A Progressive People

As United Methodists, we affirm the vision of John Wesley, founder of Methodism, who believed in the importance of blending the ingredients of Scripture, Tradition, Reason and Experience into the recipe of faith.   We believe that while each of these ingredients is important in its own right, they, nevertheless live in tension with the others.

We believe that a vital faith is one that is thoughtful, open and reluctant to think in black and white terms.  Too often, faith tends to be limited by the desire to define it in ways that exclude those who understand it differently.   As a result, genuine Christian community is often not easily experienced.

It is our hope to be the kind of community where people with different faith perspectives can not only “co-exist,” but actually learn from each other as they grow together.  Our emphasis is placed not upon judging and excluding, but upon accepting and including.  We believe that this was the central practice of Jesus in his ministry.

The United Methodist motto suggests that we are a people of OPEN MINDS, OPEN HEARTS AND OPEN DOORS.  That is indeed who we aspire to be.

The following affirmation reflects our dream of the kind of people that we would like to become as we go about the day-to-day tasks of being the Church.

WHAT IF???

What if there was a Church that…
Actually, practiced what it preached…
Valued asking questions just as much as having answers…
Honored the past while embracing the future…
Reserved a place at the table for everyone…

What if there was a Church that..
Walked with the poor and were advocates for the powerless…
Viewed service to others as its’ primary form of witness…
Practiced a stewardship of the earth and all living things…
Viewed difference not as a threat, but a possibility…
Believed that listening was a pre-requisite for learning…
Chose not to avoid conflict, but to face it with love…
Was committed to being open to new ideas and excited about the possibility of thinking and acting outside the box?

To be honest, we are not there yet, but this is our goal.

This is the kind of Church that we dream about being…
The kind of church we are in the process of becoming.

If you would like to help us become the kind of Church we dream about becoming,
WE WOULD LOVE YOUR COMPANY!