Congregational Churches came out of the New England traditions of the Pilgrims and Puritans, so we strongly believe in religious freedom. Each of us is free to believe as God leads us to believe, to read and interpret scripture, and to live as we are led in the Spirit to live. All of our congregations are similarly free to develop their own covenant and style. The back side of this coin is that each one of us, and all of our congregations, have the solemn responsibility to think carefully about the fundamental religious issues and the ethical and moral issues of our day, and to make choices from among the many worthy points of view. This is a big job, and causes us to be thinking Christians.

Most members and congregations of the United Church of Christ look to the Bible as an ancient and living witness to God's presence in history and in the here and now. Most of us believe that the Bible contains truth about God, Christ, the Holy Spirit and the human condition far deeper than what some will call "literal truth." We also affirm the wisdom of the ancient creeds, but hold to no one creed as authoritative over other creeds. Our Statement of Faith is a witness to our common faith, but not a test of each member's beliefs or of a congregation's doctrine.

When we read the United Church Statement of Faith out loud in worship, we do so with full knowledge that some of us understand different passages with a different interpretation. Some of us probably change a word or two to suit our own faith convictions. We read from many different versions of the Bible, and sometimes you will hear people inserting a word or phrase of their own into a Sunday morning hymn! This is great, because it shows that despite our differences, we are all one in Christ, and part of God's incredibly wide embrace.

What do we at Benicia Community Congregational UCC believe. Well, we are primarily but not exclusively a socially liberal bunch of folks. We are proud of our church's heritage in peace and freedom movements. Congregationalists were deeply involved in the movement to abolish slavery in the last century, and the civil rights movement in this century. Congregationalists and UCC people have given strong support to women as they have worked for equality and justice, both in the church and in the secular world. The first ordained woman was a Congregationalist, Antoinette Brown, in 1853! Currently, Benicia Community Congregational UCC has joined with a growing number of UCC congregations that have declared themselves Open and Affirming, meaning that we welcome gay, lesbian and bisexual persons as unconditionally loved children of God. We believe that God is in our midst, guiding us, calling to us, lending us courage for the struggle, and challenging us to be accepting and welcoming to all. We shine forth the light of Jesus Christ for others as we serve and give.

The 1.5-million-member United Church of Christ is now immersed in a "Season of Theological Reflection" to help the church discern God's call for mission and ministry in the 21st century. Reflection throughout the church is using a "Statement of Commitment" affirmed in 1993 by the General Synod. The statement underscores that the UCC seeks to be a church where all people including those historically excluded by the Christian community can find a home.