Getting Involved
We value our involvement as individuals and as a congregation in issues of importance to society at large. We have used our large building to house many groups including Restorative Justice Community Action, theater groups, other congregations, and local activists. We structure ourselves in Ministry Teams. These teams are passion-driven. If you are passionate about it, we empower you to do it. This is where the Spirit is most active and obvious. Our Ministry Teams include a knitting group, the Worship Planning Team, various study groups, the garden team, the Loaves and Fishes meal program, and so on. You do not have to be a member of the church to be on a ministry team. We want people to be involved in ministry. Go for it!
a welcoming and affirming church
UBC has a long history of inclusion of all people. We have been actively welcoming and affirming of the LGBTQ community since the early 1980's. We welcome the opportunity to walk and work alongside everyone and anyone who seeks to live out the Gospel of peace, justice and love. We have been celebrating same-sex weddings in our church building for decades and worked hard to make marriage equality a reality in Minnesota.
As a piece of history, check out our statement on marriage passed in 2004. We are a founding member church of the Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists. In 1991, we were the first American Baptist Church to call an openly lesbian pastor, Nadean Bishop. She served with distinction until her retirement in 2000. In 2005, our Pastor received the Breaking the Silence Award from the University of MN for his work on behalf of the LGBT community.
Sister Church in Leon, Nicaragua
UBC established a sister-church relationship with Second Baptist Church of Leon, Nicaragua in 1992 under the guidance of Rev. Dr. Nadean Bishop. Second Baptist Church runs a preK-11th grade school, attached to their church building, consisting of approximately 132 children. Each year we raise money for scholarships for students attending this school which we call the God-Parent Program. We have more recently augmented this relationship with the advent of e-mail correspondence and visits by delegations going both ways! Delegations from UBC visited Nicaragua in 2003, 2010, 2014, and 2023. Doug Donley and Deidre Druk visited Nicaragua with members of The Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America in 2008 and the UBC Bell Choir visited and performed there in 2013. In addition, members Jean Lubke and Deidre Druk visited, each independently: Deidre in 2012 and Jean in 2011 and 2018.
We sponsored five members of our Sister Church to visit Minnesota in 2008, 2011, 2014, and 2017. We try to make a visit every year and a half, but the unrest in Nicaragua and the pandemic have hindered our visits since 2018. The delegation that was to travel from Nicaragua to visit us in Minneapolis in the Fall of 2023 was not granted travel visas by the U.S. Embassy in Managua. These visits are a powerful exchange. They deepen our relationships and open our eyes to different cultures. We have deep ties to our friends in Nicaragua! Deidre Druk coordinates this ministry team.
If you would like to go on a UBC-sponsored mission trip, you may be eligible for a travel scholarship. You can request a scholarship application from Deidre Druk, or at the church office.
Check out our Sister Church's Facebook page.
Partners
University Baptist Church has a long history of working for social justice, starting with its involvement in the abolition movement in the 1850s. Members and friends of UBC volunteer their time, talents, and resources in a number of vital ministries, working against poverty and homelessness and advocating for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered people. Our affiliations and outreach include:
American Baptist Churches of the Rochester/Genesee Region of New York State
American Baptist Churches, USA
Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists
Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America: An ecumenical Baptist organization committed to peacemaking and justice-seeking in the US and throughout the world. We are one of about 50 partner congregations with the BPFNA. Many of us attend their annual Summer Conferences as well as the international friendship tours to foster peace and nonviolence.
First Congregational Church of Minnesota (FCC): A UCC church near UBC that we partner regularly with on joint services, activism, and social groups.
Interfaith Campus Coalition (ICC): A coalition of campus ministries at the University of Minnesota. UBC is a part of ICC because of its commitment to interfaith dialog, its respect for diversity and religious pluralism, and its efforts to develop a code of ethics for campus ministries that allows religious communities to have a meaningful presence at the University while respecting the boundaries between church and state.
Restorative Justice Community Action: Working to reduce repeat offenders, reduce crime overall and strengthen and build community.
Soulforce: Members participate in the local and national Soulforce organizations committed to working for justice on behalf of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender persons using nonviolent tactics.
We share our building with many organizations and movements including:
NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness)