CORE VALUES
Jesus and the Gospel
‘…if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your
heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.’ Romans 10.9
Christianity is first and foremost a Gospel – the ‘good news’ of the
salvation accomplished for us by Jesus Christ. ‘Religion’ is about
people working their way up to God, but the Gospel tells us that ‘for us
and our salvation,’ God came down to us, that we may be ‘justified by
His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.’
This message of grace is at the center of all our thinking, the lens
through which we view all of life.
Holy Scripture and Authority
‘All Scripture is God-breathed and profitable for teaching, for reproof,
for correction, and for training in righteousness’ 2 Timothy 3.16. ‘The
Church hath power to decree rites or ceremonies, and authority in
Controversies of Faith: and yet it is not lawful for the Church to
ordain any thing that is contrary to God’s Word written…’ Article XX,
BCP 871.
The Scriptures of the Old & New Testaments are our infallible rule of
faith and practice, the ‘God-breathed’ means by which we discern will of
the Father, containing ‘all things necessary for salvation.’ Our
preaching and teaching is based on the faithful exposition of the Bible,
that our lives might be conformed to its life-giving message.
Worship: the Beauty of Holiness
‘…Worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness; tremble before him, all
the earth!’ Psalm 96.9 ‘But you are chosen race, a royal priesthood, a
holy nation, that you may declare the wonderful deeds of Him Who called
you out of darkness into his marvelous light.’
1 Peter 2.9
It is ‘very meet, right, and our bounden duty’ to offer praise to our
almighty and merciful God. Our worship, centered in the Holy Eucharist,
is intended to evoke and prefigure the ceaseless worship of heaven.
‘Glory and worship are before him; power and honor are in his
sanctuary,’ sings the psalmist, ‘Worship the LORD in the beauty of
holiness; let the whole earth stand in awe of him.’ In this sense,
biblical worship is always ‘high.’ Worship ought to reflect the glory
and majesty of the One to whom it is offered, though necessarily, even
our highest worship will only be a dim reflection of the glory of Him
who covers himself in ‘light like a garment’ (Ps. 104.2).
Community
‘...we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of
one another.’ Romans 12.8
While our culture may lift up the ‘rugged individual,’ in Christ we are
called into a deep and authentic community which reflects the eternal
relationship of love within the Most Blessed Trinity. Therefore we seek
to ‘bear one another’s burdens,’ and to share one another’s joys as
well, taking special care of our families and children.
The Anglican Way
We believe that the Anglican expression of the
Christian Faith is in continuity with and a constituent member of the one,
holy, catholic, and apostolic Church, ‘built on the foundation of prophets
and apostles, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone’ (Eph. 2.20). In
our worshipping life structured by the historic Book of Common Prayer we
have a ‘goodly heritage’ which binds us together with Anglican Christians
around the world in an authentically catholic church, reformed and always
reforming.
Ministries of Mercy
‘The Righteous will answer him, “Lord, when did we see you hungry and
feed you, or thirsty and give you drink?” …And the King will answer
them, “Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these
my brothers, you did it to me.’
St. Matthew 25.37,40
The Gospel calls us out into the world to minister to ‘the sick, the
friendless, and the needy’ in our own community and around the world,
recognizing that to serve anyone in need is to serve Christ Himself.