All are welcome! May we all be one! God is still speaking!
UCT church services are in-person Sundays at 10 am!
We are also livestreaming our services. Please find our livestream at 10 am on Sundays at vimeo.com/UnitedChurchTallahassee.
UCT is a local open and affirming congregation of the United Church of Christ. We believe one should never put a period where God has placed a comma. God is still speaking, revealing new wisdom for today’s world and we are committed to discovering that wisdom together.
We are a church that takes Jesus’ command to “love one another” seriously.
We are a welcoming church, open and affirming to the LGBTQ+ community and accessible to all who seek to worship with us and join the journey of faith. We expect diversity and look for it in people and ideas.
We believe every person is loved by God and worthy to be an active, vibrant, and generous participant in our community of faith.
We believe in putting our faith into action as we follow Jesus’ example to love one another. We are involved in many peace and justice ministries locally as well as on the national and international levels.
We take our inspiration from Matthew 25:34b-36
“I was hungry, and you gave me food. I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink. I was alone and away from home, and you invited me into your house. I was without clothes, and you gave me something to wear. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.”
Racial Justice
We believe in ending racial injustice.
“Open the gates of justice! I will enter and tell the Lord how thankful I am.” Psalm 118:19
In America, the topic of race continues to be difficult to discuss in many social settings. Very few Christian churches are leading bold and courageous conversations, engaging in direct social activism, and participating in civil disobedience as a way to bring attention to and disrupt racist systems and structures.
The Christian Church is the catalyst for addressing historical and contemporary issues regarding the intersections of race and racism that continues to harm communities of color. The United Church of Christ acknowledges and supports the equality of all humans. In 1993, The Nineteenth General Synod called upon UCC congregations in all its settings to be a true multiracial and multicultural church. Twenty-five years later the call continues to go forth.
The call to be a multiracial and multicultural church is an acknowledgement that racial justice is the inclusiveness of all humans and never excludes anyone based on skin color, culture or ethnic origin. The United Church of Christ stands in solidarity with the creation narrative in Genesis 1:26-27, which clearly outlines what matters to God—all of humankind and a just world for all. God created humankind in God’s image and likeness, women and men are image bearers, sharing equal status as human beings. God did not create race, racism, superior groups of humans, and hierarchical and hegemonic social structures. God does not sanction human suffering including America’s involvement in—
Inhumane social confinement due to mass incarceration and surveillance of communities of color
Global confiscation of another cultures land and resources
Human trafficking and the enslavement and sexual violence and assault against women and children
Deportation and the separation of families from immigrant communities
Police brutality and militarized tactics and abuses resulting in the murder of people of color
Using global armaments and acts of terrorism on innocent civilians domestically and abroad
Supporting White Christian supremacy over and against non-Christian faith communities
In the Hebrew Scriptures the Psalmist tells us “The earth and everything on it belongs to the Lord,” (Psalm 24:1), and the Gospel of John affirms what matters to God when the writer says, “For God so loved the world…” in John 3:16. Therefore the United Church of Christ believes that “God is Still Speaking” and those who believe so are called to “Be the Church” creating a “Just World for All”
God has not given us a spirit of fear, but the spirit of power, of courage and resolution, to meet difficulties and dangers; the spirit of love which will carry us through opposition.” 2 Timothy 1:7
Sacraments
We have two Sacraments: baptism and communion. The sacraments are acts of God’s self-giving and our own self-giving. They are expressions of koinonia, community, participation, and sharing. They express to us a hope; and in this hope, we strive to remake the world into the glory of God.
Baptism
We believe that all of the baptized “belong body and soul to our God.” No matter who, no matter what, no matter where we are on life's journey—notwithstanding race, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, class or creed—we all belong to God and to one worldwide community of faith. All persons baptized—past, present and future—are connected to each other and to God through the sacrament of baptism. We baptize during worship when the community is present because baptism includes the community's promise of “love, support and care” for the baptized.
Communion
We believe that all people of faith are invited to join Christ at the table for the sacrament of Communion. Just as many grains of wheat are gathered to make one loaf of bread and many grapes are gathered to make one cup of wine, we, the many people of God, are made one in the body, the church. The breaking of bread and the pouring of wine reminds us of the costliness of unconditional love and the beauty of serving others and God to which we are all called. In the breaking of bread, we remember and celebrate Christ's presence among us along with a “cloud of witnesses”—our ancestors, family and friends who have gone before us. It is a great mystery; we claim it by faith. In order to be caring for those with special needs, we use grape juice and have a gluten-free option.
