Believing that we have been called of God to gather this community of grace, we are members of this body of Christ by the bond of covenant, our solemn commitment to God and to one another.
We walk together by faith in God, Creator of the universe and Lord of all people. The source of our faith flows from the recorded experience of God in the Hebrew and Christian scriptures, the evidence of God in nature, and the presence of God in human life. Having experienced the wonder of Christian love, our faith in God proceeds from the confession of early Christians, "God is love."(1 John 4:8) We believe that God was in Christ reconciling the world (2 Cor. 5:19), yet we set no limit on the reach of God’s love or the activity of God beyond the experience and faith of Christians. We are striving to live out the calling of Christ, "‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’" (Matthew 22:37-38)
We are an imperfect people in an imperfect world. We have come together, not in absolute knowledge or possession of truth, but as pilgrims assisting one another in the journey toward the promise of God. "We see in a mirror, dimly," and "know only in part" (1 Cor. 13: 12). Because we have not yet arrived, we are a work in progress. We live toward the promise of God: "I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people."(Jeremiah 31:33)
Our Covenant Banner, designed by the congregation in celebration of our 5th anniversary and handmade by member Diane Edwards.
Our Mission
We have been summoned out of the futility and emptiness of mere existence to life together as one body in Christ, members one of another (Romans 12:5),
† to worship God;
† to grow in our awareness of God, knowledge of self, and exploration of the horizons of truth;
† to show God’s love for all people–especially to those living on the margin of despair.
Our Covenant with Each Other
We are an inclusive fellowship, welcoming all persons without regard to the outward distinctions by which the world separates, classifies, and discriminates. We will be priests to one another, ordained by our baptism to the work of a caring ministry. We will be stewards of our gifts and possessions, supporting the fellowship and mission of the church with offerings of money and self. Property and program shall be servant rather than lord of the church's faith and mission. We will live in harmony with one another respecting the diversity of our Christian experience with no expectation that we shall walk in lockstep or wear a theological uniform. We will encourage one another toward responsible discipleship, knowing that the integrity of our faith is manifest in the way we treat others inside and outside the church. We will work together for consensus as the body of Christ (1 Cor. 12), seeking to discern the will and purpose of God rather than engaging in win-lose divisions of the body. We promise to follow Matthew's (18:15-20) order of discipline for reconciliation in conflict, seeking to regain our brother or sister through open and direct communication instead of gossip and condemnation. Our Covenant on Behalf of the World
We covenant to live in the world as servants of God. Having received the costly grace of God in Christ, we commit ourselves to the costly life of Christian discipleship, taking our cross, denying self, and following Christ. We will be servants of God to all who have given up hope, working for peace and justice among all people, seeking to become a voice for those who have no voice. We support a free church in a free state, advocating religious liberty through the separation of church and state and meticulously seeking to avoid using or being used by government authorities. We will care for God's creation in which we share a common destiny as brothers and sisters of the earth. We will be an ecumenical church, joining hands with other people of faith and all people of good will to bring healing among God's children. We will cast our vision to the ends of the earth in celebration of the universal presence, love, and revelation of God to the whole human family.
We hereby offer this covenant to God and to one another.
