We believe…
† In God the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth.
† In Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior - Immanuel, "God with us." Jesus Christ is the incarnation of God on earth, the Head of the Church and lord of the conscience of each member.
† In the Holy Spirit, "God within us," the continuing power and presence of God in the world and in the believer.
† In the Bible as the inspired Word of God and the authoritative witness to God as revealed in Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit guides our understanding of scripture. Through the work of the Holy Spirit, the written word in scripture becomes the living Word of God.
† In the priesthood of all believers (which means, simply put, that all Christians, and not just the ordained clergy, have connections with God) and in the continuing reformation of the Church.
† In justification by grace through faith. In short, this means that God, by grace and not as a result of any merit or thing we have done on our own, "sanctifies" and "saves us" from the penalty of sin. We accept this gift of grace by faith in Jesus Christ as God's Son and the Savior of the world. Hence, we are justified (made right) with God by grace (God's grace) through faith in Jesus Christ.
† In the sovereignty, power, holiness, and love of God who creates, sustains, rules and redeems the world.
† That God calls us to serve others.
† That through the study of scripture, we discover how God's call for us to serve others can most fully be expressed.
† That God calls us to live out our faith through active engagement with the world in which we live. We pray for God's freeing and transforming presence to intercede in places of sorrow and despair, and we seek to show the Good News of God's love both in word and in deed.
† That God calls us to promote and practice a life that respects and nourishes all other life on this planet, and to work for the fullest possible sustainable life for all God's other children, wherever they live.
† That we are enriched by relationships with Christians of other denominations. We are blessed by our relationship with over 25 ACCA "sister" congregations, and are committed to ongoing dialogue with Jewish and Muslim people of faith.
† That our faith does not exist in a vacuum. God calls us to love one another, to pray for one another, and to bear one another's burdens. We gather as a community to worship, play, study, support, and serve those in need.
† That Jesus, a Jew from Nazareth, is a model and example of what God intends all humanity to be like.
Though part of the church universal, we cherish our heritage from the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century. We are "reformed, yet always being reformed according to the word of God." We are guided by the confessions of the church - historical statements of faith written for particular times and places. We celebrate our Presbyterian heritage, even as we acknowledge that God is not yet finished with us. We value the vision and leadership of John Calvin (1509-1564), after whom this congregation is named, and we celebrate our unity with other Christians of all communions, looking forward with hope and joy to that day when all will be one in Christ.