Welcome
Considering the extravagant love God lavishes on us all, we at Vashon United Methodist Church extend our welcome to people of all ages, races, ethnicities, abilities, sexual orientations, gender identities, family structures, economic situations and faith histories. Our desire is to be known for mutual respect, understanding, and inclusion.
We follow Jesus, who offered radical hospitality to the lonely, hurting, hungry, and homeless. Come, explore this great love of God with us, and work beside us to transform the world.
We welcome all newcomers and look forward to meeting you. We recognize, too, that we are all newcomers in this place, the un-ceded land of native peoples, who are still living and thriving, as our neighbors.
Sunday Service
Join us on Sunday mornings for worship at 10am in person and on ZOOM.
Log on beginning at 10am.
Join Zoom Meeting on your smartphone, tablet, or computer:
https://greaternw.zoom.us/j/97722198838
Meeting ID: 977 2219 8838
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We are a reconciling congregation
What does that mean? It means that we have made a commitment to being in loving Christian ministry with all people without prejudice, to truly have “open hearts, open minds, and open doors,” to work toward the time when our congregation, our denomination, and our society live the all-inclusive love that our faith demands. As a sign of that commitment—and a vehicle for helping to achieve it, we have officially affiliated ourselves with the Reconciling Ministries Network (RMN) and share its guiding principles:
Open Hearts, Open Minds
It means that we have made a commitment to being in loving Christian ministry with all people without prejudice, to truly have “open hearts, open minds, and open doors,” to work toward the time when our congregation, our denomination, and our society live the all-inclusive love that our faith demands. As a sign of that commitment—and a vehicle for helping to achieve it, we have officially affiliated ourselves with the Reconciling Ministries Network (RMN) and share its guiding principles:
Overcoming Oppression
Reconciling Ministries Network aspires to fulfill our baptismal covenant to resist oppression in whatever form it presents itself in our movement, church, and world. RMN has a commitment to ending institutional racism, sexism, and economic injustice by working at the intersections of oppression and focusing on an ongoing examination of internal processes and external actions at all levels including its selection of issues and organizing strategies.
Our History
“Happy is that people whose God is the Lord” was the topic of the sermon given in 1885 when the Methodist Church, the first church on Vashon Island, was dedicated. Rev. John Dennison led the service, assisted by Rev. D.E. Blaine of Seattle.
Who We Are
Dynamic Grace
The founder of Methodism, John Wesley, shared with many other Christians a belief in grace, justification, assurance, and sanctification, he combined them in a powerful manner to create distinctive emphases for living the full Christian life.
Grace pervades our understanding of Christian faith and life. By grace we mean the undeserved, unmerited, and loving action of God in human existence through the ever-present Holy Spirit. While the grace of God is undivided, it precedes salvation as "prevenient grace," continues in "justifying grace," and is brought to fruition in "sanctifying grace."
We assert that God's grace is manifest in all creation even though suffering, violence, and evil are everywhere present. The goodness of creation is fulfilled in human beings, who are called to covenant partnership with God. God has endowed us with dignity and freedom and has summoned us to responsibility for our lives and the life of the world.
In God's self-revelation, Jesus Christ, we see the splendor of our true humanity. Even our sin, with its destructive consequences for all creation, does not alter God's intention for us—holiness and happiness of heart. Nor does it diminish our accountability for the way we live.
There is no religion but social religion, no holiness but social holiness. The communal forms of faith in the Wesleyan tradition not only promote personal growth; they also equip and mobilize us for mission and service to the world.
The outreach of the church springs from the working of the Spirit. As United Methodists, we respond to that working through a connectional polity based upon mutual responsiveness and accountability. Connectional ties bind us together in faith and service in our global witness, enabling faith to become active in love and intensifying our desire for peace and justice in the world.
United Methodism
The United Methodist Church was created in 1968, but Methodism dates back to John and Charles Wesley who sought to spread the Methodist movement they began as student small group at Oxford. At about the same time, people like Philip Otterbein and Martin Boehm were leading similar movements that helped people grow in their faith. Those two strands of Christianity came together decades later to form The United Methodist Church.
Photos courtesy VUMC Members and Unsplash.com.