For us, the most important label is not “Lutheran”
but “Beloved Child of God” – for that’s what we believe each person is.
We believe this is true regardless of sexual orientation,
gender identification, race, culture, economic resources, immigration status,
or anything else.
God’s love is unconditional. It does not depend on what we do for God,
but what God does for us. We call this GRACE.
We trust in God’s grace-filled Word for us.
We worship Jesus, the Word made Flesh,
who taught that the greatest commandment is to love God
and to love our neighbors as ourselves.
We believe that Jesus comes to liberate us not only from personal sin
but from everything that would oppress any human being-
racism, sexism, classism, heterosexism- all the isms,
all the powers that take life and diminish life.
Jesus comes to set us free so that we can work for the freedom of all.
We believe we cannot say that ALL LIVES MATTER
if we are not willing to name that BLACK LIVES MATTER- and the lives of all those who matter least in our society and world.
We believe that the state murdered Jesus on a cross
because of his liberating, loving work. We believe that Jesus rose from the dead
because nothing can stop God’s liberating love.
We believe that Jesus’ Spirit lives and moves and changes lives
in and through the church.
We believe in "the priesthood of all believers," meaning that all who follow Jesus are given gifts to be witnesses and ministers of the Gospel.
We welcome questions, doubts and uncertainty. Nobody knows it all.
Nobody can do it all. We believe we are better together in community
receiving God’s grace and joining in God’s liberating, healing love
for the sake of our neighborhood, our city and our world.
We are part of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. www.elca.org
