Jesus reveals the full story of who God is. Somehow, in this man who experienced every human joy, suffering, friendship, and betrayal, the fullness of the Divine shined through him to all people: the forgotten, the misfits, the hungry, the hurting, the lonely, the sick, the oppressed, the weak, the poor. Through the story of Jesus’ birth, life, death, and resurrection, we find our Hope in the peace and justice that Christ is bringing to all creation.

Because God exists forever in community, we know there’s power in togetherness. Through community, we sustain one another through the challenges of life and learn how to love ourselves and our neighbors more fully. Little by little, day by day, we respond to Jesus’ call to unity as one human family—and that includes all of our LGBTQ siblings.

We take scripture seriously but hold it lightly. The Bible is not God, but it reveals the full story of God. We find scripture filled with faithful stories passed down by faithful people who did their best to describe their experiences with the Divine. Each time we tell this story, we bring it to life and invite our storytelling God to bring us new inspiration to life’s pressing questions, concerns, and doubts.

Life is difficult. Each day, we all do the best we can to make our way in a world where all sorts of things within and outside of us are working hard to pull us away from each other. God’s response to that is grace: morning by morning, new mercies we see. That’s the grace we strive to offer ourselves and one another. And it’s the same grace that we lay down as a welcome mat to invite all people—no matter who they are—into our church family.

Jesus came to proclaim life “on Earth as it is in heaven.” With Christ’s own hands, we are shown glimmers of how God intends this world to be: the hungry fed, the sick healed, the hurting comforted, the forgotten seen. We challenge ourselves to join Christ in the great renewal of creation by transforming systems of oppression into gardens of hope and new life.

The Spirit of God flows like wind, constantly inviting us to move in new directions. We approach all of creation with curiosity and wonder, eagerly awaiting when and where God will give us a fresh breath of understanding. Our anchor is humility, acknowledging that, with God’s help, we always have room to grow, reform, and evolve.