About

Faith is the basic orientation and commitment of our whole being—a matter of heart and soul. Christian faith is grounding our lives in the living God as revealed uniquely in Jesus Christ. It’s both a gift we receive within the Christian community and a choice we make. It’s trusting in God and relying on God as the source and destiny of our lives. Faith is believing in God, giving God our devoted loyalty and allegiance. Faith is following the teachings and leadership of Jesus, answering the call to be his disciples in the world. Faith is hoping for God’s future, leaning into the coming kingdom that God has promised. Faith-as-belief is active; it involves trusting, believing, following, hoping.

Because of what God has done for us, we offer our lives back to God through a life of service. As disciples, we become active participants in God’s activity in the world through mission and service. Love of God is always linked to love of neighbor and to a passionate commitment to seeking justice and renewal in the world.

For John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist Episcopal Church (1784), there was no religion but social religion, no holiness but social holiness. In other words, faith always includes a social dimension. One cannot be a solitary Christian. As we grow in faith through our participation in the church community, we are also nourished and equipped for mission and service to the world.

“From Wesley’s time to the present, Methodism has sought to be both a nurturing community and a servant community. Members of the early Methodist Societies and class meetings met for personal nurture through giving to the poor, visiting the imprisoned, and working for justice and peace in the community. They sought not only to receive the fullness of God’s grace for themselves; but…they saw themselves as existing ‘to reform the nation…and to spread scriptural holiness over the land'”

United Methodists insist that faith and good works belong together. What we believe must be confirmed by what we do. Personal salvation must be expressed in ministry and mission in the world. We believe that Christian doctrine and Christian ethics are inseparable, that faith should inspire service. The integration of personal piety and social holiness has been a hallmark of our tradition. We affirm the biblical precept that “faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead” (James 2:17).

Theology or doctrine is more a matter of the head. It is thinking together in the community of believers about faith and discipleship. It is reflecting on the gospel. It is examining the various beliefs we hold as a church. Some may say that theology is only for professional theologians. This is not true. All of us, young and old, lay and clergy, share in this theological task so that our beliefs will actually guide our day-by-day actions and so that we can communicate our belief to an unbelieving world.

John Wesley famously said, "The world is my parish!" Through baptism and answering our calling, we accept a direct responsibility for needs of those around us: not only our family and friends, but our community, our nation, and the world! We recognize that there are people all around us who are hungry or hurting, who have doubts and questions. There are people who are new in the community and feel a little lost, some who are proudly self-sufficient, and others who are in desperate circumstances. As a church of Jesus-followers, our purpose / our mission is to reach out to our community, to listen to them, and to lift them up. In our words and in our actions we strive to share the gospel / Good News of Jesus Christ, and invite others into the family of faith. We welcome all who would come.