About

Lakewood UCC is an affiliate of the Center for Progressive Christianity
By calling ourselves progressive, we mean we are Christians who…
 
• Have found an approach to God through the life and teachings of Jesus.
• Recognize the faithfulness of other people who have other names for the way to God’s realm, and acknowledge that their ways are true for them, as our ways are true for us.
• Understand the sharing of bread and wine in Jesus’s name to be a representation of an ancient vision of God’s feast for all peoples
• Invite all people to participate in our community and worship life without insisting that they become like us in order to be acceptable (including …
• Know that the way we behave toward one another and toward other people is the fullest expression of what we believe.
• Find more grace in the search for understanding than we do in dogmatic certainty – more value in questioning than in absolutes.
• Form ourselves into communities dedicated to equipping one another for the work we feel called to do: striving for peace and justice among all people, protecting and restoring the integrity of all God’s …
• Recognize that being followers of Jesus is costly, and entails selfless love, conscientious resistance to evil, and renunciation of privilege.

A Place for you at the table

This is our vocabulary list–maybe we speak your language:

acceptance belonging compassion courage creativity

diversity joy justice peace

Lakewood United Church is a dynamic, progressive congregation that offers an alternative church experience. The church family is multi-racial and intergenerational, including single people, couples and both straight and gay families with children. The diversity of experiences and beliefs held by the members adds depth to the ife of this faith community. Worship is spirited and moving using inclusive language and peace prayers from a variety of traditions. Lakewood is a small, welcoming community of authenticity and integrity. People come back because they feel welcome and cared for.

Lakewood United Church of Christ is intentionally organized so that the passion and initiative for ministry is vested in the congregation itself. A non-hierarchical structure fosters congregation-based decision making. The entire church family, including children and youth, is invited to gatherings which provide the opportunity to generate new ministries and elicit broad participation.

A Just Peace Church

Lakewood United Church of Christ is a Just Peace church. In 1990, Lakewood endorsed a commitment to work for justice and peace. This includes spiritual witness and education around God’s call to justice and peace, stewardship of creation, witness and assistance to those in need in our community, and organizing and speaking out on key social and political issues. (For more information, see Just Peace.)

An Open and Affirming Church

Lakewood United Church of Christ is an Open and Affirming church. In 1998, Lakewood UCC formally endorsed a commitment to welcoming all people into Lakewood’s church life, specifically including gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered persons. (For more information, see Open and Affirming.)

Our Members Say:

• “Church is an oasis in the midst of a chaotic world. I come to be challenged to be a better part of God’s creation.”
• “Coming to Church helps me communicate with God.”
• “I come here to make friends and have ties with others…even those who are different from me. It’s such a cross section of people at Lakewood.”
• “It is my extended family”
• “It’s my faith community, a weekly reminder of my faith.”
• “It helps me focus every week–focus my spiritual life.”
• “Events in the world are disconcerting. I find that coming to church helps give me a way of handling what is going on in the world and in my life.”
• “The diversity of this congregation is important to me.”
• “Our worship services give me the strength to do all the things I need to do during the week.”

Lakewood History

Lakewood United Church of Christ (LUCC) is seeking a faithful response to God’s love for creation. We accept our place as part of the Church Universal. We recognize the church has had a major influence in shaping individual lives, communities, nations, and the world.

As Christians, we are called to proclaim the gospel and to resit the powers of evil. Along with the Apostle Paul, we know “nothing in creation” including our differences in age, race, ethnicity, sexual identity, marital status, disabilities, abilities, economic status, sexual orientation, language, heritage, faith, nationality, indeed, “nothing in death or life,” can separate us from the love of God.

We claim a scriptural tradition which declares that our differences do not change our relationship to one another as members of Christ’s body. There, at Lakewood United Church of Christ, we offer the hospitality and inclusive love of Christ to all people. As a church with an open door and an open heart, we are called to welcome and celebrate all who come to worship, sharing together the presence and power of God in our lives and in our world.

Our covenant with the United Church of Christ (UCC) means that we affirm the freedom of every local congregation.

Formed in 1957, the UCC brings together the heritage of four denominations: Congregational (Pilgrim and Puritan), Christian, Evangelical, and Reformed.

Along with 5,600 other congregations, we share the tradition, heritage, and mission of the United Church of Christ.