Denison UCC: Beloved Community Haven

"A Community Church for the service of all in the Community...open to everybody in the community, of every creed and class." 

Those words, from a 1922 Denison anniversary bulletin, are still true for us today.

We are people of all races, classes, orientations, and abilities. We are people who are stronger because of the things that haven't killed us.  A lot of churches feed and clothe people because they want to help people who are less fortunate. We do it, because many of us have been there, ourselves. 

This fall, we began a partnership with the Metanoia Project, a homeless hospitality ministry, and immediately incurred opposition from our Councilwoman. We tried to keep the conflict under wraps for as long as possible in the hope of coming to a quiet resolution, but the media have gotten involved. The result has been a Cease Use order, delivered on Christmas Eve, intended to force us to deny our identity as a church (filing a Change of Use form with the Building Department) in order to continue the homeless ministry.

We still believe that the church is about the people, and that's it's not just about the building. But the code violations have helped us see more clearly now how much our people and ministries need a home -- a place that is safe so we can protect those we are called to serve.

 Our immediate circle of members, friends, and family have already given generously. Now we are turning to the broader community for help. We gladly accept gifts of any size! We need your support to help make our building as safe as possible to continue this ministry.

Thank you so much for your help!


Photo credit: Gus Chan; Bill Dwyer