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 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."
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 
Wheelchair Access: The front entry is wheelchair accessible as are the rest rooms. Please don't hesitate to ask for assistance.
The United Church of Christ has chosen “Vote with Love” as their civic engagement slogan. The ELCA is using “ELCAvotes” and #ELCAElectionActivator. The United Methodists are talking about “Sacred Votes.” The Episcopal Church says, “Vote Faithfully.” The National Council of Churches lifts up “Voting Matters” with their election empowerment guide. These slogans are broad enough to work in most contexts and can be adaptable. Our church has printed “Vote with Love” signs coupled with “Vote No” on the four regressive statewide initiatives. But on its own, the same slogan could be used in areas that are supporting those initiatives.
Whenever I see a phrase using vaguely Christian sentiments connected with love, I’m reminded of what The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said in Where Do We Go From Here? He said:
Power without love is reckless and abusive, and love without power is sentimental and anemic. Power at its best is love implementing the demands of justice, and justice at its best is power correcting everything that stands against love.
As we head into the final weeks of the 2024 election, what does your voting power map look like? Does your community feel disempowered by electoral politics? Are y’all carrying moral conflicts on candidates that violate your values? Do you see places where local issues are galvanizing your community? Are you noticing how other organizing groups are focusing on Get Out The Vote campaigns because funders pour money into GOTV efforts and strategic teams will maximize that money to support wider organizational priorities? Have you mapped your districts and precincts, held candidate forums, used this season to expand your base beyond the election cycle? Where is your power this election season?
As organizers, we recognize electoral politics are tools for building a liberative, beloved community. As one of my organizing mentors told me: we leave no tool unused. We recognize it is a strategy – one of many – to build and use collective power. We honor the struggles of our ancestors and elders for voting rights. We share the stories of ongoing voting re-enfranchisement. We don’t confuse strategy with vision, or pretend like any election will bring about collective liberation. We listen with curiosity toward those who opt-out of electoral politics while we mobilize our communities to participate. And we maximize the ways an election season can make us more powerful. If it wasn’t powerful, folks wouldn’t be working so hard to take away voting rights.
Everyone from politicians, to pundits, to celebrities have something to say about this election. We have the opportunity to cut through the noise by reminding our congregations voting faithfully, or sacred voting, or voting with love is about more than a civic duty – it is a tool for being powerful. Dr. King went on to name that Black Americans had in the past sought goals “through love and moral suasion devoid of power” while white Americans sought them “through power devoid of love and conscience.” By focusing on how we can connect our faith and our values (love) with our ability to act (power), we resist the “collision of immoral power with powerless morality.”
So let us vote with love, and love with power.
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