Welcome
Welcome to the home page of Marine United Church of Christ.
The church has often been described as a hospital for sinners, not a museum for saints. In other words, it is not necessarily meant to be a place for those who have their act all together (who does?), but for those looking to put the pieces of their lives together in company with others. That would seem to be an apt description of Marine United Church of Christ.
We come from different backgrounds, different careers, different family settings, different socio-economic statusus, and different levels of education to find in this family of faith a place which puts its emphasis on following in the path of Jesus, the one who points us to God. It is by following in that path that we find a God who is, above all things, a God of love.
It is that love that allows us to move beyond our sinfulness and brokenness to help bring about the Kingdom of God in this world. It is that love which allows us to see beyond our differences and recognize our commonalities.
Members and non-members alike have found barriers broken down both in sharing joys and in commiserating with those suffering deep pain. We like to think of it as living out the New Testament at its best. We could also think of it as living out the Old Testament (the Hebrew Scriptures) at its best. Few have put this walk we are on together as beautifully as the prophet Micah: “…and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”
If you are looking for a church family, we invite you to visit us and see if you feel the urge to come again. If you don’t feel that urge, we part in peace as children of God.
For some new to the Christian tradition, this congregation may be like Robert Frost’s “road less traveled,” the one which turned out to make all the difference. For others it may be a well traveled road, but perhaps seen from a new perspective.
From the perspective of an anonymous priest, “We are simply asked to make gentle our bruised world, to tame its savageness, and to be compassionate of all, including oneself…”
May peace be with you and all those you love.
Whoever you are and wherever you are, you are welcome here.
Sunday School
- Sunday School During Worship service
- September thur May
- Sunday School is during the church service
Worship Service
- Worship Service at 10:10 a.m.
Trivia Night 2025
- Saturday, May 3, 2025
- Door Open at 6:30 and Starts at 7:00
Pastor Phil
- Dear Friends, Can it be? Yes, it can. It has been 10 years since we celebrated our 150th anniversary as a congregation. This year marks 160 years.
- The novel Enemy Women by Paulette Jiles is a novel about a young girl’s experience in southeastern Missouri during the Civil War. It was a terribly difficult time during which the girl saw her father beaten and dragged off by rogue Union militia, her home torched, and she herself was accused of being a Confederate spy and was incarcerated in a hellhole of a prison in St. Louis, about 30 miles from where this new congregation was being established in Marine.
- It is all too easy to romanticize the past as “the good ol’ days,” but the truth is, without in any way dismissing the significance of the problems we currently face, people have never had it so good as we have it in this day and age. Gratitude is certainly an appropriate emotion in which to indulge when we think back to those folks who were led by God to make today possible.
- As Adair Colley, the 18-year-old girl in Enemy Women languished in a St. Louis prison, she surprisingly finds love – and with it the strength to carry on.
- No doubt there was much love to be found across the river among the people of Marine, as well, and with it the strength to carry on. One hundred and sixty years later we still find love and the warmth of companionship and shared faith in this congregation.
- Perhaps such love has gotten some through some of the hellholes of life as we strive to be present for one another, as we strive to help carry each other’s burdens. That is what Jesus has called us to. We give thanks for those who 160 years ago got the ball rolling here in Marine.
Peace, Pastor Phil
2025 Mid-Week Lenten Service Schedule
- Ash Wednesday
- March 5, 2025 7:00 p.m. Service
- Maundy Thursday
- April 17 - Soup Fellowship 6:00 p.m.
- Good Friday
- April 18 - 7:00 p.m. Service
- Easter Egg Hunt
- April 19 - 10:00 a.m. at the Church
- Easter Sunday April 20 8:00 a.m. Sunrise Service with Communion
- 8:00 a.m. Sunrise Service with Communion
- 9:00 a.m. Easter Breakfast
- 10:10 a.m. Worship Service with Communion and Sunday School
Mid-Week Lenten Schedule
- March 5th - Marine UCC
- 111 N. Center St., Marine
- 618-887-4520
- March 12th - Grantfork UCC
- 206 S. Locust St., Grantfork
- March 19th - Immanuel UCC
- 5835 Staunton Rd, Hamel
- March 26 – St. Paul UCC
- 3277 Bluff Road, Edwardsville
- April 2 – Friedens UCC
- 207 E. Center St., Troy
- April 9 - Marine UCC
- 111 N. Center St., Marine
Trivia Night
- May 3
- 7:00 p.m. (doors open at 6:30)
- For more information
- Each week on Sunday's a new lesson will be up on the Sunday School page. Anyone is able to join in and will have the entire week to do the lesson before the next one is posted.
- Below is the link to the website:
Sunday School
Nicole D.
Church Services
Marine UCC Services on our YouTube Channel
Contacts
PleaseContact Us.
- My PrayerPlease Pray for Me.
- Contact the ChurchContact the Church Office.
Monthly Quote
"The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it." (Henry David Thoreau)
Donation Now
While we don't want to discourage the ease of using PayPal, please be aware that each donation carries a fee of 2.9% of the amount, plus 30 cents. Your donation is the total amount, and the wording will suggest that the church is getting the full amount. In reality, PayPal gets their cut and the church receives less than you expected.
If you want to ensure Marine UCC gets your intended donation, please mail to the address at the top of the home page. Thank you for your generosity, no matter which method you prefer to use.
Trivia Night
- To Be Rescheduled
- 7:00 p.m. (doors open at 6:30)
- For more information
"Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God's side, for God is always right." Abraham Lincoln
Organzations
- Quilters
- Women's Guild
- Widening the Circle
- Book Lovers
- Meals for our members in need.
"if they pray to me and repent and turn away from the evil they have been doing, then I will hear them in heaven, forgive their sins, and make their land prosperous again."
2 Chronicles 7:14