CUMC Mission & Welcome Statement            

Community United Methodist Church (CUMC) is a community growing in God’s grace and love. We are committed to following Christ’s teachings and example by heeding his call to feed the hungry, welcome the stranger, preach the good news, teach our children and youth, and visit the sick, home-bound, and imprisoned. We are called to a ministry of forgiveness and reconciliation. We embrace the diversity of our world as a gift of God. We have the extraordinary opportunity to celebrate the wonderful human variety representative of God’s imagination. That variety includes persons of all races, ethnicities, ages, beliefs, physical and mental ability, sexual orientation, and gender identity and expression. We affirm that all people are created in the image of God and as beloved children of God, all are worthy of God’s love and of ours. We are all broken and in need of forgiveness, healing, and God’s saving grace. For those who would receive it, no one is excluded from God’s grace – no one. We invite all people to join us on our faith journey toward greater love, understanding, mutual respect, and service to others.

How We Live Out Our Faith in Action 

  • We struggle to overcome expressions of racism.
  • We commit to advocate for justice and equal treatment for all, including LGBTQ+ persons.
  • We affirm God’s call for both women and men to assume the role of Pastor and we welcome both men and women in all areas of church leadership and ministry.
  • We commit to educate ourselves on issues of social concern and advocate for the democratic, civil, and human rights of all persons and groups of people.
Our Core Values
 
We believe in Jesus Christ. Everything we do begins with Christ. We remember how he ministered to the poor, fed the hungry, healed the sick, befriended sinners, welcomed the shunned, and gave his life to save us. He rose from the dead and gives us hope. Jesus broke through barriers and brokenness in the world to reach out to all.
We embrace the call to follow Jesus. We are called to a life of discipleship – serving in the world as his hands, feet, and voice. Jesus gave us a commission: to make disciples for the transformation of the world. In fulfilling this role, we work to build God’s beloved community on earth.
We serve God by serving others. We remember the second of Christ’s greatest commandments is to love one another as ourselves. Following Jesus’ example, we commit ourselves to work with people in our neighborhood and beyond. We strive to be advocates for the powerless, voiceless, outcast, exploited, and oppressed.
We honor the image of God in every person. We believe all people are children of God, and we treat them that way. No one who desires to journey with us in faith is excluded from the sacraments or rituals of the church and everyone is welcome to participate in the full life and ministry of the church.
We celebrate diversity. We make especially sure that people who feel excluded elsewhere are welcomed and invited to be an integral part of our congregation. We recognize that there are differences among us, but we believe that we can love alike even though we may not think alike. Even on concerns and issues where it is difficult to reach consensus, we strive to reflect the love of Jesus with an open and welcoming spirit.
We believe our minds are great gifts from God. We are intellectually honest and curious. We view science, scholarship, and other religious traditions as methods for discovering the wonder of God’s Word and creation.
We cherish God’s gifts. God blesses us with time, talent, money, opportunity and the Earth we call home. We strive to be responsible and generous stewards, sharing God’s great bounty.
We worship joyfully and passionately. We strive to worship and serve God in ways that recognize and reflect the strength found in our diversity. In worship, we express our love for God and grow in our love for one another and our neighbors. Praise and worship of God are the foundation of our church community. Worshipping together empowers our ministries of caring, outreach, and justice.
Our Affiliations
 
Our congregation is a signer of the Covenant of Conscience and supports the work of Methodists in New Directions. CUMC is also affiliated with the Reconciling Ministries Network. We support the advocacy and mission work of Bread for the World, ONE.org, the United Methodist City Society, and the Long Island Council of Churches, especially through its emergency food pantry program. CUMC also works with the United Methodist Committee on Relief and formerly hosted and staffed the LI Sandy Recovery Ministry.