Faith Statement
I believe in God, the source of all creation. According to God’s wisdom and by God’s grace, life came into being. In the universe God created, on the planet that formed through creation’s processes, life came to flourish. By God’s will, life came to be embodied in human form. The particularity of human form is the way in which a human can engage in relationship with other created things, particularly, the freedom to choose, self-awareness, memory, and reflection. By God’s volition, God chooses to be in relationship with us, and has created us to be in relationship with God. Time and time again, humanity turned from God. Time and time again, God continued to choose to be in relationship with humanity, making covenants with humanity, the promises of being in relationship with God. God loves us, so much. In loving us, God saw it necessary to be among us in the flesh.
I believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior. Christ is Emmanuel, God with us. In Christ, God became flesh, born to the faithful servant Mary and her soon to be husband, Joseph. Jesus grew from infant into child, from child into adolescent, from adolescent into adult, as a human would. He was of this world, living as a human would live, learning a trade, growing in the Hebrew faith, being one of the Community. In adulthood, Jesus began his ministry, to preach and teach the love of God and model the right relationship with God. In his ministry, he developed relationships with his followers, some of whom he called to be disciples, others of whom followed him from town to town. For his teaching, he was betrayed by a friend, cast into the judicial system of a corrupt empire by the equally corrupt religious authorities, tried without prudence, convicted without crime, and turned over to those who wished him dead. He was mocked and tortured. His body was violated, nailed to a cross and left to die. Upon the cross, Christ continued to choose humanity. Upon the cross, humanity chose Christ to die. In his birth, life, and death, Christ is fully human. It was Christ’s life that revealed that Christ was more than just a prophet, more than just a holy man. Christ’s life revealed him to be God made flesh. During his life, Christ performed miracles that challenged the concepts of worldly power, showing the beauty in equality when power is left to God. Christ absolved the power of sickness, the power of money, the power of wealth, the power of kings and empires, and the power of fear, through miracles. By his words and deeds, Christ revealed himself to be free of corruption, in a way no mere human could be. Christ was faithful through self-awareness, bearing the burdens of the world without yielding to them. Christ loves all people. Despite his faithfulness, Christ was crucified and died. Christ was gone. Humanity chose itself. Yet, Christ, having felt the depth of betrayal and hatred and human weakness, again chose humanity, rising from death in eternal life, showing that sin is not final. In his birth, life, death, and resurrection, Christ is fully God.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, which binds Christ in my heart, that I may be a faithful servant of God. The Spirit opens my heart and mind to recognize the invisible Grace God has already bestowed. The Spirit forms the chaos, inspires the writer, and moves the believer to action. The Spirit sanctifies all that Christ is in relationship with and present to, sacred spaces, liturgies, proclamation of the Word, interpretation of scripture, outward signs of God's invisible grace in the form of the sacraments of Baptism and Communion, and the hearts of all believers. By Christ, through the Holy Spirit, by the grace of God, I am redeemed from the corruption of choosing anything but God.
These beliefs are grounded in the witnesses of the Scripture and my own relationship with God. By faith, I live to glorify God. It is by God’s grace, not my own action, that I receive salvation through Christ. I believe that the only response to the life, death, and resurrection of Christ, which reveals the invisible and endless Grace of God, is faith lived and glory given and justice sought. This is only achieved through the Spirit and by instruction from the Word revealed in scripture, prophecy from the powerless and marginalized, and prayer.
I believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior. Christ is Emmanuel, God with us. In Christ, God became flesh, born to the faithful servant Mary and her soon to be husband, Joseph. Jesus grew from infant into child, from child into adolescent, from adolescent into adult, as a human would. He was of this world, living as a human would live, learning a trade, growing in the Hebrew faith, being one of the Community. In adulthood, Jesus began his ministry, to preach and teach the love of God and model the right relationship with God. In his ministry, he developed relationships with his followers, some of whom he called to be disciples, others of whom followed him from town to town. For his teaching, he was betrayed by a friend, cast into the judicial system of a corrupt empire by the equally corrupt religious authorities, tried without prudence, convicted without crime, and turned over to those who wished him dead. He was mocked and tortured. His body was violated, nailed to a cross and left to die. Upon the cross, Christ continued to choose humanity. Upon the cross, humanity chose Christ to die. In his birth, life, and death, Christ is fully human. It was Christ’s life that revealed that Christ was more than just a prophet, more than just a holy man. Christ’s life revealed him to be God made flesh. During his life, Christ performed miracles that challenged the concepts of worldly power, showing the beauty in equality when power is left to God. Christ absolved the power of sickness, the power of money, the power of wealth, the power of kings and empires, and the power of fear, through miracles. By his words and deeds, Christ revealed himself to be free of corruption, in a way no mere human could be. Christ was faithful through self-awareness, bearing the burdens of the world without yielding to them. Christ loves all people. Despite his faithfulness, Christ was crucified and died. Christ was gone. Humanity chose itself. Yet, Christ, having felt the depth of betrayal and hatred and human weakness, again chose humanity, rising from death in eternal life, showing that sin is not final. In his birth, life, death, and resurrection, Christ is fully God.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, which binds Christ in my heart, that I may be a faithful servant of God. The Spirit opens my heart and mind to recognize the invisible Grace God has already bestowed. The Spirit forms the chaos, inspires the writer, and moves the believer to action. The Spirit sanctifies all that Christ is in relationship with and present to, sacred spaces, liturgies, proclamation of the Word, interpretation of scripture, outward signs of God's invisible grace in the form of the sacraments of Baptism and Communion, and the hearts of all believers. By Christ, through the Holy Spirit, by the grace of God, I am redeemed from the corruption of choosing anything but God.
These beliefs are grounded in the witnesses of the Scripture and my own relationship with God. By faith, I live to glorify God. It is by God’s grace, not my own action, that I receive salvation through Christ. I believe that the only response to the life, death, and resurrection of Christ, which reveals the invisible and endless Grace of God, is faith lived and glory given and justice sought. This is only achieved through the Spirit and by instruction from the Word revealed in scripture, prophecy from the powerless and marginalized, and prayer.