Church Profile
Service Times
Sunday Worship 10am
Bible Study Thursday 7pm
(909) 984-9111
Dr. Sylvia Lee Mann
Our Mission
No matter who you are or where you are on life's journey, you are welcome here. Jesus didn't turn away people, neither do we
We are a progressive church open to new ideas. If you have been looking for a church and have not found the perfect one, come help us turn Bethel into that church you have been looking for.
We are united by our radical welcome, not any tests of faith.
We are an "Open and Affirming" congregation of the United Church of Christ. Our Open and Affirming Statement is :
"We declare ourselves to be open and affirming. With God's grace, we seek to be a congregation that includes all persons, embracing differences of sexual orientation, gender, marital status, age, mental and physical ability, as well as racial, ethnic, or social-economic background. We welcome all to share in the life and leadership, ministry, and fellowship, worship, sacraments, responsibilities and blessings of participation in our congregation."
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About Bethel Congregational Church UCC
No matter who you are or where you are on life's journey, you are welcome here. Jesus didn't turn away people, neither do we.
In 2012, we celebrated 127 years in downtown Ontario, and rededicated our 100-year-old building with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and an all-Beethoven Concert by the Southland Symphony Orchestra.
We are a progressive church open to new ideas. If you have been looking for a church and have not found the perfect one, come help us turn Bethel into that church you have been looking for.
We are united by our radical welcome, not any tests of faith.
We are an "Open and Affirming" congregation of the United Church of Christ. Our Open and Affirming Statement is :
"We declare ourselves to be open and affirming. With God's grace, we seek to be a congregation that includes all persons, embracing differences of sexual orientation, gender, marital status, age, mental and physical ability, as well as racial, ethnic, or social-economic background. We welcome all to share in the life and leadership, ministry, and fellowship, worship, sacraments, responsibilities and blessings of participation in our congregation."
We have a long history in Ontario California. Bethel Congregational was incorporated back in 1885. Our current building, the gothic revival stone castle-looking building was dedicated in 1913. It remains a landmark at the corner of Euclid and F Street. We may look imposing and traditional from the outside, but inside you will find a welcoming congregation who is quite liberal in our theology.
At Bethel, we believe that religion doesn't have to be opposed to intellect. We are a church that encourages you to engage your mind as well as your faith.
Denomination / Affiliation:
United Church of Christ
Service and Sermon Style:
Topical Sermons
Dress Style:
casual
Average Age of Attendees:
40-50
Community Projects:
0-12
Primary Language:
English
MINISTRIES AND GROUPS
Church Ministries
Kids
Sunday School
Adult
Small Groups
Choir
Groups and Public Services
Counseling Services
Weddings and Receptions
Funerals
Vacation Bible School
Furry Friends Pet Food Bank - Distributions last Saturday of each month.One of our most successful missions is the Furry Friends Pet Food Bank. We collect and hand out pet food to needy families so that they can afford to keep their pets in these hard economic times. We need your help to spread the word about our pet food bank.
We need your donations of pet food, volunteers to help distribute food the last Saturday of each month and of course, help with funding. Please contact us if you'd like to help!
BELIEFS
No matter who you are or where you are on life's journey, you are welcome here. Jesus didn't turn away people, neither do we.
We are a progressive church open to new ideas. If you have been looking for a church and have not found the perfect one, come help us turn Bethel into that church you have been looking for.
We are united by our radical welcome, not any tests of faith.
We are an "Open and Affirming" congregation of the United Church of Christ. Our Open and Affirming Statement is :
"We declare ourselves to be open and affirming. With God's grace, we seek to be a congregation that includes all persons, embracing differences of sexual orientation, gender, marital status, age, mental and physical ability, as well as racial, ethnic, or social-economic background. We welcome all to share in the life and leadership, ministry, and fellowship, worship, sacraments, responsibilities and blessings of participation in our congregation."
We have a long history in Ontario California. Bethel Congregational was incorporated back in 1885. Our current building, the gothic revival stone castle-looking building was dedicated in 1913. It remains a landmark at the corner of Euclid and F Street. We may look imposing and traditional from the outside, but inside you will find a welcoming congregation who is quite liberal in our theology.
At Bethel, we believe that religion doesn't have to be opposed to intellect. We are a church that encourages you to engage your mind as well as your faith.
We believe in God, the Eternal Spirit, who is made known to us in Jesus our brother, and to whose deeds we testify:
God calls the worlds into being, creates humankind in the divine image, and sets before us the ways of life and death.
God seeks in holy love to save all people from aimlessness and sin.
God judges all humanity and all nations by that will of righteousness declared through prophets and apostles.
In Jesus Christ, the man of Nazareth, our crucified and risen Lord,God has come to us and shared our common lot, conquering sin and death and reconciling the whole creation to its Creator.
God bestows upon us the Holy Spirit, creating and renewing the church of Jesus Christ, binding in covenant faithful people of all ages, tongues, and races.
God calls us into the church to accept the cost and joy of discipleship, to be servants in the service of the whole human family, to proclaim the gospel to all the world and resist the powers of evil, to share in Christ's baptism and eat at his table,to join him in his passion and victory.
God promises to all who trust in the gospel forgiveness of sins and fullness of grace, courage in the struggle for justice and peace,the presence of the Holy Spirit in trial and rejoicing, and eternal life in that kingdom which has no end.
Blessing and honor, glory and power be unto God.
Amen.
While we are people grounded in a faith that is 2000 years old, we are always searching for new ways of understanding and interpreting scripture in light of 21st century experience and knowledge. We take the Bible seriously but not necessarily literally. In our tradition, we take it so seriously that we take the time to study the social and historical context in which it was written. So you will hear us talk about the history of the Jewish and Christian people, as well as the work of modern scholars. We believe that God intentionally planted the word in the middle of history and culture, and therefore that background is part of the story we need to learn. We believe that the Bible is God’s own holy word passed down to us through fallible human beings.
We believe in the Bible so much that we think it deserves our best questions. We believe that the Bible is the opening of a conversation in which God is still speaking. We do not think the Bible will shrivel up and die because we dare to question why it says what it does. We believe that the Bible has withstood similar questions for thousands of years and that in asking the questions together, in communities of faith, over time, we are part of a life-changing conversation that will go on forever.
We honor the word so highly that we do not take one phrase out of context and fling it around. We do not use phrases as stand-alone weapons to prove our point or to injure another person. Rather, we read the phrase as it has been nested in the text. We read the story around it.
We are not afraid to notice and point out places where scripture disagrees with itself. We know that we are not the first generation to notice these things. Those who carefully put the Bible together over the early centuries wrestled to decide which books should be included and which left out. In their wisdom, they left us a collection of holy words that offer a rich variety of descriptions of God.
Primary Bible Version Used:
Multiple Versions Used
Baptism:
Both
Communion Frequency:
Monthly
Healing and Charismatic Gifts:
Regularly Practice
Regularly Practice:
Prayers for Healing
MAP
Bethel Congregational Church UCC is a Christian Church located in Zip Code 91762.
Church Profile Manager: Sylvia Mann