OUR MISSION

Our Mission is to grow as a caring, justice-making, anti-racist, diverse, spiritual community.

We, the members of The Community Church of New York Unitarian Universalist, embrace the transforming vision of the "Beloved Community", a just world in which all persons can share equitably in the wealth of the world, and freely develop their gifts and potential.

We commit ourselves to provide for each other an intergenerational community of love, by embracing diversity and religious freedom, and by encouraging personal and spiritual growth through worship, social action, fellowship, and education. 

We commit ourselves to action in our congregation, our city, our denomination, our country, and our world to bring the vision of the Beloved Community to fruition.

OUR VISION

At 200 years old, Community Church has weathered more storms than we can count, but after each one, we seem to be stronger for the experience.

We are at the end of one such storm, and even if we thought this last one might be the end of us, we are, it turns out, doing quite well.

Without retelling an old story, we’ll remember that in 2019, much of what made us who we were was disintegrating. Having neglected too many of our core tenets, we were mired in conflict, overspending our inheritance, and living in space that was literally falling down around us, an apt metaphor for our spiritual status. We buckled down and did the hard work required for revitalization: honest assessment, truth-telling, and risk-taking. And while that was destabilizing, we are now coming to the end of that process and finding ourselves ready for rebirth. While we keep saying we are a phoenix rising, most of what we could see was ashes.

That time has passed.

From 2025-2027, we are going to celebrate our 200th anniversary by purchasing, designing, and moving into a new building. That building will be a reflection of our core values. It will provide ample space for worshipping, gathering, sharing meals, learning, praying, singing, and organizing. Retaining our two spiritual paths of both art and justice making, we will explore ways to expand these impulses, widening our reach to feed a city desperate for spiritual grounding.

As our nation falls to fascism, Community Church is not backing down from the real work of our time. If Love is at the center of everything we do, as we like to claim, we will use our clout as a house of worship to respond to the violence of both rhetoric and policy coming from the federal government.

As genocide rages in the Middle East, we will use our moral authority to call for an end to ethnic cleansing.

As our economic systems disenfranchise millions, we will hold our leaders accountable for the health and well-being of all people.

As living in NYC becomes ever more difficult, we will advocate for affordable housing.

As mass incarceration continues to serve as our 21st century approach to state-sanctioned slavery, we will speak boldly against complicated systems of subjugation.

As our planetary systems buckle under the weight of climate change, we will advocate for mindful, innovative and ethical solutions.

We will be, as we have always been, a bold, prophetic voice in our city, calling for moral choices to be made for the benefit of all, not just some.

And we will work to become Beloved Community, treating each other with kindness and care, making sure to put Love at the Center of Everything.

— Rev. Peggy Clarke, August 2025

What is Unitarian Universalism?

  • Interdependence

    We honor the interdependent web of all existence. With reverence for the great web of life and with humility, we acknowledge our place in it.

    We covenant to protect Earth and all beings from exploitation. We will create and nurture sustainable relationships of care and respect, mutuality and justice. We will work to repair harm and damaged relationships.

    Pluralism

    We celebrate that we are all sacred beings, diverse in culture, experience, and theology.

    We covenant to learn from one another in our free and responsible search for truth and meaning. We embrace our differences and commonalities with Love, curiosity, and respect.

    Justice

    We work to be diverse multicultural Beloved Communities where all thrive.

    We covenant to dismantle racism and all forms of systemic oppression. We support the use of inclusive democratic processes to make decisions within our congregations, our Association, and society at large.

    Transformation

    We adapt to the changing world.

    We covenant to collectively transform and grow spiritually and ethically. Openness to change is fundamental to our Unitarian and Universalist heritages, never complete and never perfect.

    Generosity

    We cultivate a spirit of gratitude and hope.

    We covenant to freely and compassionately share our faith, presence, and resources. Our generosity connects us to one another in relationships of interdependence and mutuality.

    Equity

    We declare that every person has the right to flourish with inherent dignity and worthiness.

    We covenant to use our time, wisdom, attention, and money to build and sustain fully accessible and inclusive communities.

    • Direct experience of that transcending mystery and wonder, affirmed in all cultures, which moves us to a renewal of the spirit and an openness to the forces which create and uphold life;

    • Wisdom from the world's religions which inspires us in our ethical and spiritual life;

    • Words and deeds of prophetic people which challenge us to confront powers and structures of evil with justice, compassion, and the transforming power of love;

    • Jewish and Christian teachings which call us to respond to God's love by loving our neighbors as ourselves;

    • Humanist teachings which counsel us to heed the guidance of reason and the results of science, and warn us against idolatries of the mind and spirit.

    • Spiritual teachings of earth-centered traditions which celebrate the sacred circle of life and instruct us to live in harmony with the rhythms of nature.