Anew United Church of Christ

"We, the people of the Anew United Church of Christ of Mitchell, South Dakota, hereby declare ourselves an Open and Affirming Christian community. We welcome into full membership persons of every race, ethnic background, age, physical or mental ability, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, marital status, socio-economic circumstance, and faith background. We welcome all to full participation in all of our sacraments and every aspect of our congregational life, leadership, ministry, worship, responsibilities, and all the blessings of fellowship in our congregation."

Anew United Church of Christ was formed in 2012 by a group of people who wanted to do “church” in a new way.

Church politics, fundamentalism and exclusionary beliefs have chased many would-be Christians out of churches, creating a large class of people that Episcopal Bishop John Shelby Spong has labeled “believers in exile.” These people are rooted in Christian traditions but no longer feel they can belong to churches where every word of the Bible is taken as literal history, gay and other marginalized people are treated as second-class citizens, belief in a set of ancient creeds is asserted as the only way to Heaven, and the primary goal of faith seems to be self-help.

We at Anew UCC wish to reclaim a brand of Christianity that flourished in the early decades after Jesus’ death. For many followers of “The Way,” being a Christian was a call to action. It was a commitment to work for the reign of God on earth — a reign of love, equality and justice that was best embodied by the life and ministry of Jesus.

At Anew, you will not experience “church” in the typical way. For starters, we don’t even have a church building. We currently meet in a large room at LifeQuest, a nonprofit organization that assists people with developmental disabilities.

You also won’t experience any alter calls or high-pressure conversion attempts. It’s our aim to accept everyone as they are, and to welcome their questions and doubts.

It’s also our aim to put our faith in Jesus’ message into action. Instead of maintaining a building, an endowment fund and a cumbersome structure of church committees, we wish to expend our energy doing the work we feel called to do.

So, please feel welcome to join us. Come as you are to worship, stay for fellowship, get involved in an adult study, enroll your kids in Sunday school. And then join us as we try to follow the example of Jesus in our lives, our community and our world.