Who We Are

Who is COTI? 

We're an open and affirming congregation of the United Church of Christ and we've been serving the Indian Rocks Beach community and west Pinellas County for more than 70 years! We are a gathering deeply rooted in God's extravagant love, mercy, and justice. We celebrate and affirm diversity in religious and intellectual background, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, race, ability, social location, and everything else! No matter who you are or where you are on life's journey, you are welcome in our community of faith!

Our Vision Statement

Loving God, Celebrating Christ, Serving All.

Who is the United Church of Christ?

We are part of the United Church of Christ, formed in 1957 through a merger of the Congregational Christian and Evangelical and Reformed Churches, now numbering nearly a million members in more than five thousand churches in the United States and Puerto Rico. Historically, the UCC is what some call a "mainline Protestant" denomination, which can draw its roots back to the Puritans and Pilgrims in the early days of the United States, to the radical English reformers, and even all the way back to the reformation itself. We are part of the World Council of Churches and are in communion with other traditions of the Christian faith, most closely the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Presbyterian Church (USA), and Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. 

The UCC is a church that believes that God is still speaking, that the living gospel and the movement of the Holy Spirit breathe new meaning and new possibilities for justice and flourishing into our lives. We're a denomination that believes that faith is lived out in action, that has fought for civil rights, queer justice, and peace. If you want to learn more about the UCC, click here.

What do we believe? 

As a church that affirms but doesn't mandate strict adherence to the creedal history of the Church, belief in our congregation isn't a matter of compulsion but rather exploration. We have all sorts of folks in our church with all sorts of experiences of faith, and we navigate what it means to live a meaningful, faithful, and just life together in our difference. A good template for knowing what you're getting into if you come to visit, however, is the UCC statement of faith, which you can see below:

United Church of Christ Statement of Faith—adapted by Robert V. Moss

We believe in God, the Eternal Spirit, who is made known to us in Jesus our brother, and to whose deeds we testify:

God calls the worlds into being, creates humankind in the divine image, and sets before us the ways of life and death.

God seeks in holy love to save all people from aimlessness and sin.

God judges all humanity and all nations by that will of righteousness declared through prophets and apostles.

In Jesus Christ, the man of Nazareth, our crucified and risen Lord, God has come to us and shared our common lot, conquering sin and death and reconciling the whole creation to its Creator.

God bestows upon us the Holy Spirit, creating and renewing the church of Jesus Christ, binding in covenant faithful people of all ages, tongues, and races.

God calls us into the church to accept the cost and joy of discipleship, to be servants in the service of the whole human family, to proclaim the gospel to all the world and resist the powers of evil, to share in Christ’s baptism and eat at his table, to join him in his passion and victory.

God promises to all who trust in the gospel forgiveness of sins and fullness of grace, courage in the struggle for justice and peace, the presence of the Holy Spirit in trial and rejoicing, and eternal life in that kingdom which has no end.

Blessing and honor, glory and power be unto God.

Amen.