UNITED CHURCH OF THE VALLEY
OUR TRUE CALLING
There’s a fresh wind blowing in the Murrieta/Temecula Valley. It is the wind of openness and inclusiveness, the fresh breeze of a community built upon an affirmation approach to life which respects the customs and integrity of all persons. This fresh wind is called United Church of the Valley. This church comes from a tradition of calling and gathering God’s people to respond to the world with new eyes and new hearts. It is a church of vision and involvement. We unashamedly work hand in hand with our God to dismantle the fences which have been erected between people. We follow God’s vision of a just world where all will live peacefully, growing in their concern for each other.
Mission Statement
We are an inclusive, accessible and affirming community practicing Jesus' radical love. We follow God's vision of a Just World where all live peacefully and in response we pursue the liberation of all living things from injustice and oppression.
Vision Statement
Just Peace Survey
WHAT IS JUST PEACE? Grounded in UCC polity and covenantal theology, the Just Peace Pronouncement and resulting church movement has at its core a call to alleviate systemic injustice of all kinds using non-violence, challenging us to explore the intersections between peace and justice, offering to the world the prophetic message, grounded in the hope of reconciliation in Jesus, that “Peace is possible!" - Just Peace Church Handbook, published by United Church of Christ Justice and Witness Ministries, 2015
How We Minister
United Church of the Valley we don't utilize a full time minister, but rather a rotating group of ministers who are creative thinkers. During the course of a month you might see the Rev. Fred Schaeffer, Rev. Stephanie Toon, Lee Eddy, Sandy Selby or Darcie Dunlop behind the pulpit. We enjoy a different approach as seen through a different pair of eyes each week. Not only does it keep us on our toes, but it keeps our minds fresh and open to new ideas and a new way of seeing that, which we have looked at the same way for years.
October 20th - Lynne Bradley & Sandy Selby (All-Church Visioning)
Lynne Bradley is Director of Music Ministries at the United Church of the Valley where she works with the choir and handbell ensembles. For many years she was a high school choral director in the Chicago area before moving to California where she spent 13 years teaching choral music at Fallbrook Union HS. She has been active in the American Choral Directors Association, serving as state and national chairs. In 1993 she was honored to be one of ten finalists for San Diego Teacher of the Year.
Since retiring from full-time teaching, she has been very active in many of the programs at the Community House (supported by the United Church of the Valley) directing a free after school community based children’s music program and teaching English to adult English-learners. For 10 years, until covid, she travelled annually to a poor, rural community in Nicaragua to teach music to children in local schools as well as helping develop and support ongoing music there taught by a local teacher.
Lynne directs and sings in the Southern CA Damekor, a mostly a capella women’s ensemble specializing in choral music from Scandinavia. They have performed widely in the area.
Born in Chicago, Bradley received both undergraduate and graduate degrees from Northwestern University. In Illinois she was a high school choral director and for 22 years was privileged to sing, under Margaret Hillis’ direction, in the Chicago Symphony Chorus. She also was co-director of the Choir of Joy, a high school choir which made several trips to Europe.
Sandy joined United Church of the Valley in 2017 when she and her family relocated to Murrieta, CA from Louisville, KY. She began her ministry in 2002 at First Christian Church of Louisville, where she served as Youth Leader and Elder. She joined the staff of FCC in 2015 and served as the Associate Minister for Senior Adults and Guest/Member Connections. After completing the Pastoral Ministry Certificate Program at Lexington Theological Seminary in 2016, she was commissioned into ministry by the Kentucky Region of The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).
Sandy loves sharing her faith with others and helping them find their own spiritual path. In addition to sharing in the duties of preaching and pastoral care, Sandy serves as Coordinator for Ecumenism and Outreach. She is a member of the Interfaith Council of Murrieta and Temecula Valley, where she enjoys building relationships with diverse faith communities. In her spare time, Sandy likes to hike and go to the beach with her husband, Paul, her mom, Mary, her son, Eric, and their rambunctious pug, Batman
A new service is available every Sunday morning
New Designations Coming in 2024
Just Peace
A couple of years ago, UCV agreed that we wanted to go through the process of being able to be designated as a “Just Peace” church. The process is somewhat similar to that of becoming “Open and Affirming.” There is a time of study and then the congregation votes to proclaim a public identity as a justice-doing, peace-seeking church. This may be the time to rekindle our determination to seek this designation. If you are interested in learning more about or want to participate in this process, talk to Deb Hudson
Accessible 2 All
Accessibility to All (A2A) is about becoming attitudinally welcoming to people with disabilities and mental health issues as well as working to make our buildings physically and programmatically accessible to persons with disability. There is a process involved outlined by UCC that we will work through to acquire this designation.
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*** EMILY'S SPACE *** |
Photographs and Memories
Roots
Chacraseca
Pride
Archie
What do we have here?
Christmas Celebration
John and Sharon
Showing each stop of our nomadic journey
Peaceful Protest
Pumpkin Glow 2023
Candlelight Vigil for Peace
