ST. PAUL UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST
On Sunday mornings at 10:00 am, we gather to worship and praise God. The service lasts about an hour and fifteen minutes. Children are welcome and there is a message designed just for them. Holy Communion is open to all and is celebrated the first Sunday of each month. Food and Fellowship Time follows worship each week.
Our church warmly welcomes all who would like to grow in their faith. We are a community of faith and love, open to all people. Our tradition accepts different religous beliefs and encourages all who believe and all who seek to grow spiritually in their relationship to God.
Church members live throughout Saline, Milan, Manchester, Chelsea, Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti. The church offers many opportunities to get involved.
Our newsletter is available six times a year. It tells about activities the church provides, educational/mission opportunities and information on joys/concerns.
ABOUT US
MINISTRIES
Throughout the year, we provide special celebrations and services for Christmas Eve, Easter, Earth Day, Memorial Day, MLK Day, Father's/Mother's Day, Native American, Pentecost, Thanksgiving, Veteran's Day, Labor Day and more.
Dinners are provided on the third Wednesday of each month at Mill Pond Manor or Senior Fellowship Dinner here at St. Paul. Check out our calendar to see which location we will be at.
Cass Corridor is on the fourth Saturday of each month. Food and toiletries are prepared. All goods are taken to Detroit and are distributed.
*To learn more about our ministries, click here*
BUILDING
Our building has two floors, both floors are handicap accessible (with an elevator and a handicap bathroom on each floor). Also, we have hearing devices, a multi-media projector and wheel chair seating in the sanctuary. Outside of our building, we have handicap parking.
SAFETY
Our church provides a Safe Sanctuary class that is designed to give church workers and volunteers important knowledge about potentially significant safety risks. We encourage that those who are interested in working with children/youth or volunteering time at dinners or other events, to take this course. Please alert the pastors or the Christian Education Department if you would be interested in taking this course.
COVENANT OF BEHAVIOR
As members and friends of our church, we wish to be known for the manner in which we conduct ourselves in administering the business of our church. We covenant together as a Christian body
-To seek to discern God's will for our church, not our own.
-To accept that we do not all have to think the same and that none of us has a sure knowledge of the will of God.
-To accept that each person is seeking to find the will for this church and is speaking and acting in good Christian faith.
-To listen actively to one another by...
*Not interrupting the person speaking.
*Focusing on what the speaker is saying.
*Asking thoughtful, polite questions for clarification.
-To debate ideas, not persons or personalities.
-To support the majority descisions, once made, in everything we do and say outside the meeting.
-To use the pronoun "we" instead of "they" when speaking of our church, our council, or any group to which we belong in the church or of the descisions made by those bodies.
MISSION STATEMENT
To let people know about St. Paul UCC's Ministry and invite them to join us in touching the lives of people in the community and world.
WHO WE ARE
AT UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST
OUR FAITH IS 2,000 YEARS OLD. OUTTHINKING IS NOT.
We believe in God's continuing testament. This is why we are committed to hearing God's ancient story anew and afresh in our lives and in the world today. We try to remain attentive to God's creative movement in the world. Religion and science are not mutually exclusive, and your head and heart are both welcomed into our places of worship. We prepare our members and leaders to be engaged in ministry in the present and future church, and we embrace all kinds of communities and new modes of thinking. Why? Because God is still speaking,
NO MATTER WHO YOU ARE OR WHERE YOU ARE ON LIFE'S JOURNEY, YOU ARE WELCOME HERE.
We believe in extravagant welcome. This is why we insist that God's communion table is open, not closed, and God's gift and claim in baptism are irrevocable. We advocate justice for all. Our congregations extend hospitality as a sign of God's inclusive love. We teach that evangelism — offering bread to those in search of it — is God's mission. Our perspective is global, not provincial. We work with — not against — people of other faiths. Why? Because God is still speaking,
NEVER PLACE A PERIOD WHERE GOD HAS PLACED A COMMA.
We believe the church's mission is to change lives — individually, systemically and globally. We work to make transformation possible, but trust in God's grace. This is why we insist that churches must be places of vitality in worship, learning and advocacy. We are committed to working for justice, and we believe that lives are changed through global experiences and friendships. Why? Because God is still speaking,
The Bible
The Bible is God’s Word to all people. It was written by human authors under supernatural guidance by the Holy Spirit. It is the supreme and final authority for Christian beliefs and living. Because it is inspired by God, it is truth without any mixture of error in the original autographs.
The Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is equal with the Father and the Son as God. He is present in the world to make people aware of their need for Jesus Christ. He also lives in every Christian from the moment of salvation. He provides the Christian with power for living, understanding of spiritual truth, and guidance in doing what is right. The Christian seeks to live under His control daily.
Return of Christ
The return of Christ for the Church could occur at any moment. This “blessed hope” has a vital bearing on the personal life and service of the believer. Jesus will physically return to earth to set up His kingdom, and there will be a new heaven and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.
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Divinity
God is sovereign over all things such that there is no aspect of reality outside of His ultimate control. Though God’s rule extends to all things, it is particularly His sovereignty over the work of salvation that is a theological distinctive. We believe that it is exceedingly good and glorious news that salvation is not dependent on the desires and deeds of man, but is grounded instead in God’s eternal decree of election.
Salvation
We believe that salvation is the gift of God brought to man by grace and received by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, whose precious blood was shed on Calvary for the forgiveness of our sins.
WHAT IS
THE GOSPEL?
The gospel is the good news of God's grace invading the darkness of this world. It is the grand narrative of creation, fall, redemption and consummation ordained by God and orchestrated through the life, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ. Christ's crucifixion is the heart of the gospel. His resurrection is the power of the gospel. His ascension is the glory of the gospel.
Christ's death is a substitutionary and propitiatory sacrifice to God for our sins. It satisfies the demands of God’s holy justice and appeases His holy wrath. It also demonstrates His mysterious love and reveals His amazing grace. Jesus Christ is the only mediator between God and man. There is no other name by which men can be saved. At the heart of all sound doctrine is the cross of Jesus Christ and the infinite privilege that redeemed sinners have in glorifying God because of what He has accomplished. Therefore, we want all that takes place in our hearts, churches and ministries to proceed from and be related to the gospel.