What We Believe

"We believe in One God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen."

This is the first article of the Nicene Creed. We believe that the One God, the God Most High, the Great I AM, is the creator of everything. We acknowledge God the Father as historical rhetoric and accept the name of the first person of the Trinity as God the First Person who is all gendered and non-gendered at the same time. We believe God the First Person is outside our time and space of both the physical world and our physical understanding while still present through the works of the Holy Spirit.

"We believe in One Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten from 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 our salvation he came down from heaven, was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the virgin Mary and became truly human. 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."

This is the second article of the Nicene Creed. We believe Jesus is the Second Person of the Trinity. We believe the biblical account of Jesus and the historical account of Jesus as a man from the town of Nazareth who is the Emmanuel (God incarnate, God on earth). We believe this man existed as a great teacher and the son of God who was persecuted by the then Jewish Leaders, and was later executed by the Roman Government through crucifixion. We believe he died and decended to the dead to free all captive souls and forever crush the threat of death for all believers. We believe after three days of death, Jesus bodily arose, continued his teachings briefly, and then ascended to the right hand of God the First Person. We believe that Jesus will return bodily at the end of the ages to reign over all of creation forever.

"We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son,* who with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified, who has spoken through the prophets." (*Or, "who proceeds from the Father." The phrase "and the Son" is a later addition to the creed.)

This is the first part of the third article of the Nicene Creed. We believe the Holy Spirit is the Third Person of the Trinity. We believe the Holy Spirit was given to all humanity after the ascension of Jesus as the Advocate and the direct line of communication to God. We believe the Holy Spirit influences all our doings for the benefit and love of our neighbor and through the Holy Spirit, God's work in this world is being done with our hands.

We further believe the Holy Spirit is the breath of life that was first breathed into Adam at the beginning of creation (Genesis 2:7) and again the breath of life as mentioned in the prophacy of the Valley of Dry Bones (Ezekel 37:1-10).

"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."

This is the conclusion and second part of the third article of the Nicene Creed. We believe that we are part of a larger universal (small c catholic) church that believe in and practice similar liturgy and traditions of the early church fathers and first century Christians. We believe and accept all baptized persons regardless of denomination provided they are baptized using a traditional Trinitarian formula such as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as instructed in Matthew 28:19. We believe all the baptized are members of the body of Christ and as such have all sins forgiven because of the death and resurrection of Jesus the Christ. Finally, we believe in the bodily resurrection as written by St. Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 15:35).

We believe the Holy Bible is a collection of books written over the centuries. We believe that scripture is the inspired Word of God written by human hands with specific historical and cultural contexts reflecting the language and understandings of their time, and is the authoritative source for faith and life. We believe that Scripture is read and interpreted through the lens of Jesus Christ; that any interpretation of Scripture is meant to point to the Good News (Gospel) of God's grace and salvation.

We believe in the teachings of a German monk named Martin Luther, who, on October 31, 1517, began a movement known as the Protestant Reformation. The central idea, and actions taken by the Roman Catholic Church that sparked this movement, were the sale of indulgences - remission/forgiveness of the punishment due to sins committed during the life of the believer. Through his studies, Martin Luther came to understand and later insisted that forgiveness of sins cannot be earned nor bought, and the practice and idea of indulgences are contrary to the teachings of Scripture; forgiveness of sins (salvation) is a gift from God (grace) and a sign of the unending love God has for God's creation. Martin Luther continued to write prolifically until his death.

The followers of Martin Luther - now named Lutherans - used Luther's writings as a guide and as instructive material for our practices and beliefs today. The primary writing compiled and published in 1580 is the Book of Concord, which includes The Three Creeds, Martin Luther's Small and Large Catechisms, The Augsburg Confessions, the Formula of Concord, and other writings. We, however, do not subscribe to the anti-Judaic writings of Martin Luther and have repudiated both these writings and the horrific acts done upon Jewish people throughout history because of these writings. We strive and are committed to Lutheran-Jewish relations, and we continue to combat antisemitism.