What We Believe

We believe that God loves everyone unconditionally and is present with and through us.

Because of that:

  • We are a member of the United Church of Christ, a denomination with a long history of openness, inclusion, and advocacy.

  • We welcome anyone who seeks God into the fellowship, worship, and work of this church without regard to their race, ancestry, age, physical or mental ability, gender, sexual orientation, social and economic status, or religious background.

  • We embrace religion and science, head and heart, as we seek and listen for God’s presence in the world.

  • We practice open communion. All are welcome at the table. Jesus didn’t turn anyone away and neither do we.

  • We work mainly locally but think globally when it comes to prayer and advocacy for people in need.

  • We form partnerships with people of other faiths, because we know we neither have all the answers nor sole claim to God’s love.

That’s what we believe. Learn more by reading our Vision Statement, Covenant, and Open & Affirming Statement and by exploring this site.

Statements of Faith

There are many ways a church (or any community) can define itself. The most important is by members’ words and actions. But another is by written statements. Below are some of the standards we hold ourselves to and seek to embody in our worship, work, and play.

Our Vision (A condensed description of our core ideals.)

A Community of Christ
Welcoming All People
Learning to Love and Serve
God and Neighbor

Our Covenant (The promises we make to God and one another that define us as a community.)

We the members of Saugatuck Congregational Church acknowledge and celebrate the tangible presence of God in our lives as revealed in Jesus Christ. We recognize that loving faithfulness to God is best manifested in our loving faithfulness to one another and our earth. Therefore, we covenant with God and each other to strive to follow Christ’s way, walking with our brothers and sisters in faithfulness to Christ’s command to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. We accept as our responsibility the worship of God, the witness and fellowship of this faith community and the task of life-long education in the faith. We claim as our mission the promotion of justice, peace and human dignity in both word and deed. In all these things we bind ourselves to follow the Holy Spirit as revealed in the scriptures, in tradition and in our own experience.

Our Open & Affirming Statement (What we mean when we say open and welcoming to all.)

We, the members of Saugatuck Congregational Church, United Church of Christ, believe that all people are created in the spiritual image of God, and that God’s love and grace are given to all. Therefore, in accordance with our Vision Statement, we welcome anyone who seeks God into the fellowship, worship, and work of this church without regard to their race, ancestry, age, physical or mental ability, gender, sexual orientation, social and economic status or religious background.