Ypsi UCC: About Us
Mission Statement
Having received God’s expansive and unconditional love, we act in ways to extend God’s love and care locally and globally, striving for inclusion in all its forms.
Vision Statement
We aspire to be a community of faith that builds on the gift of God's expansive, unconditional love. We persistently strive, with many others, to find real life ways we can creatively use God’s powerful instrument of love. With God, we seek to shape a caring community where ALL people can live their best lives, comfortable in a sense of belonging, participation, safety, and abundance.
Values Statement
Inclusion. We seek to be a bold place to belong and a courageous spiritual home where all persons feel accepted. Our exuberant welcome is grounded in our UCC Open and Affirming Covenant celebrating everyone--including people of all ages, races, cultures, sexual orientations, gender identities, gender expressions, family configurations, economic circumstances, education, physical ability, cognitive ability, mental health, and spiritual or religious background. We embrace language inclusive of our understanding of God and of each other.
Equity. Committed to building equity in all systems, we take action by working for Justice, Peace, and Creation Care in our surrounding neighborhoods and the wider world. We are challenged to learn and grow spiritually, to be sent out to serve in a diverse variety of personal, vocational, and community social justice and leadership settings, according to our spiritual gifts and unique sense of God’s call.
Caring. Guided by biblical Scripture and Jesus’ vision of radical, counter-cultural love, we share kindness and compassion by responding with generosity and respect. We connect with others to build strong relationships based on mutual trust, authenticity, and integrity.
Resilience. Grounded in faith and hope in an abundant future, we persistently and organically rise to the challenges in front of us by cohesively pulling together in times of adversity and struggle.
Innovation. We embrace change with creativity and optimism trusting God to open new doors. We take informed risks to experiment with progressive novel ways to worship and serve that honor being in partnership with each other and with our wider community.
Additional Information
We are a small and growing Progressive Christian Community of Faith who seek to make a life-enhancing difference through spiritual growth and social justice community advocacy in Washtenaw County Michigan including Immigration Rights, Community Organizing, LGBTQ+ advocacy, Specially- Abled advocacy, Black Lives Matter, and Educational Advocacy.
BY "PROGRESSIVE WE MEAN THAT WE:
Find grace in the search for spirituality and believe that there is more value in questioning than in absolutes.
Commit to a path of lifelong learning, compassion, and love.
Seek to create community that is inclusive of all persons.
BY "CHRISTIAN" WE MEAN THAT WE:
Affirm that exploring, discerning and following the path of Jesus can lead to an awareness and experience of the Sacred the Oneness and the Unity of all life.
Acknowledge that the teachings of Jesus provide but one of many ways to experience the Sacredness and Wholeness of Life, and that we can draw from diverse sources of wisdom on our spiritual journeys.
Respect our interfaith, spiritual-but-not-religious, agnostic, skeptic, atheist, "nones," "dones," and other siblings as we seek to learn from each other's perspectives in community together.
BY "OPEN AND AFFIRMING" WE MEAN THAT WE:
Celebrate everyone, including people of all ages, races, cultures, sexual orientations, gender identities and expressions, family configurations, economic circumstances, physical, cognitive or emotional abilities, education or spiritual or religious traditions.
Offer a spirit of hospitality and show a willingness to live out extravagant welcome in meaningful ways.
BY "JUST PEACE" WE MEAN THAT WE:
Strive for peace and justice among all people.
BY "CREATION CARE" WE MEAN THAT WE:
Strive to protect and restore the integrity of our earth and all creatures.