Tucked on several acres of park-like grounds about ten miles south of Seattle, Normandy Park United Church of Christ has built its life around a single sentence: "Feed your spirit, feed your soul, feed others." The motto sits on the church's masthead beside an Open and Affirming badge and a line that runs through everything from the Sunday bulletin to the sign on the fellowship hall door - "No matter who you are, or where you are on life's journey, you are welcome here."
No Matter Who You Are, You Are Welcome Here
The congregation adopted an Open and Affirming stance in 1999, years before such commitments were common in mainline Protestant life. Open and Affirming is a formal designation within the United Church of Christ that affirms the full inclusion of LGBTQ members in the life and ministry of the church. Normandy Park's Statement of Welcome and Inclusiveness extends that welcome further, naming age, marital status, physical ability, gender, race, sexual orientation, economics, politics, and cultural background as categories in which every person is to be treated as a sacred child of God. The presence and spiritual gifts of each person are treasured, the statement reads, and the services and ministries of the congregation are available to all.
The welcome is rooted in the conviction that Jesus never excluded anyone from God's love, and the practical instructions to first-time visitors are simple. Come as you are, wear whatever you are comfortable in, and sit in any pew. As the parish likes to put it, drawing on songwriter Jim Manley, "Nobody here has a claim on a pew - come in and sit down, for you are a part of the family."
A Comma, Not a Period
Normandy Park UCC belongs to the United Church of Christ, a denomination that has long identified with the slogan "God is Still Speaking" and a simple comma-shaped logo. The imagery comes from a line attributed to Gracie Allen: "Never place a period where God has placed a comma." The UCC understands the Bible, historic creeds, and past theologians as important, but it also believes, as Pilgrim forebearer John Robinson put it, that "there is more light and truth yet to break forth from God's holy word."
The UCC was the first mainline Christian body to ordain an openly gay man and an openly gay woman to ministry, and was also the first to endorse and affirm marriage equality. Normandy Park UCC draws on that heritage as it lives out its own ministry on the southern edge of the Seattle metro.
Creation Justice Church
In September 2025 the congregation adopted a Creation Justice Covenant, and on December 17, 2025, Normandy Park UCC was recognized as a UCC Creation Justice Church. The covenant opens with Genesis 1:3a - "God saw all that God had made, and it was very good" - and goes on to commit the congregation to care for all creation as stewards of the earth, seeking restorative justice for oppressed people, endangered species, and future generations to come. The commitment extends through stewardship, worship, and action across the whole life of the parish.
The church practices what the covenant preaches. It emphasizes conserving energy, reducing waste, recycling, and reducing toxic chemical use, and the entire property is a non-smoking facility. The grounds themselves, beautifully landscaped and bordered by woods, are part of that stewardship.
The Sanctuary, the Grounds, and the Labyrinth
The sanctuary is a warm, light-filled room with high-beamed ceilings and stained-glass windows. Just outside the front of the sanctuary lies one of the church's most distinctive features: a brick labyrinth, open to the public. Labyrinths are an ancient form of spiritual meditation and worship, and the invitation here is straightforward. Anyone may come walk it in the morning, afternoon, or evening.
Behind the church buildings, a network of trails winds through the surrounding woods to an outdoor sanctuary, a space the congregation uses for summer worship and for small outdoor weddings. The whole property is handicap accessible, with the exception of the outdoor sanctuary.
Sunday Mornings at Ten
Worship is hybrid, offered both in person in the sanctuary and on Zoom, every Sunday morning at 10 am. The service follows a familiar pattern. The congregation prays together, listens to a message from the pastor, shares joys and concerns, and sings music that reflects and builds on the theme of the day. Coffee and fellowship follow in the gathering space.
Communion is celebrated on the first Sunday of every month, and all are invited to the table. The bread or crackers served are gluten-free, and the cup holds grape juice, though those who prefer may bring a grape from home. On World Communion Sunday the elements vary slightly. Large-print bulletins are used and audio assistance is available for those who need it.
The choir, led by Accompanist with Choir Direction Cindy Dow, sings nearly every week from the beginning of September through Father's Day. All voices, experienced or new, are invited to join. During the summer and on occasional Sundays throughout the school year, guest musicians offer a special piece during the service.
Learning Together
Adults at Normandy Park UCC have several ways to dig deeper. Bible & Brews meets once or twice a month on Friday evenings at 7 pm via Zoom. The group reads books and asks the question "so why the Bible?" - working through texts like Ecclesiastes, the Sermon on the Mount and the Sermon on the Plains side by side, the Gospel of Thomas, and 1 Corinthians using a UCC "Listen Up!" study guide. Recent adult education series have covered books like dear white peacemakers, Native, Original Blessing, the Ten Commandments, the Book of Revelation, the Reformation, the enneagram, and labyrinths. Visitors do not need to attend worship to come to class.
Children typically have Sunday School activities during worship when they are planned in advance, and they stay in the sanctuary on Communion Sundays and for special occasions. The church also sends several youth to UCC gatherings held every other year - Western Regional Youth Events in places like Billings, Seattle, and Hawaii, and National Youth Events at Purdue University and Disney World - giving young members a chance to meet UCC youth from across the country, take on mission projects, hear national speakers, and worship at a much larger scale than they are used to.
Feeding the Community
The congregation takes seriously the call to feed people. Normandy Park UCC is one of the founding churches of the local Community Meals program, a rotation of churches that offers a free dinner to anyone in the community every week. Members also collect food, volunteer, and give money to the Des Moines Area Food Bank throughout the year.
Each spring the church participates in the CROP Hunger Walk, raising money and awareness about local and worldwide hunger. Since 1990 the walk has brought in over $76,000 for Church World Service, with twenty-five percent of what is raised granted back to local food banks. The walk is also a chance to gather with neighbors from other congregations.
Normandy Park UCC also serves as a Church World Service Emergency Kit Depot. When CWS issues an appeal for hygiene kits or cleanup buckets following a disaster, churches and organizations from around the area bring their items to NPUCC for central shipment.
Standing with Neighbors
The congregation gives generously of its time and treasure to Hospitality House, a nonprofit that provides shelter and support to homeless women in south King County. Members cook, donate, and serve on its leadership.
At Christmas, children and youth in the parish raise funds to buy gifts for the children staying at Mary's Place, which offers safe, inclusive shelter and services to women, children, and families working their way out of homelessness. The congregation also sets up a giving tree so members can pick tags and purchase gifts for parents to give to their own children at Mary's Place's annual Holly Jolly Holiday Party.
The church stands with immigrants and refugees, supporting the Northwest Immigration Rights Project and the Refugee and Immigration Center for Education and Legal Services, as well as RAICES Texas, UCC Immigrant Justice, the WA Immigration Solidarity Network, the International Rescue Committee's Welcome to Washington, and CWS Ukraine Crisis Relief. Grounding this work is Leviticus 19:33-34: "When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself."
Normandy Park UCC also pays Real Rent to the Duwamish Tribe, recognizing that the land on which the church stands was never justly compensated by the city named for the Duwamish leader Chief Seattle.
A Wider Church Family
Within the United Church of Christ, Normandy Park UCC is a "Five for Five" congregation, giving to all five of the UCC's special offerings. Because the church also contributes to Our Church's Wider Mission, one hundred percent of those special offerings goes directly to work like worldwide and domestic disaster relief, new and renewing church grants, support for retired clergy and their families, and missionary funding.
The congregation belongs to the Pacific Northwest Conference of the UCC, which connects UCC churches across Washington, northern Idaho, and Alaska and administers two camps: Pilgrim Firs in Port Orchard, Washington, and N-Sid-Sen on Lake Coeur d'Alene in Idaho. Members attend the conference's Annual Meeting each spring.
On the church's own grounds, the Samoan congregation CCCAS Ole Malamalama O Iesu Keriso holds its worship and fellowship, and the two communities come together for special occasions of worship and music. A Women's Retreat each year centers on creativity and artwork, with members contributing pieces on themes like Acceptance, Inspiration, Nature Walk, Nourishment, Peace, Rejoice, Rooted, and Prayer Walk.
Giving to the church is possible through PayPal, by check, through personal bank bill payer, via Zelle, or through Venmo, and the church office is open Tuesday through Thursday mornings. To join the mailing list for the monthly Towline newsletter, anyone can sign up at the church office.