Mission

Our historic downtown church is adjacent to the University of Iowa campus. We are a congregation that strives to be faithful to the call of Jesus Christ as it ministers in love through worship, education, fellowship, service, and daily living. The defining center of our faith community is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In the Spirit of Christ, we welcome all persons into our community of faith. We respect each person's search for an understanding of the Christian faith and its meaning for our lives and for the issues of today. Empowered by the Holy Spirit, we work and pray for peace and justice and fullness of life for all people.

It is our goal to create a balance of worship experiences that preserve the basic traditional and intellectually grounded service of worship and also to address contemporary worship needs. Music worship services have included such works as the Mass in G major, by Franz Schubert, Handel's Messiah, and Fantasia on Christmas Carols by Ralph Vaughan Williams.

Christian Education has a high priority in our church. Comprehensive adult courses have been given on a variety of topics ranging from the Concept of God, Kerygma-a comprehensive year long study of the Bible, and the theology of John Calvin. For youth, a Christian Education coordinator assists Sunday school teachers with curriculum. Year long confirmation classes are led by our pastor for senior youth. Youth groups for the Jr. and Sr. High convene for social and service projects, and planned retreats give church youth an opportunity to explore peer pressure and ways to deal with it.

Our Mission Board sponsors public forums on the church's response to social issues such as: payment of medical costs, violence, mental illness, death penalty, abortion, physician-assisted suicide, and genetic engineering and cloning.