UCC Missoula creates more joy and more justice through Jesus.
Through Summer 2020, we are gathering for worship online. Check our UCC Missoula YouTube Channel, or use the links to worship on the web page.
Each year during Advent, we prepare our homes and our hearts for the coming of the Christ child at Christmas, and we try to enjoy the waiting. In order to be able to stand the waiting, we put up Advent wreaths at church and at home, you might be busy putting up your tree and some lights, cleaning, baking, and preparing gifts for loved ones. I encourage you, especially this year when Christmas will be so very different for us, to take a moment to consider what your heart needs to be ready for the coming of the Christ child this year: Healing? Signs of hope? Some rest? Some kind of normalcy? How will you honor your desire? Make a note and save some time on your calendar so you can ready your tender heart for Christmas and help the ones around you do the same.
Our Advent theme this year centers around four questions, which we see as gifts of the season. This week, we ask “Why did Jesus come?” I am curious to know what you think about that question. Why did God come to us in human form, knowing that life is so hard sometimes and that people mess up so often and so terribly? Did Jesus come to enjoy sunsets and sex, or to show us a perfect and unattainable way to live? Did he come to reveal the violence and emptiness of endless, anxious cycles of production and consumption that get so big during the holidays? Did he come to us in human form to show us that God really IS WITH US? What do YOU think? I’ll share some of my thoughts on this topic on Sunday and we’ll light the first Advent candle, the candle of Hope. I hope you’ll join our church family online and at Virtual Coffee Hour on Zoom afterwards.
A blessed and hopeful Advent to you, Pastor Laura
No matter who you are, or where you are on life's journey, you are welcome here! We are an Open and Affirming congregation of the United Church of Christ.
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At UCC Missoula, we proclaim a Gospel that is Progressive, Inclusive and Inspired by the never-ending love of God.
About Us
We do a lot of cool stuff at UCC because our hearts are “warmed” by the Gospel of Love. (Luke 24:32)
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Youth Ministry creates a basis for parents and their children to become more thoughtful, kind and compassionate.
learn moreOpen and Affirming (ONA) is the United Church of Christ's (UCC) designation for congregations, campus ministries, and other bodies in the UCC which make a public covenant of welcome into their full life and ministry to persons of all sexual orientations, gender identities, and gender expressions. UCC Missoula became an ONA Church in 1993, and we have LGBTQ people active in leadership and in all areas of church life.
We created a Creation Justice Covenant to guide how we care for God’s creation. The covenant is also part of UCC Missoula becoming a Creation Justice Church within United Church of Christ.
Climate crisis is an urgent, all-encompassing, worldwide emergency. In affirming the divine gifts of creation and in affirming our connection to God, each other, and the world around us, we unconditionally commit ourselves as individuals and as a congregation to the intertwined responsibilities of caring for creation and seeking justice for the oppressed. With purposeful resolve, we commit ourselves with an awareness of how the abuses of creation inevitably cause human suffering and of how factors such as race, class, and global inequality inevitably cause some to suffer more than others.
Read MoreSmall groups are a wonderful way to deepen your relationship with God and with the community at UCC. At our church, we joyfully believe that humans, in all of our beautiful and complex diversity, are created in the image of God, so building relationships with each other is sacred work.
Small groups happen in many forms at our church. Some meet long term (for years!), others gather for a 4-6 week study on a specific book or topic, and still others gather to learn a skill or complete a project. Our Contemplative Prayer Group meets every Thursday morning at 7:00 a.m., and other prayer groups are often formed during the special seasons of Lent (spring) and Advent (winter). Anyone can drop in on Theology Pub, which gathers monthly at a local brewery or coffee shop for discussion and fun. Small groups include retreats 2-4 times each year, on or off-site, and our annual Contemplative Backpack trip for 15+ years. Getting involved in a small group will help you grow spiritually, mentally, socially, and through serving others.
We encourage worshiping God 24/7, but we gather on Sundays at 10 a.m. to sing, pray, and learn together. Worship is "traditional" in some ways and improvisational in others. Every week has a theme based on scripture and every theme points us toward some new or refreshed understanding of who we are called to be as God's people in the world.
We celebrate a wide variety of musical styles. We showcase two adult choirs, Flute choir, Bell choir, Woodwind ensemble, String ensemble, Brass ensemble, organ, piano, guitar, drums and solo instrumentalists and voices. Our children's ministry program also produces two musicals each year.
We proudly claim that our ministers are "all the members of the church." Meet our staff of amazingly talented, motivated, and compassionate people who supports our larger ministry.
Rev. Dr. Jennifer Yocum (she/her) is a storytelling, kayak-paddling, gaze-in-wonder-at-God-in-the-world kind of person.
VIEW PROFILELaura (she/her) is passionate about strengthening communities, treating all people with dignity and respect, and connecting people to care for and advocate with each other.
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No matter who your are, or where you are on life's journey, you are welcome here!
We worship whenever we are together, but we gather formally for worship Sunday mornings at 10:00 am.
405 University Ave.
Missoula, MT 59801
Office Hours:
Sunday 8:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Monday - Thursday 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
(406) 543-6952
info@uccmissoula.org
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