Twenty-five years ago, Old First Presbyterian Church and University United Methodist Church received permission from their parent denominations to merge into a single congregation. The courtship had been a long one. By the time approval for merger was officially given, the two congregation had already been worshipping together for sixteen years.

Twenty-five years later, we are a strong and vibrant congregation with roots in both the Wesleyan/Methodist and Reformed/ Presbyterian traditions. We have learned that mutual love and care transcend the different ways we think and behave. We can deal with the sometimes conflicting requirements of our different denominational bodies because we have taught each other that God’s Spirit is bigger than our individual limitations. We have experienced the power that comes from living, loving and working together to do God’s will and build God’s kin-dom.

We are a Presbyterian and United Methodist congregation proudly affirming both parts of our heritage and striving to live up to the best ideals of each. But, we are more! We are a community of people brought together by the Spirit of Christ. We work hard to love and embrace every person who comes through our doors. We commit ourselves to the struggle for justice in our world. And, we diligently seek the ways of God’s peace.

Whoever you are, whatever your race, nationality, lifestyle or status, you are welcome to join the people of UUC in worship, prayer study, service and advocacy. Together, let us follow the way of Jesus and grow in love for God and our world.

We are progressive... Committed people.

• A Neighborhood, University and Community Church: celebrating our rootedness in urban and university neighborhoods — a community of hospitality; A More Light and Reconciling Congregation: welcoming seekers of all sexual orientations to full membership and leadership in the church;
• An Inclusive Language Church: acknowledging the wholeness of God and the wholeness of humanity;
• A “Leave No Child Behind” Church: working with organizations and communities to ensure every child enjoys a healthy start, a fair start, a safe start, and a loving start in life;
• A Peace Church: joining anti-violence work with that for peaceful resolution of difference, toward a vision of global justice;
• A Jubilee Church: working in interfaith coalition for debt relief for the world’s poorest nations and a just economy for all;
• A Sanctuary Church: participating in the ecumenical movement to be a safe place for those suffering violence and persecution. Committed people who make a community.
• We are Christian... Christian people: loving and loved by God, faithful to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and empowered by the Spirit, seeking to live our commitments to faith’s commands
• Christian people who make a community. UUC—a multicultural, progressive, Christian community where all are welcome!