Our Beliefs
Section 1: Human Nature and Free Will
1. We are made in God’s image.
2. We are both eternal spirits and fleshly beings.
3. Human nature is dualistic, meaning we are capable of doing both good and evil.
4. God gave us free will so that we could be free to choose our own path. If we were only good, we could only be capable of good and if we were only evil, we would only be capable of evil.
5. We believe that decisions concerning one's bodies are between the individual and God. We recognize that there are sincere differences of conscience on these topics. We will be respectful of our differences and be spiritually supportive of all persons who are facing these challenges. First and foremost our identity should be found in Christ.
Section 2: Nature of God
1. God the Father is a spiritual being and creator who is omniscience, omnipresent, and omnipotent.
2. God is full of Grace, Compassion, and Mercy
3. God is love and nothing can ever separate us from the love of God.
4. The Holy Spirit is our guide to truth, expressing the omnipresence and will of the divine.
5. Jesus is the son of God. He came here to live among us, to share our human nature, and to reconcile us to God. He is fully human and fully divine.
6. We embrace the mystery of God as the Holy Trinity consisting of the Father, the Son (Jesus), and the Holy Spirit, but do not seek to explain it beyond the historic Creeds.
Section 3: Nature of Love
1. We believe in the supreme commandments of Jesus to love God and to love others as ourselves.
2. The Ten Commandments define our responsibilities to God and each other.
3. We believe that to fully love others we must first love ourselves because we must see the worth and value of ourselves to appreciate the worth and value in others. In other words to see each other through God's eyes.
4. We believe that how much we love is more important than how much we sin.
5. We believe in the innate value and equality of all human beings thus we believe in a church that is open and accepting of all people.
6. Our faith teaches us to live a life of compassion and love for others through our words and deeds.
Section 4: Fruits and Gifts of the Spirit
1. We believe that humankind was created out of love and that we are granted the Fruits of the Spirit for the highest good of ourselves and others.
2. We believe in the fruits of the spirit which are: Faithfulness, Self-Control, Patience, Goodness, Gentleness, Joy, Kindness, Peace, and Love
Section 5: Original Blessing
1. We believe that all creation is inherently good and that it is a gift and a blessing from God.
2. We believe that we should be good stewards of God’s creation, thus we must protect the earth and all life upon it.
Section 6: Salvation
1. Jesus suffered and died on the cross, was resurrected, and then ascended into heaven. It is through His grace and our faith that we are saved to eternal life.
2. Jesus came to show us how to live and through our faith journeys in Christ we can become our true selves. We are his beloved.
The Sacraments: We believe in the Christly sacraments of baptism and communion and the five apostolic sacraments of Confirmation, Reconciliation, Marriage, Holy Orders, and Anointing of the sick. We believe all sacraments impart Grace to us. We also recognize and respect different points of view concerning the sacraments.
Section7: Communion/Eucharist
1. We believe the Eucharist is a means of God bestowing His Grace upon us in a direct way.
2. We believe in the mystery of Jesus’ presence in the eucharist, but we respect differences in theological views on the Eucharist as a matter of individual conscience.
3. We believe all baptized Christians should be allowed to take communion without exception.
Section 8: Baptism and Confirmation
1. We believe all means of baptism are acceptable: as an infant, as a child, or as an adult by full immersion, pouring, or sprinkling. As long as the form, matter, and intent are present it is valid.
2. For infant baptisms, confirmation is performed once they attain an age of reason.
3. Adult baptism is an act of obedience in following the example of Christ in recognition of our conversion to the faith.
4. We believe that baptism is a symbolic washing away of sins and recognition of our rebirth into a new path in life.
Section 9: Marriage
1. A sacramental marriage is one in which both individuals are Christian and they put God at the center of their marriage. Marriages that are arranged, entered into by coercion or for ulterior motives are not legitimate sacramental marriages.
2. Clergy are allowed to perform same sex weddings; however, we recognize that there are sincere differences of conscience on the matter and out of respect for these differences, we will not require clergy to perform any wedding that violates their conscience. The decision on whether a parish is affirming or not should be made between the clergy and their vestry in consultation with the parishioners.
3. We believe that God wishes for us to have happy healthy and monogamous relationships.
4. We believe that God does not wish for his children to be miserable but to lead lives filled with joy and happiness and that sometimes marriages can’t be saved. For example: abuse and infidelity. In such cases, divorce or annulment is allowable.
Section 10: Holy Orders:
1. Jesus gave the Holy Spirit to his disciples so that they could pass along ministry through the Apostolic Succession.
2. We believe that anyone who feels called to ministry should explore if it is right for them and not be restricted by their gender, sexual orientation, marital status, age, etc.
3. Clergy are not required to be celibate as they were not required in the early church. We believe from a pastoral perspective that having a family makes it easier to relate to the everyday struggles of the flock. We will; however, honor and respect those who feel called to a life of celibacy and have that spiritual gift.
4. As clergy, we do not believe it is our place to judge others or to act as gatekeepers for the Kingdom of God. We will welcome and accept all who seek God.
Section 11: Anointing of the Sick and Healing
1. We believe grace is imparted upon those who receive the anointing.
2. We believe that where two or more are gathered God is present and that healing may occur when we call upon God together.
Section 12: Reconciliation and the Nature of Sin
1. We do not believe that a personal confession to a priest is a requirement for absolution, but rather that it is a personal choice, as each of us can appeal directly to God.
2. We believe that sin is when we do not treat others as God has commanded us to do, be it in thought, word or deed. God will judge our transgressions and we should not pass judgment on others.
3. We believe that forgiveness of others is an act of self-love that may free us from the harm caused to us by others.
Section 13: Scripture
1. We believe the bible is the inspired word of God and written by man to draw us closer to God.
2. We believe that holy scripture contains all things necessary for one to have eternal life. All scripture is Christ centered and should be interpreted in light of his life, death, and resurrection.
Section 14: Tradition
1. We use the Book of Common Prayer as the tradition that guides our services and unites Anglicans in a common style of worship. Any Anglican Book of Common Prayer is acceptable for use in public services. Any liturgy is permissible for personal use.
2. We uphold the tradition of the Apostles, Nicene, and Athanasian Creeds.
3. The Christ's Creed was created as an expression of our church's distinctive focus on our spiritual aspects and our relationship with God and each other. It is not intended to be a replacement of existing creeds.
4.We accept the three great streams of Christianity: Catholic, with an emphasis on Creeds, Sacraments, Liturgy, and Apostolic Succession; Protestant, with an emphasis on Reformed Confessions, scriptural authority, personal conversion, and gospel proclamation; and Charismatic, with an emphasis on mysticism and the active work of the Holy Spirit in the world today. We believe in the importance of honoring and respecting each other's differences, while uniting together around the common cause of making disciples of all nations.
Section 15: Reason
1. We seek to understand a sacred text by using the most accurate and oldest translations and by examining its original context.
2. The Bible consists of books of multiple genres written over an extended period of time each with its own set of guidelines for exegesis (interpretation) and hermeneutics (application). The use of reason is essential to this process. As an example, we believe you can’t take all things in the bible literally, because some stories are meant to teach us a larger truth rather than a literal truth.
Section 16: Ecumenism
1. We will work together with other Christian denominations for the betterment of society and the world.
2. We respect differences in theological views as a matter of individual conscience.