“We believe in one God…”
opening words to the Nicene Creed
God is Love
1 John 4:7-12
We believe that God is love. Scripture tells the story of God, who always and everywhere seeks a closer relationship with us humans. Love is the beginning, middle, and end of all things. This is not, though, a simple philosophical idea, but the very road of Christian living. We are to love God in all people, seeking to enrich and nurture our nation, our communities, our families, and our own lives.
God is in our Lives
Acts 17:28; Matthew 28:20
God is not a distant reality. God did not create the world and then leave us alone. God does not look on us from afar, unmoved and uninterested. No, for God is a presence in our lives, encouraging us, guiding us, and healing us, always. God is always with us and always hopes for the best in us. God is all life, as we hear in the Acts of the Apostles: “for in him we live and move and have our being” (17:28, NRSV). Each moment of life, or healing, or joy, or hope in our lives the presence of God.
God is One; God is Three
Luke 3:21-22
We believe in one, single God, creator of the world. The Bible tells us, however, that this God revealed himself in three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Said in another way, God is the Creator, the Redeemer, and the Sanctifier; or God is the Hearth, the Way, and the Flame. These are many ways to say the same thing, which has been attested in the Bible and throughout Christian Tradition: that God is three and God is one.
We pay special attention to the second person of the Trinity: Jesus Christ. We believe that God became flesh in Jesus, and that he is and was both fully human and fully divine. And we believe that through that incarnation, and through Jesus’ death, resurrection, and ascension, he has brought salvation to humanity.
God is in prayerful conversation and community
Acts 2:42
We find God in our own lives, but we also find God in the lives of one another. Time and time again, the Bible teaches us to pray with one another, forgive one another, and seek to find Christ in one another – even in the most unlikely places as our enemies. We call this community the Church, the very body of Christ here on Earth . We support and are supported by the Church to live lives more fully to Christ.
God is with us in the Sacraments
Luke 22:19-20, Matthew 28:19, and elsewhere
We believe that God is present with us in a special way through the Sacraments of the church. These are Baptism, Confirmation, the Eucharist, Marriage, Reconciliation (Confession), Holy Orders, and Anointing of the Sick. Each is comes from the Bible, being either directly instituted by Christ (Baptism and the Eucharist) or specially blessed with his presence. Our particular form of these rites is found in the Book of Common Prayer, which we use in worship each week and on special occasions.
The Bible, the Creeds, and the Church
Acts 6, the Epistles, the Nicene Creed
We believe that God is revealed to humanity in Jesus Christ. Records of this revelation, and letters of the early Church, are contained in the Bible, which (together with the Old Testament) we consider as Holy Scripture. We believe the Bible to be the Word of God, because God inspired its human authors, and because God continues to speak to us through the Bible today.
Throughout history, the Church has found ways to explain and understand God which are founded in this Scripture. These “Creeds”, as they’re called, help us approach God in our lives. We say one (the Nicene Creed) every Sunday.
As Episcopalians, we are part of the worldwide Anglican communion. In this, our church is taught and guided by deacons, priests, and bishops, but is also lay led.
These are just some of our many beliefs. If you’re interested in learning more, or have some questions, feel free to email us, drop in and talk with Father Tim, or visit us on Sunday. All are welcome, whether you’ve got it all figured out or you’re still searching and questioning.