Our Values
- Transcendence – To connect with wonder and awe of the unity of life
- Community – To connect with joy, sorrow, and service with those whose lives we touch
- Compassion – To treat ourselves and others with love
- Courage – To live lives of honesty, vulnerability, and beauty
- Transformation – To pursue the growth that changes our lives and heals our world
Mission:
Together we nourish souls, transform lives, and do justice
to build the Beloved Community.
Ends:
- We are a collaborative pluralistic church living our values and mission in the greater world, achieving together what we can’t do alone.
- We are an intergenerational church that invests in and prioritizes spiritual nourishment for all.
- We commit to the journey of transformative inclusiveness and the lifelong work it requires.
- We commit to justice in every part of our lives and our church by confronting racism and oppression.
About Beloved Community
“Dr. King’s Beloved Community is a global vision, in which all people can share in the wealth of the earth. In the Beloved Community, poverty, hunger and homelessness will not be tolerated because international standards of human decency will not allow it. Racism and all forms of discrimination, bigotry and prejudice will be replaced by an all-inclusive spirit of sisterhood and brotherhood. In the Beloved Community, international disputes will be resolved by peaceful conflict resolution and reconciliation of adversaries, instead of military power. Love and trust will triumph over fear and hatred. Peace with justice will prevail over war and military conflict.“
—The Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change
“But the end is reconciliation; the end is redemption; the end is the creation of the Beloved Community. … It is this love which will bring about miracles in the hearts of men.”
—Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
A Covenant of Healthy Relations
As a religious community, we promise
To Welcome and Serve by:
- Being intentionally hospitable to all people of goodwill
- Celebrating all aspects of diversity
- Treating others as they wish to be treated
- Being present with one another through life’s transitions
- Encouraging the spiritual growth of people of all ages
To Nurture and Protect by:
- Communicating with one another directly in a spirit of compassion and goodwill
- Ensuring those who wish to communicate are heard and understood
- Speaking when silence would inhibit progress
- Disagreeing from a place of curiosity and respect
- Interrupting hurtful interactions when we witness them
- Expressing our appreciation to each other
To Sustain and Build by:
- Affirming our gratitude with generous gifts of time, talent, and money for our beloved community
- Honoring our commitments to ourselves and one another for the sake of our own integrity and that of our congregation
- Forgiving ourselves and others when we fall short of expectations, showing good humor and the optimism required for moving forward
Thus, do we covenant with one another.
