Embodying Christ's Transforming Love
OUR VISION & MISSION
Serving
We seek and serve Christ in our neighbor, both inside and outside our doors. We believe true freedom is found in humility and service to others.
Reverent
Embracing tradition, beauty, and peace through worship, we experience an awe and wonder greater than ourselves. We believe reverence is a posture held not only towards God, but towards one another, honoring the Image of God embedded within every human being.
Community
We are a community of seekers grounded in the Anglican tradition of scripture, reason, and tradition. Our sense of shared wonder deepens our connection to one another and with Christ.
Nurturing
We encourage one another to wonder, learn, and grow toward the light of Christ.
The Bible
Holy Scriptures of the OT and NT, written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, contain all things necessary to salvation.
The OT reveals God’s mighty acts in creation, the deliverance of the people of Israel from bondage in Egypt, and the making of the old covenant with the chosen people. God’s saving will for his people is made known in the OT through the gift of the Law in the Ten Commandments and through the witness of the prophets. The OT is also known as the “Hebrew Scriptures.” The NT describes the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Messiah, whose coming was foretold in the OT. It also tells the story of the creation of the Christian church through the gift of the Holy Spirit and presents the new covenant, based on love, which is the new relationship with God given by Jesus Christ to all who believe in him. (BCP, pp. 850-851).
The additional books of the Apocrypha, written by people of the old covenant, are often included in the Bible. Although selections from the Apocrypha are used in the worship of the Episcopal Church, the Apocryphal books are not generally considered of equal scriptural authority in Anglicanism with the OT and NT.
The translations of the Bible authorized for use in the worship of the Episcopal Church are the King James (Authorized Version), together with the Marginal Readings authorized for use by the General Convention of 1901, the English Revision of 1881, the American Revision of 1901, the Revised Standard Version of 1952, the Jerusalem Bible of 1966, the New English Bible with the Apocrypha of 1970, the 1976 Good News Bible (Today’s English Version), the New American Bible (1970), the Revised Standard Version, an Ecumenical Edition, known as the “R.S.V. Common Bible” (1973), the New International Version (1978), the New Jerusalem Bible (1987), the Revised English Bible (1989), and the New Revised Standard Version Bible (1990). The 80th General Convention passed resolution 2022-A144 amending the approved translations to include the Contemporary English Version (1995), the Contemporary English Version Global (2005), the Common English Bible (2011), The Revised New Jerusalem Bible (2019), and the New Revised Standard Version (2022).
THE CREEDS
Creeds are statements of our basic beliefs about God. The term comes from the Latin credo, meaning I believe.
While we will always have questions about God, the Church, and our own faith, we have two foundational creeds that we use during worship: the Apostles’ Creed used at baptism and daily worship, and the Nicene Creed used at communion. In reciting and affirming these creeds, we join Christians across the world and throughout the ages in affirming our faith in the one God who created us, redeemed us, and sanctifies us.
The Apostles’ Creed
I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth;
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.
He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit
and born of the Virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again.
He ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.
The Nicene Creed
We believe in one God,
the Father, the Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is, seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
of one Being with the Father.
Through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation
he came down from heaven:
by the power of the Holy Spirit
he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary,
and was made man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried.
On the third day he rose again
in accordance with the Scriptures;
he ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,
and his kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son.
With the Father and the Son he is worshiped and glorified.
He has spoken through the Prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come. Amen.
