Who We Are

Vision and Mission Statement

Adopted by COTV on July 30, 2024

The United Methodist Church of the Village is a beautiful and intentionally diverse community, whose doors swing wide open to embrace spiritual seekers within and beyond Christianity. The Church of the Village is called by the God of Life to dismantle oppression, build kin-dom justice, and actively work towards the creative transformation of ourselves and this world. We aim to create a radically inclusive space with courageous vulnerability where all can experience and testify to the presence of our expansive, uncontrolling, and loving God. We are committed to making meaning together. That happens at a crowded table, within a small group, through song and dance, through the scriptures and the many ways God speaks to us, and out on the street. Carrying within us the living legacies of predecessor churches and our Wesleyan heritage, the Church of the Village is guided by our faith ancestors, who helped spark the queer liberation movement, who prioritized the creative arts in church and community life, and who disrupted the realities of hunger and poverty with life-saving and soul-nourishing programs. We live out that history by responding with urgency to the needs of our community.

We live out our mission through…

     – Enthusiastic, creative, authentic, and joy-filled worship

     – Spiritually supportive connections and relationships that cross socio-economic barriers

     – Ongoing development of new leaders for all facets of community life

     – Re-imagined traditions and rituals that celebrate the movement of God and meet the needs of our time

God's Calling for The Church of the Village

Faith and Theology

We seek to reclaim the word "evangelism," returning to its original meaning: bringing people to God. We want to bring people to God through COTV. As we share our faith, we also desire to deepen our own faith journeys through discipleship with and for one another. A third strand is the desire to continue to find pathways to integrate these with progressive theology as we believe each of these three things feeds the others.

We need to establish clear methods for developing a discipleship system in the church to deepen faith and create models that others can follow. These methods should be both welcoming and authentic. It is our hope that COTV will continue to embrace open and relational theology and promote it within the UMC, thereby fostering connections across denominational boundaries. As progressive theology maintains that our understanding of God and our relationship with God is always evolving, we should intentionally consider personal theology, ensuring that everyone can freely express their beliefs in our community.

Community

The Church of the Village aims to ensure that every person feels welcomed and cared for, both during their time worshiping with us and as they transition to a new chapter in their lives. We strive to maintain strong connections within our extended community and are dedicated to improving the bonds and relationships among our active church members and friends. Our focus is on practicing and developing ways to support and care for one another.

Finances

We are striving to achieve financial sustainability. To do so, our community must understand the basics of our financial situation and not feel overwhelmed. COTV was born from the joining of 3 UMC communities almost 20 years ago, our "first chapter" financed in part by the sale of a previous building. Our church leaders and community are now visioning how to use the value of our current building, and achieve our common dream of a sustainable future where we will be able to "dream larger!”