What We Believe
At Peace UCC, we believe in God’s continuing testament. Which is to say that we don’t believe God stopped speaking to people after the Bible. Rather, we are committed to hearing God’s ancient story anew and afresh in our lives and in the world today as we encounter new situations, technology, and questions. We try to remain attentive to God’s creative movement in the world. Religion and science are not mutually exclusive, and your head and your heart are both welcomed into our places of worship! We prepare our members and leaders to be engaged in ministry in the present and the future of the church and we embrace all kinds of communities and new modes of thinking. Why? Because God is still speaking!
To express our firm belief in a “still-speaking” God, we often-times use the symbol of a comma, inspired by the Gracie Allen quote, “Never place a period where God has placed a comma.” The comma invites us to believe that God speaks to us not only through the Bible, but also through other people, nature, music, art, a theorem, and in so many other ways. It is also an expression of the unusual religious freedom and responsibility with which we encourage people to engage the Bible–that is, with freedom and encouragement to bring one’s own unique experiences, questions, doubts, and ideas because we don’t believe in forcing uniformity of expression in dogmatic beliefs. At Peace UCC, you will find a community that cherishes our rich religious past, yet balances it with an openness to the new ideas, new people, and new possibilities for the future!
For more information on our theological heritage, please take a look at our parent website (www.ucc.org/beliefs_statement-of-faith). Also, learn more about the Wisconsin Conference (wcucc.org) and our Denomination (ucc.org).
On October 20th, 2019 our congregation voted to proclaim itself and Open and Affirming Congregation within the UCC. We affirmed:
We, the members of
Peace United Church of Christ, believe that we are called to be a congregation
of grace and welcome to all of God’s children:
to celebrate every person as a child of God, created in God’s image.
to love all as God has first loved us.
to acknowledge the presence of, and offer healing to the wounds of oppression, injustice, prejudice, and hate, and to stand with those who are left out.
Following Christ’s example, we welcome and include everyone in all aspects of life, leadership, and ministry of the church. We affirm persons of all races, nationalities, sexual orientations, gender identities, family structures, physical or mental abilities, political stances, faith backgrounds and socio-economic status.
In the way of Jesus, we stand against acts of hate and violence in all their forms.
Therefore, we declare ourselves to be an Open and Affirming Congregation, where an extravagant welcome and grace are extended to all, and each person’s gifts are celebrated, welcomed, nurtured and blessed, that all may be one. Amen.
