Delve An
Of
Intersection
Faith
And Life
January 2015
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Musings: Children in Church without Tears
Features Musings: Children in Church without Tears 3 In Those Days 6 Our Peculiar Benediction 10 Dedicating Parents 20 Departments Resource Centre
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Information Contact Information Community Corner Calendar
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Cover art: Jolene Awuku and Clement Lee Contributors: Karen Cassel Mary Ellen Hopkins Greg Kay Suzanna Lai Geoffrey Moore Barry Porter Copy Editors: Greg Kay Gene Tempelmeyer
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A Spring Garden member recently observed to me, “If someone didn’t like children very much I don’t think they would be happy at Spring Garden.” That’s probably true, thank God. One of our strengths is the regular inclusion of multiple generations in shared experiences of discipleship and worship. As the Pastoral Team evaluated our intergenerational experiences this past Christmas season we wondered out loud how we can do a better job of teaching and equipping children to participate in some of our regular worship practices that are new to them. It is not surprising that this is a need. 3
For at least two generations evangelical churches have generally removed children from some or all the worship gathering from infancy until the end of middle school or high school. If anything, that would be an excellent strategy for teaching kids to not come to church. But if we want to teach kids to be actively involved in the worship of the whole church we need to be more intentional about teaching them how to be involved. Adults also need to be equipped to help children learn how to attend worship. We have a plan. One Sunday of each month we plan to keep children upstairs a few extra minutes to teach them how to engage in one of our various elements of worship. We will simply explain what we are doing and why. We will identify for children the activities and behaviours that will help them participate in a meaningful way. After this moment of coaching, we will proceed to pray, or read Scripture, or take up the offering as we usually do, trying to make it brief and simple enough for kids to understand. As often as possible we will involve children and teens in roles that are generally filled by adults simply because the kids are usually downstairs. In preparation each month an article will appear in Delve a week or two before we coach a worship activity with ideas that will help families prepare for and debrief these experiences. Each month we will also be asking you to send us ideas that have been helpful to you for the next month’s activity. Our object is simple. We want our children to grow up knowing how to do church as active followers of Jesus who enjoy worship and church life. This approach rests on two crucial philosophies of ministry. One is that the Body of Christ is characterized by diversity. 4
Because this is messy at the best of times, the more intentional we can be about preparing for the mess of diversity the less chaos will ensue. Part of our diversity is age and the differences in ability that accompany it. The second philosophy is that discipleship is not something that can be accomplished in an hour on Sunday morning most weeks of the year. There is a saying, “It takes a village to raise a child.” Here it’s a little different. “It takes a church to disciple a child.” The most crucial contribution to a child’s discipleship is the family structure in which that child lives – regardless the structure of the family. The reality of family life in 2014 Toronto is that parents need help. Single parents need help. Married parents need help. Step parents need help. Grandparents need help. Aunts and uncles and good friends who have become honorary aunts and uncles need help. Whenever the kids have the adults outnumbered extra help is needed! Notice when a parent is involved in ministry and the other parent (or someone else) is herding the kids – those are people in need of a helping hand! We are prone to mind our own business, and when we help it is generally in reaction to a situation that is already developed which can be embarrassing for the caregiver who has lost control of the situation. It is much more comfortable for everyone if we get in the habit of offering proactive help. When you see someone enter a pew near you with kids in tow, let them know you understand they have a tough job and you’re able to help however you can as the kids are upstairs. “I don’t mean to offend you in any way, I just know how tough it can be looking after kids all week…” is a great way to start the conversation. If you’re a parent and someone 5
offers to help with the kids, don’t take that as a criticism, accept it as a gift! Discipleship is a job that belongs to all of us. If we all love our kids and help keep them focused on what we do together in worship they will grow to know Church as a warm, affirming, active place where they can meet God with us rather than a boring or odd place they are not really expected to enjoy. And we will enjoy having them around us.
Gene Tempelmeyer
reading. The pictures were helpful of course and the steady repetition. I soon remembered Dick by his short pants and skinny legs. It was easy to distinguish him from his sister with her plaits and skirt. And whenever you saw them, their names would always be close by. It was also helpful that when one was introduced to an action, it would inevitably be followed by some hearty encouragement. “See Nip run. Run Nip run!” You can appreciate that it came as a shock then when the time came that our teacher suddenly laid down the law. “Be sure you do not simply memorize the words, or letters. You must learn them”
IN THOSE DAYS One of the earliest memories I have is of the job of learning to read. I started school at the age of four as we all did in Britain in those days and was quickly introduced to the “Happy Venture” series. We started off with powerfully laminated single sheets that took us through the various doings of, you guessed it, Dick and Jane. One started off with easy stuff. Short words, short sentences, small concepts. And I guess you had to master your sheet before you moved on to another, kind of like progressing through a video game. After a while the children’s dog was introduced. Some brilliant educator gave him the name of “Nip”. Now I was getting interested; in my own little way I was certain it was only a matter of time before he bit someone. And if that isn’t a good incentive to learn to read, I don’t know what is! I don’t think I found it difficult to get into to the mechanics of 6
I’m certain that most of the kids took this nonsense in stride, nodded respectfully and carried on doing exactly what they’d successfully been doing all along. But already I must have picked up the notion of the infallibility of teachers, or any grownups in authority I guess, along with the 7
conviction that any deviation from clear instructions would most certainly be visited with dire consequences. I knew what memorization meant, and I knew that I’d been doing it! My happy progress ground to a halt and the upshot was that my mother was asked to visit the school to be told that her errant child either couldn’t, or wouldn’t follow the program. My Mum was in many ways a wonderful woman, she certainly sacrificed a great deal for me in those early years when we were alone, but I still recall the sound of her singing around the house, especially on Saturday mornings and her lively sense of humour. It was also not unusual for her, or other adults for that matter to sing in public; walking on the street, or standing and waiting in a queue. Even on the bus if one person began to sing others would inevitably join in. Mum was also what I would call a “No nonsense woman”. And so when she learned of some sort of junior rebellion on my part in the reading department, she took it upon herself to teach me to read at home. So the very next Saturday we took the bus to downtown Liverpool to the shop where hapless parents go to purchase the entire “Happy Ventures” collection. So before I’d even had a year of public education, I had to go to night school. Astonishingly, and in no time at all at the kitchen table, I picked up where I’d left off and bulleted along in search of the canine savagery. I’m certain Mum was baffled as to why she had to go through this rigmarole at all. Like being sold something she didn’t really need at the front door. At school I now overtook my mumbling, finger-dragging classmates to the extent that I was the one allowed to read aloud at story time. Our busy teacher was now able to rest her voice, [and maybe momentarily her eyes], for a while, because once I got started I just kept rolling along. Then at Christmas time, joy of joys, I was given the stellar 8
role of reader; “And it came to pass in those days that a decree went forth from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be enrolled. . . “ Even to this day, as the blessed season approacheth, I wait and hope to be included in the readings. But hold on, by now you must be thinking “all this learning to read business is all very interesting, but does it really have any point? Is this little piece actually going anywhere as we stand collectively on the threshold of the new year? Let me back up a bit. Every morning from earliest years our school system at that time gave about half an hour to what was called a religious assembly based on the Anglican prayer book, scholar’s edition. The prayer book included portions of Scripture, written prayers and hymns and was actually quite good in terms of a basic helpful, understandable, and biblical frame of reference for young impressionable minds. I now know that the writing of the prayers was done in a balanced and lyrical way, intended to be read aloud and to sound grand and beautiful. So I began to read, memorize and remember and almost instantly it grabbed me like a long lost friend. So much so that I discretely liberated a copy to take home “for safe keeping”. Now I know what you’re going to say, how does a kid who is so terrified of the awful, retributive and inevitable arm of authority lift a valuable piece of property from the Lancashire Board of Education and hope to get away with it? My Goodness! How could he possibly close his eyes at night, etc, etc? I don’t know. As my son famously used to say when he lived at home and had got himself into trouble; “Dad, I’m as puzzled as you are!” What I will tell you is that about five years ago I asked my 9
friends the Stiles’ from Spring who were visiting England at the time if they would maybe check out a used book store or two to see if they could find an old copy for me. And sure enough they did! It’s right here at my elbow in the bookshelf next to the computer. Along with its adult counterpart, I still dip into it as a resource for meditation, study, or preparation for Prayers of the People. Getting back to school days; I’m sure that what I didn’t understand in the prayer book grabbed me as much as what I did. Let me explain. Reading the Scriptures, reading the prayers, singing the hymns put a whole lot of those words permanently into my head. And they sort of went to work in there. I don’t know, maybe even when I didn’t realize it, even as I slept. Words, experience, ideas about my world so far, lining up with these new spiritual images in the background of my mind. Like a new operating system that you download for the computer that installs itself safely and faithfully, [you hope], organizing and aligning things in the background.
The silence that followed seemed different somehow and for a while what I’d said seemed to hang in the air as if to impress itself on my mind. I’d like to say that something happened following my simple prayer. I don’t recall anything particularly at that time, but I believe that from that moment I began to change and that the Holy Spirit in a gentle and unhurried way began His work in me. Barrie Porter
As for the things I couldn’t understand, somehow it didn’t bother me, maybe because the whole already had a solid “feel” to it. What I didn’t understand early on, might be understandable later, as it certainly was. Not only that, but some inexplicable things held another sort of attraction, of mystery, in my young mind. I should also add that at some point I began to pray about what I was reading. The praying that went on during assembly felt somewhat like talking to God, but not like talking with a real other person. So the time came as I was reading from the Gospels [I don’t remember what], alone one night at home, I simply said out loud, “If this is true and You really exist, You’re going to have to help me understand. If this means something for me and my life, then show me just what” 10
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Our Peculiar Benediction Last month for the conclusion of my ordination worship celebration, I sent people out with a centuries-old benediction from the Catholic Mass (which was adopted by many Protestant denominations), which says, Leader: The Lord be with you People: And also with you Leader: May almighty God bless you, the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit People: Amen Leader: Go in peace to love and serve the Lord People: Thanks be to god During conversation time in the lounge someone who had grown up hearing that benediction (called the dismissal in Catholic Mass), after expressing their appreciation for the depth of meaning of it, asked me why we don’t use it every Sunday. Due to a myriad of contributing factors I was unable to give an answer—as an introvert I need time to process my thoughts before responding; as a “monotasker” who can only focus on one thing at a time and a person with bad short term memory, if I haven’t been thinking through something recently my ability to recall is infinitesimal; and as an exhausted parent of two just recovering from pneumonia and strep throat at the end of a long day my brain was pooched! During the following days (when my brain had finally had some time to process), it stuck me how good of a question that was, both in regards to the element of communal worship that we call the “benediction”, but also in how we approach communal worship in Spring Garden in general. Let me begin with the benediction. As some of us are likely unfamiliar with the word, benediction is a word which comes from the Latin benedicere. The first part of the word, bene, means “well” or “good”, and the second, dicere, means “to say or speak”, thus together they mean to speak good(ness) onto another person. In other words, to
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benedict means to bless and benediction is the act or invocation of blessing. (Sadly, although I have been blessed by them many times, Eggs Benedict have no relation to this rich tradition). We see the idea of blessing others all through Scripture, very profoundly so in Jesus and the writings of Paul. Arguably the Christian practice of blessing in times of gathered worship has its root in the Jewish Berakhah or Berakot which is a practice of blessing going back to the time of Ezra. In Jewish practice, as This is a Greek icon of Christ giving us in the Orthodox Church, a blessing by Monk Michael of Athos. benedictions are not reserved solely for the sending out of God’s people, but are found intentionally placed throughout the rite being observed, whether it be a meal, a worship gathering, a funeral, etc. In some instances in the West during the years following the Reformation (a time in the 16th century when conflict within the Catholic Church led to the creation of the Protestant and Anabaptist traditions) the practice of the Benediction went in fits and starts as early reformers wrestled with what to affirm and what to reject of their Catholic heritage. Ultimately however the practice of blessing continued while the particular Catholic wording was rejected by most. The wording that was rejected by many however was not necessarily rejected because of theological issues with the content itself, but the context in which they were being used (the Benediction I quoted above is an example). The liturgy of the Mass (i.e. the order and content of worship) was intrinsically tied into abuses of power and other areas of needed reform within the hierarchy and functioning of the prevailing Church. In the contemporary
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context for many of the reformers, the wording of the Mass was symbolic of all that was unhealthy, even in areas where the wording itself was theologically consistent with the reformation movement. Regardless of what wording is used, the Protestant and Anabaptist practice of ending communal worship with a Benediction has continued. All this being said, in a world of constant change and in a tradition that values “autonomy,” the question still remains as to why the Benediction is an important part of our gathered worship. A big part of it comes from our understanding of the gathered and scattered nature of the Church, the body of Christ, something which is woven into the very fabric of Jesus followers right from the beginning, even though the language surrounding it changes. Often explained through the image of breathing in and out (how we need to do both to survive), followers of Jesus live in a rhythm of gathering and scattering—gathering for communal worship and receiving the sacraments (baptism and communion), mutual encouragement, edification, equipping and empowering; scattering into the world to be loving neighbours and a blessing to the nations. The Benediction is the time in communal worship where we stand on the boarder of being scattered while still in the midst of the gathered community. Having worshiped a living God in community and being challenged to live for Him, we are blessed in order to be sent out into the world to participate God’s mission activity in the world. Being sent out with a blessing is not only a reminder that God is the source of all blessing, strength and efficacy in our daily lives, but also that prayer is a mysterious intersection of our lifting ourselves to God and God’s penchant for responding in kind out of His grace and love. In simpler terms, when we bless each other God makes that blessing effective. And so we end our gathered time of worship with what Brent Peterson in his book Created to Worship calls a “charge, calling and a blessing” as we are scattered into the world. There have been times where the Protestant and Anabaptist church—where our church—“made up its own” benediction because of a rejection of tradition or doing things “by wrote”. However, in our case today it is an attempt to move in a rhythm that values tradition, Scripture, kairos and topos (the time and
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place we are in), creativity and the authentic and particular voice and experience of our community as it is sent out in response to who God is and what He has been saying to us during our time together. Because of our desire to move in rhythm with all of these influences and values in our particular (I personally love the word peculiar, meaning a characteristic of only one person or group or thing) community, sometimes our Benedictions are found amidst centuries old traditions; sometimes they are from scripture; sometimes they are newly crafted for our community; and sometimes they are “off the cuff” responses to what the Holy Spirit has been doing in our midst. Even the Catholic Church which has a much stronger hold on maintaining what’s been done before out of respect for tradition has now offered new options for their dismissal (our Benediction) in worship. In the words of Dennis Sadowski of the Catholic News Service, words which are very consistent with Spring Gardens intentional continued use of a Benediction, “the new options for dismissal at Mass are meant to help worshippers connect the liturgy with the missionary call of the rest of their lives” (http:// www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0805441.htm). And this is our desire, that the Benediction—the blessing—at the end of our shared time of gathered worship will, bearing in heart, mind, body and spirit all that God has done in our midst and send us out, blessed to live in and for Him. Coming full circle therefore, the short answer to the question of why we don’t do a particular Benediction (even really significant ones) every week is found in the nature of what the Benediction is—blessing a peculiar people in a peculiar context to live their peculiar lives to the glory of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The Mass is ended. Go in peace. Thanks be to God Greg Kay
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2014 Year End Financial Update
Thank you all SGC family and friends for your continual and generous financial support for our ministries and programs in 2014. The budget for 2014 was $519,500. The year end donation count was $520,040. With God’s grace and your commitment, we had a surplus of $540! Praise the Lord for granting us the financial health to carry on our ministries this year. The SGC family is excited to continue blessing our community and neighbours here and afar in 2015 as God has abundantly blessed us. Thank you very much and may the glory be to our Lord! Treasurer, Geoff Moore Finance Deacon, Mary Ellen Hopkins 16
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Recomendations From The Resource Centre
Books When You’ve Been Wronged, Moving from Bitterness to Forgiveness, by Erwin Lutzer, book and DVD combo
Spring Garden’s online library catalog can be accessed at springgardenchurch.ca/library
If you know of books or DVDs that you’d like to recommend to the resource centre, please contact Karen Cassel karen.cassel@bell.net
and the comfort and success his father enjoys in Babylon. But he soon begins to hear the voice of God, encouraging him to return to the land given to his forefathers. The Stress Cure: Praying Your Way to Personal Peace, by Linda Shepherd
Betrayal, rejection, false accusation, and abuse are areas of hurt that demand reckoning. But when justice doesn’t come, the self-inflicted wound called resentment will fester. Escape the prison cell of bitterness. Whether you’ve been hurt or have harmed others, Lutzer offers practical help for finding the freedom of forgiveness, reconciliation, and the restoration of a clear conscience
In this inspiring book, Shepherd shows readers how to recognize God’s continual presence and yield their troubles to the Prince of Peace. Through captivating stories, explorations of fascinating biblical characters, and examples of deeper-thanever prayers, she brings within readers’ grasp the peace that passes understanding. Anyone who is overwhelmed by all of the urgent demands on their time will find in this book a lifeline to true peace.
Return to Me, by Lynn Austin. Biblical fiction
DVD’s
After years of watching his children and grandchildren wander from their faith, Iddo’s prayers are answered: King Cyrus is allowing God’s chosen people to return to Jerusalem. Jubilant, he joyfully prepares for their departure, only to learn that his family, grown comfortable in the pagan culture of Babylon, wants to remain. Zechariah, Iddo’s oldest grandson, feels torn between his grandfather’s ancient beliefs
Unstoppable
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Where is God in the midst of tragedy and suffering? In this powerful visual presentation, Kirk Cameron takes you on a personal, inspiring, and hope-filled journey to better understand this doubt-raising question that believers and skeptics ask. Going back to the beginning of creation, he investigates the origins of good and evil--and their impact on our lives today.
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Dedicating Parents
Scott and Kate Moore are becoming adept at dedicating themselves to Christ-following parenthood. First was Ava. Then came Claire. On Sunday, January 11, we will join them in thanking God for Hailey and praying the Holy Spirit’s help as they raise Hailey and her sisters. The Dedication of Parents and Children is the worship experience we want to help our children learn about this month (see the article on p.3). Children and youth will remain upstairs a few extra minutes so they can participate.
best to raise the child in a way that follows the teaching and example of Christ and we pray for the parents as they make this commitment;
• The people of the church make a formal commitment to help these parents love the child into a wholesome disciple of Jesus.
When we pray for people at Spring Garden we generally invite the congregation to stretch a hand toward those for whom we are praying. This is an ancient symbol of offering a blessing. Often the child will be anointed with oil which is an ancient symbol of the Holy Spirit’s presence. In our tradition we do not baptize infants but, instead, wait until they are old enough to make a meaningful decision on their own that they wish to be baptized. Sometimes a family will approach us about a liturgy that cannot meet all these elements. For example, the parents and child may live a distance from Spring Garden but nevertheless want to celebrate the birth of a child with grandparents, family and friends here. In this case it would be unfair to ask the congregation to commit to help them, and so we arrange a family celebration after worship one Sunday. Our goal is to include the various elements of dedication as fully as people are willing and able to commit themselves with integrity.
If you have seen dedications at Spring Garden before there may be some customs you have wondered about. A Parental Dedication can contain a number of important elements:
If you would like to arrange a Dedication or Family Celebration speak with Pastor Sam or Pastor Gene.
• We thank God for the gift of the child and pray for healthy growth in the child in every part of their being;
Here are a few ideas you might want to consider to help your child understand and prepare to participate in a Parental Dedication.
• Parents make a formal commitment to do their
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Preparing For January 11
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• If you went through a similar ritual with your children, dig out any photo albums or video you have to show your child(ren). Tell them the story of the day. Who was there? Was there a party afterward? Did anyone give them a present?
•If you had a dedication at Spring Garden you selected a Scripture to read at the time of their dedication. Read that Scripture to them and explain why you chose it for them.
• Tell them how excited you were to become their parent, and how the longer you have them in your life, the more you love them and are grateful that God shared them with you.
• Explain that there will come a time when all the church will be asked to reach out their hand to the baby. Show them how to do this and explain this is a way they can add to the prayer.
• Also explain that this is a very serious promise parents are making to their children, and people in the church want and need to be able to hear what the people up front are saying.
• Ask them how they think bigger kids can help little kids follow Jesus. Are there things another kid can do that maybe an adult would not be able to do as well?
Volunteers Needed
The PreK - SK Discipleship class (for age 3-5) is looking for volunteers for 2015. We need more helpers to assist the main teachers in leading lesson activities and interact with the children. If you can help, please contact Suzanna Lai: suzanna@springgardenchurch.ca. Thank you!
Next Month we will be coaching all our kids on how to participate in Prayers of the People. If you have tips or ideas on how parents can help their children participate in such prayer, please email them to me at genetemp@springgardenchurch.ca. 22
Gene Tempelmeyer 23
NEW Church Parking Lot Parking Pass Due to the increasing number of vehicles illegally parking in our church parking lot, the church office will be administering parking passes in 2015 to better manage our parking situation. If you are a church staff, member, or ministry partner who regularly visits the church building during office hours (Mon – Friday, 9 – 5pm) for more than 2-3 times a month, please come to the church office during the month of December to register for an annual parking pass. If you need occasional use of the church parking lot, please drop by the church office on the day of your visit/ use to receive a day parking pass. A day parking pass can be obtained from any of the pastoral team. No parking pass is needed for evenings (after 5pm), weekends and holidays. Please display your parking pass on your dashboard every time you use the church parking lot during office hours. Please ensure the pass is clearly visible from the outside. The parking lot will be regularly patrolled and the authorization to park will be recognized only by the displaying of a valid parking pass. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation in helping manage our church parking lot. 24
Leadership at Spring Garden Pastoral Team Gene Tempelmeyer, Pastor genetemp@springgardenchurch.ca Ext. 222 Greg Kay, Worship Pastor gregkay@springgardenchurch.ca Ext. 224 Margaret Sutton, Pastoral Care/Seniors margaretsutton@springgardenchurch.ca Ext. 226 Sam Lee, Pastor of Discipleship, Ext. 227 samlee@springgardenchurch.ca Suzanna Lai, Church Office and Communications Manager Ext. 221 suzanna@springgardenchurch.ca
Deacons Anne Barron - Missions Marion Cameron - Worship Mary Ellen Hopkins - Finance Koon Wah Leung - Discpleship Ministries Mike Penner - Community Life/Board Secretary Derek Prinsloo - Chair Matt Silver - Adult Ministries/Membership Judy Tranter - Pastoral Care Jim Turner - Property
416.724.9329 416.491.8542 905.731.0492 416.225.7092 416.227.1840 647.349.4610 416.391.5479 416.229.0494 416.512.1360
Elders Garth Barron Darlene Boyd Cindie Chaise Jennifer Moore
416.724.9329 416.385.2483 647.345.2476 416.786.8727
Spring Garden Church T 416.223.4593 112 Spring Garden Ave. F 416.223.6126 Toronto ON M2N3G3 www.springgardenchurch.ca office@springgardenchurch.ca
Prayer Line 416.223.4038 ext1
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Community Corner
What’s Happening
Life around Spring Garden
Life in Spring Garden
Weekly Tuesdays 2:00 pm - Pastoral Team meeting 7:00 pm - ESL Café Wednesdays 9:45 am - Refresh Women’s Bible Study
A Thank You to the SGC family. Spring Garden family, Monica and I would like to express our deep gratitude for the amazing support you showed to us through my ordination process. We were vastly encouraged by how many people came to my council, the worship celebration, as well as all the words of affirmation we received. So thank you. We love you as a family, and hope that God’s call on our family is to remain with you for years to come! God bless, Greg
Thursdays 12:00 pm - Adult Bible Class; 12 noon lunch, 1 pm study Sundays 9:00 am - Morning Bible Study: meeting room - ESL Bible Study: basement 10:00 am - Sunday Morning Worship (communion on the first Sunday of the month)
This Month Saturday, January 10th - Life Group Facilitator Breakfast - 8:30 am - 12:00 pm Sunday, January 11th - Hailey Moore Dedication - 10:00 am Saturday, January 24th - Elders, Deacons and Pastors meeting 8:30 am - 12:00 pm
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Our Values We believe in a humble God who came not to be served, but to serve. Therefore we engage in sacrificial and active service to those around us. We strive to be good stewards of God’s gifts and talents by serving one another in humility. We aspire to regard others as higher than ourselves, which liberates us to creatively take risks in serving others for God’s glory. We believe in a God of grace who came to save the world, not to condemn it. Therefore, as we are continuously receiving the gift of God’s grace, we seek to grow in that grace and extend it to others. We strive to define ourselves by what we are for, not what we are against. We believe in a God who knows us, and who desires to be known. Therefore we embrace a journey of faith that requires us to constantly strive for a personal, intimate and transformative knowledge of God. We strive to be led by God’s Spirit in supporting and encouraging one another in working out our faith. We believe in a creative God. Therefore we are open to expressing our faith in new and creative ways that reflect the beauty and complexity of our creator. We are called to use our creative gifts in worship and service as we engage with our world. We take joy in the diversity of gifts that allow us to delight God and participate in His ongoing story. We believe in a triune, relational God who calls us to come together as a diverse community of believers. Therefore, we want to walk together, supporting one another physically, emotionally and spiritually. We strive to be a welcoming, inclusive family that goes through the joys and the trials of life together, acknowledging that God uses this community to deepen and mature our faith. We believe in a God who loves this broken world and wants to reconcile us to Himself. Therefore we are commissioned by Christ to go out into the world, meeting the holistic needs of the local and global community. God calls us to participate in a redemptive work that he has already initiated; in humility, we will partner with others to work alongside and chase after Him. We believe in a God who is our center. Therefore where we are on the journey is less important than that we are moving towards a deeper relationship with Christ. We believe and participate in God’s redemptive work in all people, which gives us the freedom to come as we are, and to accept others as they are. We each are on a unique journey to become who God has created us to be.
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