MVS has specific leadership/coordination responsibilities regarding:
    • Ensuring that the Church Council is working to discern the mission and vision of the congregation and creating long and short-term goals for the ministry of UCUCC.
    • Providing leadership to big-picture analysis and long-term planning with other church leadership.
    • Ensuring that Church Council has the training and tools necessary to carry out its role in visioning and ministry implementation.
  • Interpreting, articulating, and promoting the congregation’s overall mission, vision, and goals within areas of assigned responsibility in service to the Church Council and congregation.

The MVS portfolio is held by Rev. Amy Roon.

The Minister of Christian Formation and Outreach (MCFO) has broad responsibility for the Ministry of Christian Formation and the Ministry of Love & Justice. Thus, the MCFO has broad responsibility for providing Christian formation opportunities to congregants of all ages- from early childhood through adulthood- to deepen their understanding of the Sacred.  The MCFO has broad responsibility for providing meaningful educational programs to help individuals within the congregation and in the community to learn of God’s love, care and call for our lives. Also, the MCFO leads and supports the outreach ministry of UCUCC: empowers the congregation and its individual members to live out our covenant in God’s reign of justice and peace in the world. The MCFO is accountable to the Leadership Team, the UCUCC Church Council and the congregation for the fulfillment of these expectations.

Specific areas of responsibility of Minister of Christian Formation and Outreach include:

  • Work directly with staff and laity within the Christian Formation Ministry and Love &Justice Ministry (two of five designated ministries of the Church).
  • Supervise program staff Christian Formation Ministry and Love & Justice Ministry including hiring, training, direction, meetings, performance feedback, corrective action performance documentation, positive reinforcement, frequent communication and adherence to the policies and procedures in the UCUCC Personnel Handbook.
  • Lead the coordination of activities of Christian Formation and Outreach.
  • Lead the visioning and goal setting for Christian Formation programming and Outreach activities in line with articulated UCUCC priorities, and support implementation of goals as approved by Council.
  • Interpret, articulate, and promote the congregation’s overall mission, vision, and goals from the perspective of Christian Formation and Love & Justice ministries in service to the Church Council and congregation.

The MCFO portfolio will be held by Rev. Steve Jerbi once the new settled pastor arrives.

 

The Minister of Worship and Care (MWC) has broad responsibility for the Ministry of Music & Worship and the Ministry of Calling, Engagement & Community.  Thus, the MWC has the responsibility for leading the congregation in faithful and meaningful worship which includes music as a core component.  The MWC is responsible for designing, developing, and implementing a vision for leading the church working together to provide meaningful and faithful worship, both in-person and on-line. Also, the MWC leads and supports the congregational care ministry of UCUCC: empowers the congregation and its individual members to live out our covenant in the areas of caring for one another, and helps people find their vocation and opportunity for ministries (both small short-term callings and big lifetime vocational discernment). The MWC is accountable to the Leadership Team, the UCUCC Church Council and the congregation for the fulfillment of these expectations.

Specific areas of responsibility of Minister of Worship and Care include:

  • Work directly with staff and laity within the Music & Worship Ministry and Calling, Engagement & Community Ministry (two of five designated ministries of the Church).
  • Supervise program staff for Music &Worship Ministry and Calling, Engagement & Community Ministry including hiring, training, direction, meetings, performance feedback, corrective action performance documentation, positive reinforcement, frequent communication and adherence to the policies and procedures in the UCUCC Personnel Handbook.
  • Lead the coordination of activities of Music & Worship
  • Lead the visioning and goal setting for Music & Worship and Calling, Engagement & Community programming in line with articulated UCUCC priorities, and support implementation of goals as approved by Council.
  • Interpret, articulate, and promote the congregation’s overall mission, vision, and goals from the perspective of Music & Worship and Calling, Engagement & Community ministries in service to the Church Council and congregation.

Rev. Michael Ellick is the candidate for the MWC portfolio, recommended by the Pastoral Search Committee and endorsed by the UCUCC Church Council.