How do you know God? Tell us your story. Let us grow together.

Grounded in our history and open to the future with you, our heart belongs to Christ

"We belong to Christ" is a loaded phrase. It's loaded because it means different things to different people. It packs within it comfort for some; challenge for others; and for many both comfort and challenge.

For some, the words unite; for others the words divide. In the United Church of Christ, we pray the words comfort, challenge, and unite.

Simply put, "we" means that you are not alone. You are part of a larger "we" that God has united in this Church. "Belongs" is something more than belief; it's a vital relationship. It's not like belonging to a club where hazing or proven credentials are required. It's more like belonging to a nurturing parent, family, or community. Belonging is a gift that inspires thanks and devotion.

 And what about the words "to Christ?" God, to whom we belong, is understood and experienced by Christians through Jesus Christ. In the Bible, Jesus Christ is prophet (Luke 4:14-30), teacher (Matthew 5), healer (Mark 5:21-43), savior (John 3:16), welcoming host (Mark 8:1-11), justice-doer (Luke 19:1-27), a pray-er (Luke 22:39-8), a dying servant (John 19:28-30), and a living companion along the way (Luke 24:13-35). In the gospel of John, Jesus is our bread, living water, door, and light. Christ is the way, truth, and life. We discover much about Jesus in scripture, but we also experience Jesus today.

For us, Jesus Christ is the only head of the church. Our name "United Church of Christ" was chosen not because we intended to exclude people, but rather to embrace the world as widely as Jesus' own arms embrace the world (LTH , Vol 6, 583-4). No one person, creed, statement, denomination, or—church holds all truth only Christ, only God. What we say about God in Christ "begins in wonder, and when theological thought has done its best, the wonder remains." (LTH , Vol 7, 430) God is not an object to be contained, but a holy mystery to encounter together. Where there is justice, peace, and  compassion, we see the living God at work. To such a God, we belong; you belong.

Although Christ is the primary lens through which we view God, we experience God in a variety of ways. Through the centuries, one way the church talked about God is through the Trinity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. You see this in ancient creeds, as the Apostles' and Nicene creeds, as well as in our contemporary UCC Statement of Faith. The Trinity expresses many ways God relates to us, and we relate to God. Yes, we believe in one God, but our God is dynamic, inviting, intimate, and communal, not stuck in only one aspect. God exhibits diversity. The Holy One is known in the diverse expressions of God's parental and creative care, Christ's eternal justice and compassion, and the Spirit's power and abiding presence.

We also speak about God in other ways that enrich our faith—God as mother, rock, liberator, savior, and friend. These understandings, affirmed in the Bible, break through any single, limited way of experiencing God and open us to be changed in new ways by this marvelous God.

Grounded in our history and open to the future with you, our heart belongs to Christ. We affirm historic creeds and statements of faith, not as tests, but as inspired words of faithful women and men who came before us. We continue to discover God through the Bible, through prayer, through worship, through engaging in the world in just and loving ways. We especially listen for the voice of God in the voices of those who cry out for justice and peace. We intend to follow Christ faithfully into the world.

What matters to you?

At different points in your life, what did you think or wonder about Jesus? What about God?

Describe a time when you experienced God or Christ in your life.

When someone says, "I'm Christian," what does it usually mean to you?

If you say, "I'm a Christian," what do you mean?

How do you imagine Christ?

Who is the Christ to whom you belong?

What might God be saying to you as you consider "We belong to Christ?"

What do you want to learn more about?