Mission and Service Board

first and foremost

Mission & Service

We will boldly and creatively embody the life and ministry of Jesus with risk-taking mission and service.  As disciples of Christ, we will reach out to the world to love, heal, and transform it through the difficult work of justice, reconciliation, and hope. We commit to using our staff, our building, and our selves for servant leadership in our sphere of influence, and we commit to the spiritual and educational support that will make us effective and joyful agents of God’s grace.

A mission is a sending forth to accomplish some task or goal. MIssions always require risk, and certainly the task of proclaiming to the world the work and witness of a God who loves every single human, not to mention the entire Creation, is risky, especially in a world that is always tempted towards tribalism, power seeking, and an attitude that measures each person or society as “worthy” or “unworthy.” We truly believe, here at Union Church, in the universal, impartial love of God for all. No exceptions. No kidding.

To help us live that out, we lean on our Mission and Service Board. Their overriding desire is to reach out beyond Union Church with coordinated gifts–time, energy, skills, talents, money–seeking peace and justice. They seek to practice (and encourage us all to practice)  inclusive love, here and elsewhere. They pray that their work will reflect the congregation’s ongoing struggle to understand the teachings of Jesus and to translate them into meaningful commitment and action.

The Mission and Service Board’s responsibilities include:

• Meeting emergency needs of church families, in consultation with the pastor(s) and treasurer
• Selecting, coordinating, and promoting the church’s local, national, and international involvements in mission giving.
• Coordinating the church’s ecumenical activities that are related to outreach through mission
• Administering fundraising events in support of mission giving
• Administering the local missions of the church.
• Members are: Tennant Kirk (chair), Paul Smithson, Paul Jacobs, Dorothy Chao, Carla Gilbert