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Mission & Values
Salem UCC's Mission:
To embody God’s love by cultivating belonging, championing justice, and inspiring hope.
Our Guiding Values
We are Called to Serve
Service is our highest calling. It is one of the most potent ways we show love to our neighbors, and in turn, it strengthens us as a community.
We Love Without Limits
We are Spiritually Alive
Our church is more than 150 years old, but our thinking is not. Together we ask big questions, explore doubts, engage hard topics, make space for nuance, and boldly follow Jesus’s example. Although the Bible is our primary source of truth and guidance, we also hear God’s still-speaking voice in many contemporary texts.
We Draw the Circle Wide
In a fragmented world, we seek to widen the circle of belonging. Internally, we prioritize building deep relationships and opportunities to share and serve together. Externally, we look for opportunities to partner with local faith communities, businesses, and nonprofits in our efforts to work towards peace, justice, and dignity for all. Together, we offer more light and hope.
We Provide Sanctuary
Life can be hard and everybody needs a little sanctuary. We offer weary souls a place to rest and restless souls a place to grow. We aim to heal the harm created in God’s name so we can all bloom in the knowledge of God’s unconditional love.
Love is the ultimate message of scripture. It is what heals, what transforms, and what leads us to change our world for the better. Love is what Jesus embodied and it is the path we boldly strive to follow.
We Affirm Sacred Worth
Every person bears the Divine image; each of us holds a unique purpose and innate value. Living our faith authentically requires us to step beyond mere acceptance to actively pursuing justice and dignity for all.
We Act with Moral Courage
Love calls us to speak even when our voice trembles. In the spirit of Jesus, we believe the church must reemerge as a voice of moral courage and a source of spiritual strength. When issues of advocacy call us to take a political stand, we will not be partisan, but we will proclaim the values Jesus taught. Love makes us brave.
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