WE PROFESS THE NICEAN CREED
We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty Creator of Heaven and Earth, and of all that is seen and unseen;
...and in one Lord, Jesus Christ the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father; God from God, Light from Light, True God from True God. Begotten not made one in being with the Father through Him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation, He came down from heaven and by the power of the Holy Spirit, He was born of the Virgin Mary and became one of us.
For our sake He was crucified under Pontius Pilate, He suffered, died and was buried. On the third day He rose again, in fulfillment of the scriptures.
He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in Glory to judge the living and the dead and His Kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and the Giver of Life who proceeds from the Father and the Son, With the Father and the Son the Spirit is worshiped and glorified; and has spoken through the prophets.
We believe in One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, we acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins, and we look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come.
EMBRACE OUR CATHOLIC LEGACY: We rejoice in the diversity of our long traditions as Catholics. We reject the view that has no appreciation for our rich, centuries long traditions in music, art, liturgical practice, customs and devotions. Although we occasionally may sing a hymn in Latin, we do not yearn for the liturgical life of the Church prior to Vatican II. Likewise, we do not use the newer translation of the Mass that was implemented in the Roman Church in 2012. For example, we still say in our Creed "one in being with the Father" rather than "consubstantial with the Father." We still say "...and also with you," rather than the lieral Latin translation "...and with your spirit."
Our liturgy is a balance of the contemporary and traditional.
We give voice to devotion to Mary our Mother and to the saints, especially to Our Lady UnDoer of Knots.
We venerate the Blessed Sacrament and infuse our liturgies with solemnity while also enhancing their meaningfulness to the faithful.
Liturgical worship, especially the liturgy of the Holy Eucharist, is customarily celebrated using the sacramentary of Vatican II and the pre-2012 translations of the mass and other rites of the Roman Church.
COLLABORATIVE GOVERNANCE: We recognize the wisdom and value of each person's gifts and unique charism that come together to do the work of the church. We know that God has given each of us special talents – some as administrators and planners, others as counselors and teachers, others as musicians and readers, still others as workers and helpers. Where feasible and practical we will work in teams to build our church.
SERVANT LEADERSHIP: We will focus on developing “other Christs” – a parish full of Christian Servant Leaders. We are all leaders in one way or another because there are no spectators in Christianity!
Christ showed us that true leaders are servant leaders. In the end, servant leadership of others leads to selfless problem solving and thus more effective and sustainable solutions. Ultimately being a servant leader leads oneself to one’s own salvation.
Our parish will focus on developing servant leaders through prayer, reflection, and development of leadership competency.
INFALLIBILITY: We believe that Christ calls each of us as a free gift of grace to be equal members of his mystical body. We do not believe that anyone, regardless of position in the Church, receives an infallible personal insight into the mind of God.
Rather, the Holy Spirit inspires each person, lay, religious, and clergy, with gifts for the building of God's Kingdom (cf. 1 Corinthians 12, et al.) according to the Spirit's plan for God's people.
The clergy are ordained as servant leaders and teachers of the Gospel, not as infallible arbiters of theological opinion.
It is the duty of each person, under the teaching guidance of the Church, to inform themselves through prayer and study and arrive at an understanding of the truth revealed to our world by Jesus Christ and to apply their individual gifts to the building of God's Kingdom.
FREEDOM & THE PRIMACY OF CONSCIENCE: We respect everyone's freedom of thought in matters religious, civil, political, scientific, and philosophical. We therefore, leave to the informed conscience of people those matters which are properly theirs to decide before God.
RECEPTION OF HOLY COMMUNION: During His lifetime, Jesus Christ practiced open fellowship and broke bread with everyone that would partake with Him. We do the same.
As Catholics, we believe that the consecrated bread and wine have been substantively changed to the body and blood of Christ and as such should be consumed with reverence. Everyone is welcome at our liturgy to receive the Lord's Body and Blood. We only ask that you do so with respect.
DIVORCE, REMARRIAGE AND THE SACRAMENTS: Divorce is not an impediment to remarriage and does not bar one from the reception of the Sacraments.
MARRIAGE EQUALITY: We firmly believe that love between two persons is a gift from God. We believe that the sacrament which has historically been termed matrimony is confected between the two individuals, the role of the Church being solely to recognize in public, witness, and bless the bond of love between two persons, irrespective of the gender of the parties. We, therefore, will minister to those making commitments for life to each other in marriage.
PENANCE AND RECONCILIATION: All people sin. Sin is a sad but inherent part of a human nature which has yet to fully align itself with the will of God. As sinners we recognize the need for repentance and reordering of our lives; but also trust in the infinite love and forgiveness of our Lord.
Reconciliation is the sacrament by which those who have wandered on paths which have led astray are reunited and reconciled to the Lord and his people. Though not required, private confession is available from any priest by request.
HOLY ORDERS & OTHER MINISTRIES: We welcome those women and men who perceive in their hearts and minds a vocation to serve the people of God through ministry as a priest or deacon or in a variety of other roles: lector, greeter, acolyte, musician, educator, etc. We will work with those seeking formal Holy Orders to attain the knowledge and skills needed to become a member of our clergy.
We also welcome formerly ordained clergy and religious to join us. If you are interested in ministering again, please see our applicaiton for the Affiliate Clergy Program under the "Join Us" tab of "Our Parish.
WE EMBRACE SERVING OTHERS: We humbly and joyfully answer Christ’s call to serve one another and those in need. We reject “tourism” Christianity. We will devote resources and efforts to identify the needs that are present in our parish and surrounding community – large and small - and develop responses as best we can.
SOCIAL JUSTICE EFFORTS: As individual Christians, we each must follow Christs mandate to care for the least of his brethren in our own way.
As a community, we will target certain local efforts that allow us to make a difference in the lives of others.
STEWARDSHIP OF EARTH: We see it as a moral obligation to care for our planet by conserving resources, working for safe environments for others, being kind to animals, etc.
STEWARDSHIP: Our church belongs to us - to our community. It is ours to care for.
We realize that the Church must exist in the real world where to survive we must do want we can afford and pay our debts. To fund our Church we have stood up a planned giving program were we ask all members of our community to give whatever they can to fund our activities as a church. The standard of giving is to tithe and having done so, make a commitment to follow through. Our direct online giving and PayPal programs will automatically withdraw funds from a parishioner's bank account so that we have assurance of income.