WE ARE HENRIETTA UCC ...

  

Once a small country church, now folks from Greece to Victor, Webster to Stafford, find in this community of faith a spiritual home. 

Wriggling babies and seasoned life travelers, third-generation residents and recent transplants, successful business owners and unemployed, people with all kinds of families and with no family, make up one growing family of faith that shares each other’s sorrows and joys.

We don’t pretend to be able to define God, but we are blessed to know God as . . .

  Love–unconditional, boundless, and never ending.

          Revealed in the compassionate life, transformative teachings, sacrificial death, and triumphant resurrection of Jesus Christ.

  Present in Creation, in our humble worship, in each and every person.

  Always loving us as we are, yet always calling us to become more than we are.

  Not contained by human labels of masculine and feminine, liberal and conservative,  orthodox and unconventional.

          Continually seeking to save, renew, and speak to us through scriptures, life experience, our inner spirit, the Holy Spirit, and each other. 

We don’t pretend to be able to prescribe a Christian life, but we seek to move forward in faith by following Christ in his . . . 

      Amazing humility as a faithful servant of God.

      Compassionate ministry to all people.

      Courage in speaking the truth in love.

      Complete trust in God’s goodness.

      Total devotion to God and God’s will.

      Emptying himself so that he could be filled by God. 

      Penetrating discernment of God’s saving truth in a world of hypocrisy, divisiveness, violence, and sin.

      Passionate desire to bring all people into the embrace of God’s love.

We don’t pretend to be able to remove pain and suffering from the world, but we seek to partner with God in advancing God’s reign by . . .

Living lives of love, not selfishness; hope, not cynicism; faith, not fear.

Answering God’s call to be ministers in our homes, work places, communities, and world.

Generously offering our gifts of time, talent and treasure to build up Christ’s church as a place of inspiration, spiritual growth, empowerment, and love for all.

Being the hands, feet and mouth of Christ in the world through our local mission work and our giving to those who go where we cannot go.

We don’t force our views on anyone, but we welcome all who are willing to know Christ, grow in Christ, and serve Christ to join with us as we seek to embody Christ’s spirit together.

 

Henrietta United Church of Christ is a vibrant, growing church that welcomes people from a variety of faith backgrounds or those who have no prior church background. We are rooted in the traditions and insights of the Protestant Reformation, which emphasize God's abounding grace and the call of all believers to be in ministry in their daily lives.

We also experience Christ's Spirit continuing to re-form the Church today, and explore ways to make the Good News of God's transforming love engaging and relevant for people in the 21st Century. Our church's worship and programs are designed for people who are open to deepening in faith, growing in love, and discovering their own gifts for ministry.

What is worship like at Henrietta United Church of Christ?

People describe our worship services as "engaging," "uplifting," "challenging," "warm," "creative," and "inspiring." We try to avoid churchy language that has lost its meaning in today's world, while finding fresh ways to encounter and open to the Spirit of the Living God with our whole beings. Small pictures in the worship program help non-readers follow along with what we are doing. Our order of worship leads worshipers through various movements of the spirit that open us to God in different ways:

WE OPEN OUR HEARTS TO GOD'S RENEWING PRESENCE

In this opening portion of worship, we welcome all who have come and weave everyone together into one body as we pass the peace and love of Christ.

A church member leads us into a quiet time of centering and opening to God, often using silence or contemporary music.

A call to worship and hymn of praise help lift our spirits and open our hearts to the One who gave us life and calls us to the fullness of life.

A gathered prayer gives voice to our soul's need for God, and brings before God the gratitude and concerns that are on our hearts. Our choir sings a musical number that touches and lifts our spirits through song.

WE HEAR GOD'S WORD TO US

The pastor or a church member calls the children forward for an often-playful talk that speaks of God's love and truths to them and to the child in us all.

A passage from the Bible is read, and then God's living Word is broken up to us through a talk, drama or story.

A prayer and a hymn help God's truths find a home in our lives.

WE DEDICATE OURSELVES TO GOD'S SERVICE

We offer our monetary gifts to God as ways of rededicating our whole selves to the ongoing work of God in our church, our community and our world. The true meaning of the offering portion of the service is illustrated by the poor widow at a worship service in Africa who had no money to put in the offering plate. When the offering plate came to her, she put it down on the floor, stepped into it, prayed for a moment, stepped back out, and passed it on. May we all become this generous in our giving to God!

Before we sing our final hymn of dedication, we share joys, concerns and opportunities with the church family (by this point in the service, we hope that everyone who is there experiences themselves as a welcome part of the family of Christ).

WE RETURN TO THE WORLD, RENEWED AND EMPOWERED BY GOD'S SPIRIT

As our worship ends, our service begins. We leave guided and empowered to be in ministry to God through the coming week.

What is the United Church Of Christ?

The UCC was founded in 1957 as the union of several different Christian traditions: from the beginning of our history, we were a church that affirmed the ideal that Christians did not always have to agree to live together in communion. Our motto—"that they may all be one"—is Jesus' prayer for the unity of the church. The UCC is one of the most diverse Christian churches in the United States.

(For a more detailed account, visit our parent UCC.org website)

 

A Congregation of Ministers?

God has created each of us by extending His Spirit into our beings. We continue God's ongoing act of creating and renewing the world by extending our gifts, our abilities, our creativity, and our light into the world.It is in offering ourselves in service to others and the world that we strengthen our love, give meaning to our faith, and fulfill God's purpose for our lives. Each person's gifts, no matter how humble or ordinary, are an important part of the ministry of this church as we reach out to each other, our community, and our world.

UCC Statement of Faith

We believe in God, the Eternal Spirit, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ
and our Father, and to his deeds we testify:

He calls the worlds into being, creates man in his own image and sets
before him the ways of life and death.

He seeks in holy love to save all people from aimlessness and sin.

He judges men and nations by his righteous will declared through
prophets and apostles.

In Jesus Christ, the man of Nazareth, our crucified and risen Lord,he
has come to us and shared our common lot, conquering sin and death
and reconciling the world to himself.

He bestows upon us his Holy Spirit, creating and renewing the church of Jesus Christ, binding in covenant faithful people of all ages, tongues, and races.

He calls us into his church to accept the cost and joy of discipleship, to be his servants in the service of men, to proclaim the gospel to all the world and resist the powers of evil, to share in Christ's baptism and eat at his table, to join him in his passion and victory.

He promises to all who trust him forgiveness of sins and fullness of
grace, courage in the struggle for justice and peace, his presence in
trial and rejoicing, and eternal life in his kingdom which has no end.

Blessing and honor, glory and power be unto him.

Amen.