First Congregational Church, United Church of Christ
Justice...
Trying to bring God's justice to the world isn't an "add on" commitment for Christians. It's at the very heart of who we are. We live this understanding in 3 significant ways.
- We are a Just Peace congregation.
- We are an Open and Affirming congregation.
- We support voluntary simplicity as a lifestyle and make sustainable living part of our community life together
A Just Peace congregation
In 1991, First Congregational Church became a "Just Peace" congregation. Living as a Just Peace Community of Faith is an acknowledgement that living in God's love is a political act. As Christians, our actions and choices must be made with consideration of how we might best serve the poor and bring justice.
What does it mean to be part of a Just Peace Church? Here are some of our commitments:
We resist the fear of vulnerability in receiving the invitation from God to experience the abundant life that comes from service to the poor.
We do not put the interests of citizens of our own nation above the interests of the people of other nations.
We will not embrace violence or retaliation.
We seek to welcome strangers as we would welcome Christ.
We seek to act in ways that build community.
We do not value things over people.
We are willing to take risks on behalf of those who suffer. We are willing to engage in action and to change our lives in ways that we perceive will works towards the alleviation of human suffering and bring justice.
We do not support or defend the intentional killing of any human being or gestures which will inevitably lead to death, illness or misery among any group of people.
We celebrate the earth and the created order as a gift of God and seek to live in ways that respect the natural world.
We listen to the voice of Spirit, and trust that God has an imaginative, fresh Word to speak to the human community today.
Women in Black
Members and friends of First Congregational gather on the steps of the sanctuary each Wednesday from 12:00 to 12:30 as part of an international witness for peace--Women in Black. Women wear black as a sign of grief at the world's violence, and men participate in the vigil, too, standing behind the women on the sanctuary steps.
This vigil started in the days leading up to the United States' invasion of Iraq and has continued throughout the war. It is a way of saying "no" to war and violence. This is a silent vigil, accompanied by drumming and all are welcome to participate.
An Open and Affirming Congregation
In 1991, we became an "Open and Affirming" (ONA) congregation of the United Church of Christ. We decided, intentionally, to welcome gay and lesbian people into the life of our congregation just as we welcome heterosexual people. We work to overcome the stereotypes, shaming and abuse that gay, bisexual, lesbian and transgendered people experience. We affirm the gifts of gay and lesbian perspectives and lifestyles as sacred.
Live Simply so that Others May Simply Live
Part of our ministry is to take seriously the effects of our lifestyle on the creation and each other. We seek to live in ways that affirm justice and well-being for the poorest in our world.
Our Peace Fellowship group meets monthly (the 3rd Sunday of each month) to dialogue about ways to make justice an everyday part of our lives. We talk about things like supporting local food farmers, living green, how to support justice in our public schools, and learning to live in a non-violent way. For more information, email Cheryl.
Our Fair Trade store, Global Goods, is a partnership with cooperatives around the globe as we sell coffee, chocolate and gifts that pay them a fair wage and support environmentally sustainable economic policies.
Our bicycle initiative, the Revolutions Bicycle Cooperative, seeks to bring people together through bicycling. We want to make it easy for people to ride bicycles together. We want to help kids get bicycles of their own to ride and to learn how to maintain and repair their bikes. We want to make Memphis a more bike-friendly city so that our air is fresher and we protect the environment.