History

A community of churches has shared the University District for a century. In recent years, ten churches joined together to form the University District Ecumenical Parish, a local expression of an international ecumenical movement among Christian denominations that goes back more than half a century. UDEP holds shared worship services, its clergy preach in each other’s churches, and its communal calendar of events is full.

Together UDEP congregations came to realize that they face daunting challenges in common: unsustainable, single-use facilities too large for current membership, with safety concerns and accessibility deficiencies, parking shortages, and deferred maintenance lists growing longer each year.

They also awoke to their shared commitment to community engagement, inclusive fellowship, and activist ministries that work for social justice and peace.

In 2004 an ecumenical task force began a study that led to the collocation concept. After three years of continual analysis and concept development, six worshiping communities (now eight) decided to fund and form the University District Ecumenical Campus Coalition (UDECC) in 2007.