UCC History, Theology & Governance

 

“Our faith is 2,000 years old, but our thinking is not.”

 

History

 

     Although the Tehachapi Community Congregational Church is the oldest church building in Tehachapi, built in 1928, we are part of a young denomination called the United Church of Christ.  The UCC, as it is known, was “born” in l957 when four predecessor denominations (the Congregational Churches and the Christian Church in the U.S.A. had merged in 1931, and the Reformed Church in the U.S.A. united with the Evangelical Synod in 1934) joined with the hope of coming together to emphasize the unity within the diversity of American mainline Protestantism. Our slogan is: “That They May All Be One.”

 

      Follow this link to our denomination’s homepage.  For a more detailed UCC history, while on the UCC homepage, look in the Section Menu for and click on “> Short Course in History.”  Also, be sure to check out the UCC video clip, “ God is Still Speaking“.

 

     Follow this link to the Southern California-Nevada Conference’s homepage.

 

Theology

 

`     For a summary of the theology of the UCC, while on the UCC homepage, look in the Section Menu for and click on “> What we believe.”

 

Governance

 

       “One person, one vote” is the way that our local church decisions are made, using a representative system of Boards and Committees. If this sounds similar to the American system of democracy, it is:  The Pilgrims were our religious forebears, who made their decisions at congregational meetings. Congregational meetings continue to be at the heart of our decision-making; such important matters as the calling of pastors, the passing of a church budget, and the nomination of representatives occur at congregational meetings which are held at least once each year. The denomination may suggest and guide us, but we own and manage our own buildings and we call our pastors with input from all voting members.

 

 (This Page Was Last Up-dated on January 15, 2008.)

Tehachapi Community Congregational Church

 

United Church of Christ

 

100 East “E” Street

Tehachapi, CA  93561

Phone: (661) 822-4443

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