This church was created with love.
We know that the way we behave towards one another is the fullest expression of what we believe.
We are people trying to make a difference in our community and the world.
We are strengthened by spiritual practices that include many ways of praying.
We believe that the path of Christianity is one of many ways leading to God.
We affirm that a life of faith is compatible with the life of the mind.
We hunger for a more expansive vision of God.
We commit to a path of life-long learning, compassion, and selfless love.
We are seekers.
Our members include folks wrestling with difficult questions and searching for spiritual practices that make a difference both in our lives and in the world. While we are evolving in our beliefs, we want a safe community that respects and supports us as we develop spiritually.
We are thinkers.
We affirm that a life of faith is compatible with the life of the mind. We affirm that religion and science are not mutually exclusive. We recognize the necessity—and the benefits—of questioning and interpreting the Bible, of seeking an understanding of the scriptures’ historical contexts.
We are believers.
We are a diverse faith community that joins faith and action. In covenant with the church in all of its settings, we serve God in the co-creation of a just and sustainable world as made manifest in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
We are unapologetically progressive.
We honor Jesus the healer, the revolutionary, the reformer. Our ecumenical and interfaith commitments cause us to join hands with people of other religious traditions as we work for the common good. We believe that God is still speaking, so we listen to ancient sacred stories afresh and remain attentive to the flow of divine creativity and compassion always at work in the world.
In keeping with Jesus’s message of inclusion and equality, Open Table welcomes everyone, regardless of race, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, religion, age, or background.
Our Mission
Following in the Way of Jesus in Christian love, spiritual and social transformation, biblical hospitality, and grace-filled inclusion.
Our Vision
Grounded in love and moved by hope, Open Table United Church of Christ is a welcoming and safe spiritual home for all. We strive to provide progressive Christian theology and to work through advocacy and social justice for the oppressed in our world.
An Evolving Life of Faith
Our members and active participants come from wide-ranging church backgrounds—some from no previous church background at all. While our pastor and most of the congregation self-identify as progressive Christians, what unites us is the love of God. For us, the life of faith is not about ascribing to certain doctrines, but instead about aligning our lives with God’s love, following in Jesus’ hopeful ways, and being guided by the Spirit of peace.
Some churches use the term “progressive” to mean a certain worship style, and some use the term “progressive” to signal their progressive social commitments. However, we use the term “progressive” in a more basic, theological sense. We read and believe in the Bible as interpreted through current biblical scholarship, the wisdom of other faith traditions, and even the truth-seeking traditions of science.
Extravagant Welcome for Everyone
Open Table is an Open and Affirming congregation that affirms the worth and dignity of every human being, extending extravagant welcome to all persons. We affirm lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender persons in particular and assure them full inclusion in the life, leadership, and ministry of our congregation. We acknowledge the suffering they have endured in the context of the larger society. We aspire to develop an increasingly sensitive and informed understanding of God’s good gifts of human sexuality, gender, and relationships. We believe that all people are created in God’s image and thus are loved and blessed equally by God.
Our denomination ordained the first openly gay minister in 1972. The UCC’s Golden Gate Association ordained the Rev. William R. Johnson then, and in the following three decades, our national organization urged equal rights for LGBT people and called on congregations to welcome gay, lesbian and bisexual members. Find more Open and Affirming churches nationwide.
