MISSION STATEMENT
“To boldly share God’s Love and Grace universally in and through our communities.”
FAITH STATEMENT
Welcome to our yoked parish of faith! Our two congregations are an intentionally Grace-oriented collection of people from all walks of life who seek discernment of God’s intention for our lives that help mend, and weave together, the fabric of God’s Kingdom on this earth.
We worship and give praise to God, from which came forth the Cosmos and all of Creation, Who deemed all that was made “good”, including humanity made in Their (God’s) own image. Jesus, as the Logos of God, present from before Creation in this current epoch of time, the Spirit as intercessor and God as Chief Architect and Engineer, represent Grace and Mercy through Love and distributive justice as the Essence of the Divine.
Our parish focus is upon continuing enlightenment, lived-out witness by Grace, led by the Wisdom of God, manifest in the person of Jesus, by the Power of the Spirit, understanding Jesus’ saving act was in accepting time in human form to love us (humanity) from the “inside out” into our best selves; his resurrection after crucifixion proving the Power of God available to save each of us from ourselves and chaos!
We represent a heterodoxy of tradition; grounded in (as the ELCA lifts up in her Constitutional structure) the inspired Word present within the biblical canon and discovered through the lens of Christ (Grace and Mercy), while also fully respecting science as helpful in confirming and revealing truths regarding God’s Presence and guiding “hand” in and through all things.
Therefore, we accept the Phoenix Affirmations as a covenant of practice in the current age, expanding upon the Ten Commandments from Sinai, and emphasizing inclusion of all peoples into the family of God who practice faith in the One from whom all things have their being.
Affirmation 1: Walking fully in the path [the Way] of Jesus, without denying the legitimacy of other paths [faith expressions] God may provide for humanity.
Affirmation 2: Listening for God’s Word which comes through daily prayer and meditation, through studying the ancient testimonies which we call scripture, and through attending to God’s present activity in the world.
Affirmation 3: Celebrating the God whose Spirit pervades and whose glory is reflected in all of God’s Creation, including the earth and its ecosystems, the sacred and secular, the Christian and non-Christian, the human and non-human.
Affirmation 4: Expressing our love in worship that is as sincere, vibrant, and artful as it is scriptural.
Affirmation 5: Engaging people authentically, as Jesus did, treating all as creations made in God’s very image, regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, age, physical or mental ability, nationality, or economic class.
Affirmation 6: Standing, as Jesus does, with the outcast and oppressed, the denigrated and afflicted, seeking peace and justice with or without the support of others.
Affirmation 7: Preserving religious freedom and the church’s ability to speak prophetically to government by resisting the commingling of church and State.
Affirmation 8: Walking humbly with God, acknowledging our own shortcomings while honestly seeking to understand and call forth the best in others, including those who consider us their enemies.
Affirmation 9: Basing our lives on the faith that, in Christ, all things are made new, and that we, and all people, are loved beyond our wildest imagination — for eternity.
Affirmation 10: Claiming the sacredness of both our minds and our hearts, recognizing that faith and science, doubt and belief serve the pursuit of truth.
Affirmation 11: Caring for our bodies, and insisting on taking time to enjoy the benefits of prayer, reflection, worship and recreation in addition to work.
Affirmation 12: Acting on the faith that we are born with a meaning and purpose; a vocation and ministry that serves to strengthen and extend God’s realm of Love.
VISION STATEMENT
Modeling the welcoming nature of God, we are humbly called and driven by the Spirit to witness, engage and walk with each other authentically, as Jesus’ hands and feet, providing spiritual, emotional and physical nourishment.
Through evolving partnerships with ecumenical and other social service organizations we affirm justice and wholeness under the “agency of Grace” that feed the needs and hope of all.
We are members of:
