God calls us into the church to accept the cost and joy of discipleship and to be God's servants in the service of the whole human family.

At Bethany Church, we reach out in service to those both near and far. We are a church that has a strong commitment to missions, both through our monetary gifts and personal service.

Miller Avenue

Miller Avenue UCC “Lunch on Us”

During the year Bethany UCC prepares and serves a meal to the neighborhood from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. Bethany members are encouraged and welcome to join the mission committee members with this project. Help is needed!

Interfaith Hospitality Network

The Interfaith Hospitality Network of Summit County is a network of faith organizations that provide shelter, meals and support to homeless families. The network provides host congregations, where the clients remain for one week using the facility as a place to sleep and receive evening meals, breakfast and a boxed lunch. The host congregation is assisted by support congregations who help provide the meals and other services provided by the host congregation. During the day, the clients are transported to the Family center, where they are assisted by the social worker in finding affordable housing and improving the level of their employment. School age children are transported to their "home" schools so that their education can continue virtually uninterrupted while they are a part of this program.

New Trinity Partnership

The Partnership Committee is made up of members of two church congregations. Bethany United Church of Christ is a predominately Caucasian congregation and New Trinity Missionary Baptist Church is predominately African American.

As brothers and sisters in Christ, we recognize that race is a central issue in our nation, communities, and churches. Even when we don't give voice to it, it exists, unspoken. A number of national and local churches are starting to change that reality. They are calling for dialogues about race that will help people openly examine racism and race relations and work together to make progress on this critical issue. These issues touch us every day in personal ways. Race affects where we live, where we walk, where we shop, the jobs we hold, and how we are educated. It is our dream to eventually experience a time when misperceptions, stereotypes, fear, and distrust cease to exist toward members of other ethnic groups. To reach our dream, these two congregations share a wide variety of religious and social experiences such as the following:

Civic Activities - The "Just Peace Concert," Akron's "Coming Together Program," the Akron Aero's Baseball Game, and the "Gospel Meets Symphony Concert" at E.J. Thomas Hall.

Combined Choirs - The Adult and Youth Choirs of both churches have combined their musical talent to bring to both churches musical messages for our worship services and other combined events.

Worship Activities - Pastor and choir exchanges for Sunday worship services and Sunday worship church visitations (New Trinity visits Bethany on the second Sunday of each month and Bethany visits New Trinity on the fourth Sunday of each month).

Youth Activities - Our youth engage in a variety of combined activities such as choir, overnights, and attendance at Camp Bethany.

Family Activities - Our church family activities have been very successful and have provided a wonderful opportunity for the congregations to get to know one another. These activities have included a potluck dinner and games night, the New Trinity Christmas Pageant, Christmas caroling, New Trinity Ladies In White, Bethany picnic, New Trinity Prom, bowling, and New Trinity’s 25th Anniversary celebration.

This partnership has been a blessing for both churches. We continue to find new ways to share our gifts with one another as we look to our Savior for guidance. We encourage everyone to participate in these activities and/or to serve on our Partnership Committee. For further information, please contact the church office.

Bethany Kitchen

Bethany Kitchen serves the local area by offering free lunches twice a month. The clientele is a mixed group of individuals consisting of some elderly, some younger, some without means and some needing human contact. Bethany Kitchen has been a mission to this community for 8 years. Food to serve the kitchen is obtained from the Food Bank. Local grocery stores donate baked goods and occasionally baked goods are donated by members of the congregation. Individuals from the Bethany congregation who might wish to participate can do so on the third  Saturday of the month. Possible duties include helping prepare the meal, serving and clean up. The kitchen duties generally operate during the hours from 9:00 A.M. until 2:00 P.M.