I believe in one God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, a God of grace, mercy and love. By the power of the Holy Spirit, the Divine Creator made the universe, and the earth teeming with life and beauty as a sign of grace to all. God created humanity to delight in God's glory, to live in harmony with the natural world and with each other in community. Yet humanity fell into sin, setting up systems of oppression, enslavement and bondage. Taking God's gracious gifts, we selfishly destroy God's good creation and ourselves with it. Allowing sin to reign, we became separated from our Divine Source of Life.
So God demonstrated the ultimate act of love and friendship coming into our world in the person of Jesus Christ, as promised in the covenants. Baptized into our humanity, Jesus came in the power of the Holy Spirit, healing the sick, preaching the good news to the poor, proclaiming Jubilee, lifting the powerless and the downtrodden, and setting the prisoner free. Jesus came with the liberating power of God's love. Yet, Rejecting God's sovereign love, humanity crucified Jesus, showing its own corruption, cruelty, and inhumanity. Jesus was buried, but on the third day, he was vindicated by God and rose bodily, triumphing over sin, death, and evil. Jesus' resurrection brought about a new humanity and a new creation. Christ opened up the path back to the Divine Source of all Life.
This covenant community declares the good news of Jesus Christ that once again reconciles God, humanity and the world. United by grace through faith, we are united again with the Divine Source of Life. Defined by a radical welcome, the church is called to be a house of prayer for all people, breaking down every barrier that divides humanity and uniting us regardless of race, culture, human distinction, gender identity or sexual orientation. The church as the community of the faithful, continues Christ's work in the power of the Holy Spirit. Baptizing into God's new covenant, through the waters of baptism, and nourished by the Eucharist, the Spirit lifts our hearts to feast with the risen Christ, empowering us to live into the new creation, bearing spiritual fruit both today and in the world to come.
