Welcome! ¡Bienvenidos! Karibu!
Come Meet Us.
Thanks for taking the time to learn about us! The West Charleston Church of the Brethren (WCCOB) is a little different than many of the congregations you might find here in rural Ohio but as you get to know us you might understand why some of our members travel a distance to join us - from Dayton or even farther.
What our worship is like?
Our diverse community meets for worship on Sundays at 10:00am. Although some of our folks speak English at home, others speak Spanish, and a few even use Swahili, still we come together for one worship service. We trust in the vision of all nations and tongues praising God together (Rev 7:9). Modeling ourselves after that vision, we often sing songs in English and Spanish, have translation by projection, and (during the sermon) by live translation in headsets.
We’re always delighted to have children join us in worship! Children participate along with adults during our opening prayers and songs. Sometimes they are our morning scripture readers and once a month their children choir sings! We have special activity packets for them during the sermon and after worship we have children and youth learning activities.
We’re easy to find, just north of the intersection of 202 and 571 and we also welcome folks to join us for worship
note: after clicking the link below, you will need to type in the password
on zoom (https://zoom.us/j/6589552095
Password: 373315
What Kind of Church Is This?
We know that many churches will provide a quick link to a page about “our beliefs,” and then present the basic creed (statement of belief) that holds them in common faith. WCCOB follows the Church of the Brethren in articulating something a little different:
We have no ‘creed’ except for the New Testament interpreted in community by the guiding of the Holy Spirit. In this way we seek to follow the example and teachings of Jesus.
As a community, we realize that on many topics, we hold a variety of beliefs. And, individually as well as collectively, our beliefs have continued to develop as we come to fuller understandings of truth as revealed to us. We consider it to be more important that we strive to follow Jesus together than that we all uniformly believe the same things. That said, we have tried to sketch a framework for following Christ as outlined below
Creating Community Inspired by Christ
Throughout Matthew, Mark, and Luke, the central emphasis in Jesus’ teaching is the Reign (or Kingdom) of God–salvation experienced in a community living as God intends. In our life together, we strive to build towards that Beloved Community of Jesus through the following practices:
Welcoming Unconditionally
Jesus’ Beloved Community is a place of friendship and belonging for all people; we all bear the image of God. No matter one’s race or ethnicity, gender identity or sexual orientation, native language, legal status, social or economic status, religious background, age or ability, we will welcome you to WCCOB as Christ has welcomed us. While the world lives in division, we are called to continue Jesus’ ministry of reconciliation.
Transforming Lives
Here at WCCOB, we recognize our own ongoing need for transformation–both individual and collective. Because none of us are yet fully the person that God calls us to be, we welcome the embrace of loving affirmation, the wisdom of a community, and a diversity of thoughtful voices which together set the stage for the Spirit’s transforming work in each of our lives. In the end, we find that Jesus sets us free from internalized shame or oppression, from life-draining habits, and from fears that keep us stuck–things we might not have realized are part of what the Bible calls “sin”–so that we can be who God created each of us to be.
Serving Courageously
At any stage of growth in our walk with Jesus, following him will mean taking concrete action to love our neighbor. This may mean providing public or practical support for those who are marginalized like people of color, immigrants and LGBTQ folks. It could be volunteering to teach and lead with children’s activities, joining a group of quilters making blankets to donate to a variety of causes, or volunteering with community and church networks of care. WCCOB tries to “go and do likewise” in imitation of the Samaritan whom Jesus praised for loving the one who was in his path, regardless of their differences (Luke 10:25-28).
Glorifying God
This element of building Jesus’ Beloved Community is placed “lowest” on the list because it is the bedrock of everything else that we do. While Jesus’ teaching and example are chock full of calls to continue God’s work in striving for justice and peace, those things alone are not the final goal. In the end, every form of violence, oppression, greed, and separation must be torn down because these are all obstacles to really living in God’s love and enjoying the fullness of God. Our weekly worship at its best contains a foretaste of living in the fulness of that divine love, and glorifying God in our praise for God’s goodness.
