“But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.” Amos 5:24
Amistad Community United Church of Christ is a spirit-filled congregation formed in 1991. We are committed to the praise and worship of God. We believe in a God who sent Jesus, our African brother, to bring good news to the poor and to set the captives free. In response to Jesus' ministry and drawing on the wisdom of black liberation theology, we seek to be active witnesses for Christ, building a multi-racial, multi-cultural, open and affirming community, and working for liberation and justice in our community and world.
© 2011 Amistad Community Church
721 E. Huron Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48104
accinfo@amistadannarbor.org 734-677-2473 [734-6-PRAISE]
Amistad’s Mission, Vision and Core Values
Mission
Our mission is to hear and do the will of God, as we worship and minister in the name of Jesus, our African Brother
Vision
A faith community that honors our sovereign God by:
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• inviting all into community and to share in God’s blessings
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• affirming the dignity and well being of all
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• and empowering the people for the work of ministry
Core Values
Amistad’s core values come from our vision and mission. As a United Church of Christ congregation, we stand in the tradition of progressive churches around the world, a tradition shared by Sojourner Truth, Martin Luther King, Oscar Romero, and our beloved founding pastor and friend, the late Rev. Herbert Lowe.
Our core values include the following:
Jesus-centered: We celebrate Jesus as liberator and friend. We affirm the prophetic vision of Jesus’ ministry shared by progressive churches around the world.
Faith by grace: We come to faith through God’s grace. In the tradition of the UCC, we affirm testimonies of faith, not tests of faith.
Jesus was an African: Each Sunday, in our Amistad Church Covenant we affirm that Jesus was an African. The land in which Jesus lived was physically, culturally and economically connected to North Africa. In worship and study, we affirm the importance of this truth for today and for all people.
Intentionally interracial: We are called to work, worship and celebrate across racial lines, and all of the lines that divide us in this world. We are intentional, not only in coming together, but in telling the truth about the way in which those things that would divide us have operated and continue to operate even as we seek to live into the beloved community of God’s grace.
Justiceseeking: As a faith community, we are called to honor God by affirming the dignity and well?being of all. We believe we are called to name and oppressions that deny people their God?given dignity and well?being when and where we see them, and to work for justice.
Open and affirming: We desire a faith community that honors our full humanity and affirms all of who we are, including our sexuality, in our relationship with God. We are called to be open and affirming relationship in our attempt to fully see, and live with, one another as God would have us live.
Spiritfilled participatory worship: Worship should be a time to hear from God, not just to hear about God! Intending that each participant leaves revived by God’s sweet, sweet spirit, our services are always full of human connection, singing, prayer and affirmation of God’s love for each person.
Come as you are: You don’t need to be perfect, dressed up, or “have it all together” to be able to come to church. We serve a “whosoever will come” God, and God calls us to be a “whosoever will come” church.
Children at Amistad: Throughout their journey at Amistad, children and youth are invited to participate in worship and the life of the church. We deliberately work to make worship an accessible and engaging experience for children. Amistad also celebrates rites of passage, recognizing their importance in a society that otherwise lacks powerful rites of passage for youth.
Amistad’s Church Covenant
We gather as Amistad Community United Church of Christ, a Rainbow Ministry.
In response to God’s deeds and invitation, we are further committed to affirming the dignity and well-being of ALL as we grow into and live as an interracial and intercultural community. We covenant together, under God, to hear, understand and do the will of God as we praise, celebrate, and minister in the name of Jesus.
In the spirit of La Amistad, we further covenant to doing justice and loving mercy in Washtenaw County and the World.