We are the Sunnyslope Church. We are a congregation in communion with two different Denominations. The Sunnyslope Church began its life as the Sunnyslope Church of the Brethren. A. B. Peters, an elder in the Church of the Brethren, accepted an assignment from the Great Northern Railroad to promote settlement of the Wenatchee valley by Brethren who were tired of those cold winters in North Dakota. Several families followed his lead and moved to the Wenatchee valley. The church was organized and an active Sunday school program was put into place in August of 1903. The Sunnyslope Church was the first Church of the Brethren in the valley. In the 1980’s it became clear that a significant number of participants in the Sunnyslope Church had ties with the United Church of Christ. There was no other UCC congregation in Wenatchee. The congregation decided to acknowledge and honor its members with UCC ties by officially affiliating with the United Church of Christ. That was accomplished by a vote of the congregation at a Church Council meeting.
In 2012 we are a small congregation of Progressive Christians who take the Bible very seriously, but not literally. We believe that spiritual truth is so far beyond our human ability to comprehend that we require symbol and metaphor to even come close to understanding. Therefore, in relationship to the Bible, we look for more than literal meanings to help us find God’s truth for the world and God’s direction for our lives. We try to understand what any particular biblical text meant to those who originally heard it, and then, given the differences in time and culture, what it means for us today. We take God’s grace seriously as well. We print a statement of acceptance in our bulletin each week. It says:
Come as you are.
No dress code.
No judgment.
At the Sunnyslope Church we do not put a period where God has placed a comma, because we believe that God is still speaking (and we are still learning).
So bring your doubts, questions, and busy kids. God does not reject people. Neither do we. No matter who you are or where you are on life’s journey, you are welcome here.
Our congregation includes folks from all over the political spectrum. We, on occasion, have some lively debates. What holds us together is the sense that God calls us to follow the Way of Jesus. That is the way of promoting justice in our world. So we reach out. Each month we take special offerings for programs that fight hunger, that serve the needs of the poor, and that promote fairness in our society and in our world. We give to local groups like The Mustard Seed, and Hospitality House. We donate to national programs like Church World Service. We contribute to the Foods Resource Bank and through them support a project in Guatemala that empowers women and encourages diversity in the local food supply. We participate in the special outreach emphases of both the United Church of Christ and the Church of the Brethren. We believe that both Denominations have something very valuable to offer. Putting those together we proclaim that God is still speaking to us, calling us to another way of living; simply, peacefully, and together.
Come sing with us. Come pray with us. Come worship with us. Come participate with us in creating a new world of peace and justice by being a supportive community of faith.
