I am occasionally asked, “What kind of Christian are you?  What does your church believe in?”  I appreciate the question because the impression that one might get from the media today may reflect inaccurately on my Christianity.  I am convinced that the United Church of Christ has distinctive values and a unique Christian character that we inherited from our Congregational legacy.  I would describe us as being a form of liberal or progressive Christianity.  Our approach to life is one that values humanity’s search for truth and self-understanding through experience, reason, authority and imagination.   We view tradition through a contemporary lens.  Tradition is respected not for its own sake, but because it provides an indispensable tool for the continuing life of the church here and now.  And that life generates the latest installment in a continuity of tradition. 

Progressive Christianity defies definition mainly because of its fluidity.  It tolerates ambiguity and embraces change.  A satisfactory appreciation of truth emerges when the human imagination is guided by experience, reason and authority, not determined by them.  If you recognize truth as gradually unfolding, rather than statically black or white, you know what I mean.    

We are not a church that requires unquestioning allegiance to one inerrant teaching authority.  We are critical thinkers, not followers.  We continue to value each believer’s opinion.  However, we also need to challenge each other to hold informed opinions, strong opinion, well developed opinions and, sometimes, that leads to revised opinions.  We believe that God is still speaking, and it is vital for people to connect with God, their humanity, their culture and experience. 

We value the sanctity and the freedom of individual conscience, and the separation of church and state.  We have a historic commitment to education, trying to replace ignorance with enlightenment, as best we can.  We have a concern for social justice as a key component of our Christian character.  We embrace and celebrate diversity.  This is by no means the last word about who we are, just an impression.