Reverend Angela Ying

Angela Ying is Senior, and Founding Pastor, at Bethany United Church of Christ. She is the first Taiwanese American to be ordained as a minister in the United States. Before serving at Bethany, she served as the Associate Executive Presbyter in Seattle.

A graduate of Princeton, where she received the Preaching Award, The Reverend Ying has been a national keynote speaker and preacher. The Reverend Ying has been invited back to Princeton to be the preacher/pastor-in-residence for the Engle Institute. She has served on the Board of Directors of the Church Council of Greater Seattle, the Washington Association of Churches, and as a delegate to the World Council of Churches. Recently, The Reverend Ying received the Peace and Justice Award for her work and ministry from the City of Seattle, in honor of leaders in Seattle on International Women’s Day.

The Reverend Angela Ying works locally, nationally and internationally for peace and justice with organizations of men, women and children of numerous cultures and backgrounds from around the world, seeking in all things to do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with God.

Members and friends of Bethany, in concert with our community-wide affiliates, are actively involved, in the words of the prophet Micah in: Doing Justice, Loving Kindness and Walking Humbly with God.

Along with actively participating in the life of the church through Worship each Sunday morning at 10:30am, the whole community is invited, as individuals, to participate in seeking Beloved Community through:

Worship and Faith Formation
Stewardship and Care of Creation
Hospitality and Justice
Campus Vitality and Vision
All Beloved Bethany Community Meetings

United Church of Christ

The United Church of Christ embraces a theological heritage that affirms the Bible as the authoritative witness to the Word of God, the creeds of the ecumenical councils, and the confessions of the Reformation. The UCC has roots in the “covenantal” tradition; meaning there is no centralized authority or hierarchy that can impose any doctrine or form of worship on its members. Christ alone is Head of the church. We seek a balance between freedom of conscience and accountability to the apostolic faith.

We Believe

Bethany United Church of Christ, better known by the people as Beloved Bethany Community for its ministry and vision in seeking faithfully to be God’s Beloved Community, courageously opened its doors in the cold winter month of December 2000. Neighbors, sisters, brothers, children and adults from different races, backgrounds and cultures have continued to come out and gather together to grow a church for the community, in one of the most racially and economically diverse neighborhoods in Seattle and the United States, by the grace of God.

Though financial support initially came from members of the former Beacon Avenue United Church of Christ, Plymouth Congregational Church and the UCC, within a few years, Bethany United Church of Christ, with its founder and senior pastor, The Reverend Angela Ying along with key community leaders in the congregation, including the then executive director of the Washington Association of Churches, The Reverend John Boonstra, King County Councilmember, Larry Gossett, Mark McDermott and State Senator Bob Hasegawa, this Bethany United Church of Christ has become and remains a beacon in the city of Seattle, and with the communities it serves for, with and among the poor and the least — God’s Beloved. Since Bethany’s beginnings, it is the very people, who come from all walks of life to prayerfully, and with great perseverance, build Beloved Community, here at the corner of Beacon Avenue and Graham Street, who make this church a genuinely loving community of faith today.

The Beloved Bethany Community concludes every Sunday worship service with the challenge and the words from the prophet Micah: “What does the Lord require of you, but to do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with God.”

With a dynamic and nationally-known pastor/preacher, wise and faithful leaders, justice-oriented ministry partners and a healthy and growing community of faith — Beloved Bethany Community reminds every child, youth, adult and elder who walks into God’s house, that “You are Beloved” Not only that — “Your neighbor is Beloved.” This amazing spirit, which comes from God through Christ’s Spirit, can be felt in worship, through the cross-cultural array of music, through communion and a shared meal, through feeding 400 families every week, through serving 150 children, through advocating tirelessly for immigrants and refugees and just wages for workers, and through training the youth to find their voices to speak up amidst injustice, and to lead now and in the future, for good. For as Beloved Bethany’s fearless pastor shares: “All People are Beloved of God.”

Refugees and Immigrants Welcome Here.
No Ban. No Wall. Stop the Deportations.

Welcome to Beloved Bethany Community.

Bethany United Church of Christ has long been known in the greater Seattle area for its ongoing love, faith and action and its endless justice work in partnership with numerous faith, labor, activists and community organizations throughout Seattle, and beyond, in making change for good — by the grace of God.

Our pastor, The Reverend Angela Ying, was awarded by the City of Seattle for her outstanding work and ministry in peace and justice, here and around the world.

To further carry out the love of God into the world, our church campus hosts the following groups:

AA and NA
Two support groups, open to the general community, meet weekly in our church.

Beacon Hill Mutual Aid Our church works hard to provide supplies, clothing, and more with our neighbors, especially immigrant, refugees, Muslim, Jewish, and Palestinian families.

Climate Action Our church has individuals and families around the City organizing for climate and environmental justice in our neighborhood, community, City, and beyond.

Georgetown Tiny House Village
Our church sponsors and supports our neighbors in providing food and supplies for our Tiny House residents, as they get back on their feet, find a job, and learn to support themselves in community.

Health and Wellness Our church gathers individuals and their families seeking to stay healthy and whole through all kinds of health issues. Sharing, Discussion, Organic Juicing. This wonderful group is designed to be and pool the invaluable knowledge gained from life experiences, ourselves, our friends, our loved ones, spiritual guides, health professionals.

ReWA – Refugee Women’s Alliance
Provides half-day and full day Head Start Programs for toddlers to pre-K in our education building.

Vision House for the Homeless
This group collects new and slightly used goods for our homeless youth in the city.

YUIR – Youth Undoing Institutionalized Racism
Helps our young people, with leadership and learning, be in solidarity with one another, to stand against injustice.

For more information about these groups, please see our article: Ministries