Our Diversity

The Lihue Christian Church is a congregation of the United Church of Christ, which was formed from the1957 merger of the Evangelical and Reformed Church and the Congregational Christian Churches. We are a progressive mainline congregation with beliefs rooted in the Lutheran, Calvinist, Reformed and Congregational traditions. Today, Lihue Christian Church is becoming increasingly diverse in every way, as it lives out its commitment to be a house of worship that embraces all of God’s people.

Our Common Beliefs

Though we treasure our diversity, we hold some important beliefs in common such as:

• "That they may all be one" (John 17:21) Jesus teaches us to find unity and love through forgiveness, reconciliation and commitment. Though we are all different from each other, we are committed to fulfilling Christ’s prayer that we may be one.


• The authority of Scripture. We turn to the Bible as our primary source for guidance and understanding in the life of faith which we share.


• The priesthood of all believers. We all minister to one another, and we serve alongside each other. Some are called to special ministries such as pastors and teachers, but even then their task is to enable all of us to do ministry.


• In essentials unity, in non-essentials diversity, in all things charity. We do not believe that our unity is based on uniformity, that all must think or behave alike. God loves diversity and therefore made each of us a unique being, with unique gifts and contributions to make to the greater body. We believe that it is alright to disagree in matters of doctrine, and yet remain firm in the love we have for God and for one another.

The United Church of Christ embraces a theological heritage that affirms the Bible as the authoritative witness to the Word of God, the creeds of the ecumenical councils, and the confessions of the Reformation. The UCC has roots in the "covenantal" tradition—meaning there is no centralized authority or hierarchy that can impose any doctrine or form of worship on its members. Christ alone is Head of the church. We seek a balance between freedom of conscience and accountability to the apostolic faith. The UCC therefore receives the historic creeds and confessions of our ancestors as testimonies, but not tests of the faith. Linked on the right of this page are some of those testimonies. For more information, visit http://www.ucc.org/faith/index.html.