They say there’s strength in numbers and that good things come in small packages. Growing up in the United Church of Christ, I’ve learned both.

I guess you could say I was an early bloomer. I was always taller and stronger than other guys my age, so whenever a helping hand–or muscle–was needed, guess who they called? Every Sunday at church, along with a few other guys, I became the unofficial elevator. This church was built in the 19th century with lots of chairs, and an electric lift just wasn’t on the horizon yet, until Lynn came around.

Lynn was a member of our church who’d recently learned to adjust to a wheelchair mobile life. Our church had not yet. So the guys and I would take turns carrying Lynn in her chair up the old steps of the church. Sure I didn’t exactly look forward to this, but it was something I knew I had to do.

I never knew exactly how important my job was until one Sunday. I missed church. When I went back the next week, it turns out that so did the other guys. It broke my heart when I heard that Lynn had no way to get up those steps and had to go back home.

I knew right then and there how important my service was to the church. I realized the value of each person’s service to carrying out our congregation’s mission. Each member has a purpose in the church. Communion reminds us that we all have a place.

Today, even though my job as a head of security for my city’s transit authority keeps me busy, I’m never too busy to help out at church. I’ve probably done just about every role in the church, from trustee to moderator, and I never forget who could use my help.

Lynn must have sensed I was pretty busy–or pretty tired–too. She ended up organizing rummage sales to get the lift chair she and the church needed.

Little did I know I how I’d need that it chair one day. My daughter was born with Cerebral Palsy, and she’s now using the same electric lift chair that Lynn helped secure. Every Sunday, Molly glides into a church where she is loved and accepted. I know there is a community there to support her and that makes me want to support it back even more. God calls all people. It is our mission to be a blessing to others as God has been to us. Through the church, my family feels accepted, nurtured and cared for–we feel whole.

Who knows? Maybe Molly will be the next Lynn and create a whole new campaign to help others with physical challenges.And who knows what challenges lay ahead for our church and each other. I do know that I look forward to helping that next young guy who wants to lend a helping hand. We may not need a strong guy to lift someone up the stairs like we used to, but we always need a strong person, no matter how big or small or young or old, to lift someone’s spirits.

UCC on Utube

With all Christians, we rest in God’s amazing grace and hear God’s voice in the words of Scripture. Yet, the UCC is unique to some because we do not require uniformity of belief. We are a church of open ideas, extravagant welcome and evangelical courage. Our passion for democracy extends to both government and church, where decision-making rests within each congregation. We support liberty in our pulpits, just as we affirm the individual conscience of our 1.2-million members to agree, disagree and wrestle with life’s biggest questions in a spirit of love.

Our story is this nation’s story. We are the people of the Mayflower. More than 600 of our 5,700 congregations were formed before 1776. Eleven signers of the Declaration of Independence were members of UCC predecessor bodies.

As early abolitionists, we came to the aid of the Amistad captives and founded hundreds of schools across the South after the Civil War. We were the first mainline church to ordain an African-American (1785), a woman (1853) and an openly gay pastor (1972). We were also the first to form a foreign mission society (1810). Our multi-ethnic membership includes persons from every immigrant group, as well as native peoples and descendants of freed slaves.

Our unity is not dependent upon uniform agreement, but in our shared allegiance to Jesus Christ. Ours is a risk-taking church, because ours is a risk-taking God.

P.S. We can’t take credit for writing this post. We unashamedly admit copying it from one of out sister churches, Trinity UCC in Berwyn, IL. All we did is to change the names from Trinity to St. Peter.

Here are a few ways other UCC’s have said they love their church. Use them for inspiration and tell us why YOU love St. Peter UCC.

1. I love my church because it’s sort of like The Wizard of Oz– it’s about having a heart and a brain. And Courage!

2. I love my church because when we cried together on Sept. 11th, we cried for the whole world.

3. I love my church because the Sunday School Teacher gives out prizes to the kid who asks the best questions.

4. You know, if you want a church where you can pretend for an hour or two that everything is just fine with you, with your family, and with the world, then we’re probably not for you. But if you want a church where you can tell the truth about how it is and know that it’s okay, maybe you’ll find a home here.

5. What I love about the UCC is that it’s about Jesus–not just Jesus who’s on our side, but Jesus who calls us to walk by his side.

6. I’m single and I love my church because it’s the only place I don’t feel like I need to buy a “family size” to belong.

7. What I love most about my church is that it’s a place where we feel free to “think out loud together.”

8. I love my church because the building committee got together last week and cut out part of the pews so wheelchairs could be down front in the sanctuary.

9. You know why I love my church? Because for one hour every week I get reminded that life is more than getting up and going to work, dealing with problems, and worrying about everything under the sun.

10. I love the United Churchof Christ because we’re giraffes not turtles; we aren’t afraid to stick our necks out. We ordained the first African-American in the 18th century, the first woman in the 19th centruy, and the first gay man in the 20th century! That helps me stick my neck out and take a risk every now and then.

11. I love my church because we share Easter Sunrise services with the local motorcycle club.

12. I love my church because the sermons make me think about things I would probably never normally think about.

13. I love my church because when we get together we aren’t afraid of sharing our feelings. Last year we voted on whether or not our pastors could perform a gay marriage in our sanctuary. People of all ages shared how they felt, and nobody was mean.

14. Why I love church? Just last Sunday a little girl, maybe four, walked by herself across the aisle, left her parents, and climbed into the lap of a woman who is 83 years old and who lives alone.

15. Why do I love the UCC? Because it’s not just about believing in Christ, it’s about following Jesus!

16. I love my church because my two favorite people to talk to on Sunday mornings over coffee are a man who lives in a group home and an 8-year-old girl who wants to be the first female pitcher in the major leagues.

Now it’s your turn! Why do you love your church?