Welcome To Cedar Cross!

Thank you for visiting our website. We hope it will give you insights and information into our church and its ministry.

I have served as a pastor in the Pacific Northwest Annual Conference for 23 years. I was appointed to Cedar Cross UMC on July 1, 2010. I have previously served United Methodist Churches in Spokane, Anacortes and Renton. My spouse, Paula McCutcheon is also a United Methodist clergy now serving at Ronald UMC in Shoreline. We have two sons, one a sophomore at Western Washington University and one in middle school. I grew up in Corvallis, Oregon and graduated from the Religious Studies Department at Oregon State University. I subsequently graduated from the Claremont School of Theology in California. I have lived in Japan for four years in three different capacities: exchange student, missionary English teacher and post-graduate student studying Buddhist-Christian dialogue.

I believe the United Methodist Church offers a distinctive and meaningful face to Christianity. Our denominational theme is Open Hearts, Open Minds and Open Doors. Because we believe that God’s love is the bedrock of faith, we value inclusivity and believe that when we embrace diversity we embrace God. We stress the primacy of God’s grace in Jesus Christ. We affirm the reality of God in our everyday life through the power of the Holy Spirit. We believe that faith is more than dogma or assenting to a rational proposition, but is grounded in a relationship to God in Christ. We believe that relationships are primary, that life is interconnected and that we have a responsibility to each other and to the creation. At Cedar Cross UMC we may not all believe the same thing, but we believe in God and in each other. If you are searching for something to believe in, Our Hearts, Our Minds and our Doors are Open. Come and join us.

Yours in Christ,

Jim Clarke, Pastor