Mission:
First United Methodist Church of Seattle is a progressive faith community offering a place to grow spiritually and a refuge of inclusive Christianity.
We use our voices and energy to advocate for persons on society’s margins and for all God’s creation.
Updated June 2022
We’re called “First Church” because we are Seattle’s first congregation, established in 1853. We cherish our place in Seattle’s past, present, and future.
We are proud to belong to the Reconciling Ministries Network, and accept members of all sexual orientations and gender identities into our congregation and support full inclusion in every aspect of church life.
Learn more about the work our mission and vision have inspired in our most recent Annual Report.
Vision 2021-2025
“We shall not cease from exploration
T.S. Eliot “Little Gidding” 1942
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.”
“If anyone is in Christ, that person is part of the new creation. The old things have gone away, and look, new things have arrived!”
2 Corinthians 5:17, CEB
WHERE WE STARTED
Each year, First Church takes time to explore the intersections of faith, scripture, culture, technology, and human experience. The past two years have been no different, but they have been marked by the COVID-19 pandemic in ways that have transformed us and our context. We wonder who we are meant to be now in ways that previous generations (other than survivors of the 1918 flu pandemic) didn’t have to answer so directly.
Since moving from 5th & Marion to 2nd & Denny in 2010, First Church has been on a decade-long journey to refine our mission, vision, and values as we continue to live out our call to be an urban church in the heart of Seattle .
- First Church discerned our Mission statement in 2016: “First United Methodist Church of Seattle is a progressive, spiritual community advocating for the homeless and hungry and creating a refuge of inclusive Christianity.”
- First Church discerned our Values from 2018-2021, Wayfinding (link) as we sought to prioritize spiritual enrichment, community engagement, transforming the world, and becoming a neighborhood hub.
- First Church discerned one area of focus from 2021-2022, Lenscrafting (link) and seeking intercultural fluency and becoming anti-racist.
- Now, the First Church Council is proposing the following Vision and Four Areas of Focus that will deepen our spiritual engagement, strengthen our inclusive community, and transform the world around us from 2022 to 2025.
VISION
The “Boat of Theseus” is a classic philosophical conundrum – named after the boat of a warrior and explorer whose boat was kept on honored display in Rome for hundreds of years.. Over the centuries, the wooden boat rotted, and planks and rigging were replaced until not a single scrap of the original ship survived. The philosophical question that arose was: “Is this still the ship of Theseus if there’s nothing left of the original ship?”
The same philosophical conundrum arises when we consider the human body. We know that almost every cell in our bodies dies and is replaced over time, which begs the question: are we the same people we were a decade ago, now that all the cells in our bodies are new? And is this process of renewal (emphasis on the NEW!) something positive or problematic?
Today we ask the same questions about First Church. In 1853, First Church was the first church in Seattle, but today
no members or even family lineages are left at First Church from that original congregation. We have gone through 4 buildings, numerous pastors, mergers with other denominations, and ballooned in size from 12 people to 6000 and back to 400 again.
Much has changed at First Church in just the last two years. Nevertheless, what makes us First Church is not the church property or even the particular people; it is the vision that we collectively steward. Our vision calls us to transform downtown Seattle into a place of inclusion, where the needs of those on the margins are recognized and met, and where vibrant progressive spirituality is nurtured.
First Church will seek to intentionally live into this vision for the next three years by applying our Values to our Four Areas of Focus.
FOUR AREAS OF FOCUS
First Church does many things well – music, worship, Shared Breakfast, and public advocacy – and we will continue to put our energy into these activities. For 2022-2025, our Mission and Vision call us to prioritize these Four Areas of Focus:
- Seeking intercultural fluency and Committing to anti-racism.
- Seeking to take action for Climate Justice.
- Seeking to act in solidarity with the Hungry and Homeless
- Seeking to rebuild Community Connections and Collaborations.
(1) SEEKING INTERCULTURAL FLUENCY AND COMMITTING TO ANTI-RACISM
“For Jesus has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility [between Jews and Gentiles].”
Ephesians 2:14
We are called to engage in anti-racism work. To borrow from the conundrum of the Ship of Theseus, even if we were not the rotted boards that redlined Seattle’s neighborhoods or that turned a blind eye to the internment of our neighbors of Japanese descent, we are directly impacted by that history. Those rotted planks are a part of who we are.
Spiritual Development:
- Identify Biblical teachings and practical ways for children and youth to engage with anti-racism.
- Develop a series of movies and documentaries on the issue.
- Create Monday night studies to continue to explore the implications.
- Engage more members in the effort.
- Create Lunch and Learn opportunities to hear from different cultures and life experiences.
Inclusion/Community:
- Develop external indicators of inclusiveness, e.g., BLM banner, more diverse representations, acknowledging ancestral homelands of Duwamish.
- Identify and purchase/include broader representation: curriculum in Sunday School, hymn and music selections, leadership in the church, guest preachers, Lunch and Learn inclusive of other cultures, book group.
Changing the World:
- Partner with another BIPOC congregation or one focused on anti-racism.
- Connect with other groups: Duwamish tribe, groups supporting BIPOC issues, cultural exchange with other cultures,engaging with people who are not white-dominant.
- Advocate for anti-racist housing, equity and social justice, immigration, voting rights, etc.
- Create care packages for disproportionally disadvantaged communities to support them.
(2) TAKING ACTION FOR CLIMATE JUSTICE
“The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it, the world, and those who live in it; for God has founded it on the seas, and established it on the rivers.”
Psalm 24:1-2
We are called to re-purposing… If we took all the boards out of a boat and made furniture out of them, it would no longer be a leaky boat but something repurposed to a greater benefit. Climate Justice requires that we reduce our individual and collective ecological footprints. We advocate for the societal shifts that will stop the harm to the planet and disadvantaged communities.
Spiritual Development:
- Develop and utilize more creation-focused liturgical elements in worship.
- Develop a greater understanding of Christian/Biblical and indigenous views of God and the Earth.
- Invite individual and family pledges for action.
- Ongoing “All church study & action” emphases/ opportunities on climate justice topics.
Inclusion/Community:
- Have a “buy nothing” day where members bring in stuff they don’t need anymore. Open it up to the community.
- Have a recurring first Sunday of the month “reduce your carbon footprint” day where people bike, bus, or carpool to church instead of driving themselves. Ask people to commit to it and hold one another accountable.
- Provide an opportunity for a congregational pledge for action.
- Use “choice points” to develop specific actions regarding climate justice and disadvantaged communities.
Changing the World:
- Advocate for policy, legislation, and societal shifts (e.g., from fossil fuels to renewables) that stop the harm.
- Partner with organizations and agencies equipped to house and feed climate refugees.
- Refurbish our boat, i.e. work to “green” our building.
- Examine building use to incorporate sustainability practices for greater climate justice.
(3) SOLIDARITY WITH THE HUNGRY AND HOMELESS
“You shall not wrong a sojourner or oppress them, for you were once sojourners in the land of Egypt.”
Exodus 22:21
We are called to provide food and housing security. Much as the form of Theseus’s ship outlasts the materials, at the heart of the gospel is the promise of life over death, permanence over the temporal, For people who suffer from food and housing insecurity, finding long-term assurance and help can transform their lives.
Spiritual Development:
- Create learning opportunities for leadership and congregation to understanding food insecurity, world hunger, food deserts, and spiritual perspectives on hunger.
Inclusion/Community:
- Develop stronger connections with Blaine Center.
- Explore how to make the worship environment more welcoming.
- Cooking classes where newly housed persons gain cooking knowledge.
- Invite SB guests and volunteers for input on committee action/priorities.
Changing the World:
- Collaborate with other congregations and volunteer with other feeding and advocacy programs.
- Challenge governmental entities and work with advocacy organizations to enact lasting change.
(4) REBUILD COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS AND COLLABORATIONS
“We declare to you what we have seen and heard so that you also may have fellowship with us, and truly our fellowship is with God and with God’s son Jesus Christ. We are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.”
1 John 1:3-4
We are called to create communities that resist oppression and build solidarity networks. Theseus’s ship was not just the famous ship of a famous explorer–it held meaning for and belonged to the whole of the community whose hands replaced board after board over the ensuing years, and to those who pondered the conundrum of an old ship that was entirely new. . Similarly, a church is never just the pastor or the staff or even the leaders: it is the entire community.
Spiritual Development:
- Recruit, train, and mentor volunteers.
- Hire or designate a Volunteer Coordinator
- Create outward-facing spiritual enrichment opportunities geared toward newcomers.
- Offer learning opportunities on the value of inclusion, community building, and rebuilding the community after the pandemic ends.
- Develop and offer a scriptural curriculum for small groups
- Offer a sermon reflection opportunity
Inclusion/Community:
- Create a directory of attendees.
- Develop and promote groups that connect members with each other.
- Create a newcomer welcoming team who look out for and reach out to visitors.
- Identify where our teams can work together with each other.
- Create a Ministry/Mission moment in worship and in the newsletter.
- Encourage one-to-one structured conversations.
- Compile a church cookbook, have a “cook the book” fellowship group
- Hold a Ministry Fair
- Hold a Council Fair (or similar event) to provide visibility to administrative committee opportunities and needs
Changing the World:
- Enhance social media presence.
- Ensure the website reflects up-to-date small group opportunities; update print materials that explain and promotesmall groups
- Plan communication about small groups and committees to ensure visibility to these opportunities throughout the year
- Support groups that are doing this work already.
- Include Shared Breakfast volunteers in a more robust way.
- Create Lunch and Learn to include people who live in our neighborhood.
- Publicize the list of who First Church collaborates with.
- Develop newsletter items about those with whom we collaborate.
- Incorporate greater visibility for groups we coordinate with.
- Find ways to connect more robustly with area art and music groups.
- Enhance social media presence.
- Ensure the website reflects up-to-date small group opportunities; update print materials that explain and promotesmall groups
- Plan communication about small groups and committees to ensure visibility to these opportunities throughout the year
- Support groups that are doing this work already.
- Include Shared Breakfast volunteers in a more robust way.
- Create Lunch and Learn to include people who live in our neighborhood.
- Publicize the list of who First Church collaborates with.
- Develop newsletter items about those with whom we collaborate.
- Incorporate greater visibility for groups we coordinate with.
- Find ways to connect more robustly with area art and music groups.