Hillsdale Community Church, UCC, Covenant
Approved by the congregation
Aug. 28, 2016
At Hillsdale Community Church, UCC, we want to honor God in our relationships. Therefore, we value and commit to the following:
To Respect each other, ourselves and all of Creation.
We will accept that there will be differences of opinion, perspective and style, and will embrace the diversity of our spiritual family.
We choose to be quick to listen, slow to speak and mindful of the words we choose.
We respect the community God has built at Hillsdale Community Church and will avoid creating divisions or factions.
We choose to walk hand-in hand even when we don’t see eye-to-eye.
To be an Open-Minded spiritual and religious community because God is still speaking.
We will listen with open minds to the opinions, ideas and concerns of others and will respond with thoughtfulness and sensitivity. We will remember that our church is stronger when each person is heard.
We recognize that disagreements and conflicts ae normal and natural and are an opportunity for growth. We strive not to let conflicts diminish relationships.
We choose to learn from one another rather than to enforce our particular point of view.
To Communicate kindly, clearly and directly.
We will ask questions to seek understanding and will honor each person’s point of view.
We will speak honestly about principles and ideas rather than personalities.
We choose not to gossip, but to speak positively about one another.
We will speak directly to those with whom we have conflict rather than complaining to others. We will seek pastoral advice as needed.
To Serve Others first and honor the journeys of all who enter our community.
We will remember that we are here to serve others and that means we may be inconvenienced as we carry out God’s work in the world.
We will seek to discover what is best for our church as a whole, not just what is best for ourselves or those who think as we do.
By God’s grace, we commit to loving and serving one another and our community. We pray that our life will be a demonstration of the love that Christ has already shown us.
Open and Affirming
In Christ, we the members of Hillsdale Community Church, United Church of Christ, declare ourselves to be an open and affirming congregation.
We cherish and embrace individuals and families of all kinds. Believing that God’s unbounded love and grace are offered to all and meant to be shared and celebrated by all, we seek to be a congregation that includes all persons, embracing differences of age, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, mental and physical ability, as well as racial, ethnic, or social-economic background.
We welcome all to share in the life and leadership, ministry, fellowship, worship, sacraments, responsibilities, and blessings of participation in our congregation.
We commit to be a community of faith and spirit that works toward openness and understanding, offering justice, healing, and wholeness of life for all people. We believe that through our diversity, all can grow and practice a unity of faith that transcends our differences.