Statement of Faith

I believe we are God’s beloved children, created to worship in joyful gratitude for the gifts God provides. I believe in the Triune God, a loving dance of three persons. I believe Jesus is a Palestinian Jew, crucified by empire in 1 CE. He is fully divine and fully human; lived, died, and resurrected in an act of life-saving grace for humanity, conquering death, sin, and evil in the world. I believe that followers of Christ know God through the words and actions of Jesus’ life. Jesus had compassion on the margins of society, the weak, the outcasts, and the sinners. In Jesus, born in a stable by a teenage mother, who rode to his death on a donkey, God stands in solidarity with the helpless and suffering in a special way. I believe the Holy Spirit is a gift that dwells within us, energizing others to join in God’s work. It is the unexpected, imaginative wind of God’s will, rushing into the places and people you may least expect.

I believe that we live in the “already but not yet” Kingdom of God where sin is still present until we dwell with God. I confess the ways humanity falls short of what is good and true, yet bare this to God with community, confident that God will forgive and lead into new life through accountability and change. I believe that humans are made in the image of God. Diversity of race, sexuality and gender, etc., are vital in the church’s full understanding of God. It is the Church who joins in God’s work as co-workers, bringing good news to the world. I believe that the children of God have been saved through Jesus Christ, who as both elected and reprobate, saves people from sin. Until this saving act is brought to fulfilment, we live in a space of tension— balancing privilege, power, accountability, and humility within our lived experiences. There is mystery in how this will happen and what it will look like.

I believe that the Church spans the world through communities situated in unique contexts called to love God and love their neighbor. I believe the Sacraments of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper are physical manifestations of God’s grace, a sign and seal of new life with God in community. In Baptism, the promise of new life with Christ is shown through water, symbolizing the unity of God’s spirit within a person, Christ, and the Church. Christ meets those gathered for Cup and Bread, remembering Christ’s sacrifice, the promise of his coming, and the joy found in shared community around a Table.

I believe the Bible contains the Word of God for you and for me, as revealed by the Spirit. It is authoritative for the life of Christians and inspired by God. Written by human hands, it requires interpretation through community in the Spirit, sometimes calling for trust, and other times challenge. I believe that God is present in the wrestling, seeking, and doubting of faith. God continues to lead believers in faith and understanding, which is always being renewed and discerned in community.