St. John's United Church of Christ
Celebrating 160 years of worship
What We Believe
We believe in the triune God: Creator, resurrected Christ - the sole Head of the church, and the Holy Spirit, who guides and brings about the creative and redemptive work of God in the world.
We believe that each person is unique and valuable. It is the will of God that every person belong to a family of faith where they have a strong sense of being valued and loved.
We believe that each person is on a spiritual journey and that each of us is at a different stage of that journey.
We believe that the persistent search for God produces an authentic relationship with God, engendering love, strengthening faith, dissolving guilt, and giving life purpose and direction.
We believe that all of the baptized 'belong body and soul to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.' No matter who or where we are on life's journey, we all belong to God and to one worldwide community of faith. All persons baptized - past, present and future - are connected to each other and to God through the sacrament of baptism. We baptize during worship when the community is present because baptism includes the community's promise of 'love, support and care' for the baptized.
We believe that all people of faith are invited to join Christ at Christ's table for the sacrament of Communion. Just as many grains of wheat are gathered to make one loaf of bread and many grapes are gathered to make one cup of wine, we, the many people of God, are made one in the body of Christ, the church. The breaking of bread and the pouring of wine reminds us of the costliness of Christ's sacrifice and the discipleship to which we are all called.
We believe the UCC is called to be a united and uniting church. “That they may all be one.” (John 17:21) “In essentials-unity, in nonessentials-diversity, in all things-charity,”
We believe that God calls us to be servants in the service of others and to be good stewards of the earth's resources. 'To believe is to care; to care is to do.'
We are a people of possibility. In the UCC, members, congregations and structures have the breathing room to explore and to hear ... for after all, God is still speaking...
Statement of Faith
We believe in God, the Eternal Spirit, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ and our Father, and to his deeds we testify:
He calls the worlds into being,
creates man in his own image
and sets before him the ways of life and death.
He seeks in holy love to save all people from aimlessness and sin.
He judges men and nations by his righteous will
declared through prophets and apostles.
In Jesus Christ, the man of Nazareth, our crucified and risen Lord, he has come to us and shared our common lot,
conquering sin and death
and reconciling the world to himself.
He bestows upon us his Holy Spirit,
creating and renewing the Church of Jesus Christ,
binding in covenant faithful people of all ages, tongues, and races.
He calls us into his Chruch
to accept the cost and joy of discipleship,
to be his servants in the service of men,
to proclaim the gospel to all the world
and resist the powers of evil,
to share in Christ's baptism and eat at his table,
to join in his passion and victory.
He promises to all who all who trust him
forgineness of sins and fullness of grace,
courage in the struggle for justice and peace,
his presence in trial and rejoicing,
and eternal life in his kingdom which has no end.
Blessing and honor, glory and power be unto him. Amen.
Over the years, St. John's has changed denominations. Our congregation still uses the Apostle's Creed in addition to the Statement of Faith that was developed in 1957 as the Evangelical and Reformed denomination merged with the Congregational Christian denomination to become the United Church of Christ. As our logo says, we believe that each of us may have differences, but that all are united in our belief and love of Christ. The new statement of faith is very comprehensive and may take several readings to absorb its full meaning. The "about us" of the www.ucc.org web-site also gives more information about our beliefs as a denomination.