Welcome to Foothills Congregational Church, in Los Altos, CA!
We are an Open and Affirming congregation of the United Church of Christ (UCC). The UCC is a progressive denomination and a national leader in human rights issues. We have a strong commitment to outreach and favor a personal and relevant faith as expressed by the Covenant in our bylaws: “We covenant with you, O God, and with one another, and do bind ourselves in your presence, to walk together in all your ways, according as you are pleased to reveal yourself to us.”
You will find our community to be friendly, caring and supportive. We welcome diversity and view it as a way of embracing the inclusiveness of God’s love. We experience and share God’s love in the fellowship of everyone in our church community. Our adult population avidly supports the activities of our children and youth. Together we help those in need of meals and transportation and also reach out to those unable to fully participate in the life of the church. We truly are a family.
We like to have fun – from coffee and snacks in the courtyard after morning worship to our various social and outreach groups. You can count on a warm welcome to our community. We would be happy to have you visit us, meet our minister, Reverend Jean Jeffress, and learn more about our church.
Our Denomination
The UCC was formed in 1957 when the Congregational Christian Churches merged with the Evangelical and Reform Church. The UCC is a progressive denomination with a long history dating back to the Pilgrims. We are proud to be a church with a distinguished history of religious freedom and social justice. Our national church website is a good source of “all things UCC.” To learn more, please visit www.ucc.org.
“Congregational polity” is a UCC practice that distinguishes us from many mainstream denominations. It means that major decisions that affect Foothills are made at our church rather than by higher authorities of the UCC. Learn more about Foothills’ organizational structure.
Open and Affirming
In 2008, we declared ourselves an “Open and Affirming” congregation. This is another way that we understand and practice the inclusivity of God’s love for everyone.
Open and Affirming (ONA) is the UCC’s designation for congregations and other ministries that publicly covenant with one another to welcome into the full life and ministry of the church and create a safe place for people of all sexual orientations, gender identities and gender expressions; we are LGBTQ+friendly!
As we so often say in the UCC and at Foothills: “No matter who you are, or where you are on life’s journey, you are welcome here.” We mean it.