What We Believe
While a variety of beliefs are “at home” within Fauntleroy Church and the United Church of Christ, we hold several in common:
We share belief in a God who has manifested in many different ways, including as a Creator, in the person of Jesus Christ, and in enduring presence of a Holy Spirit. While some among us might be called Trinitarian, others find that term too limiting for God or think about God in other ways. Trinitarian manifestations are, however, the common ways you’ll hear us talking about God.
Because we believe God manifests in the world in different ways, we are affirming and supportive of other faiths, recognizing that while Jesus may be the lens through which we best see God, others come to know and understand the Divine through different lenses.
We share belief in a Creator who values all that she/he/they have created and calls us to do the same. Because of this, we are “open and affirming of LGBTQIA+ persons. We don’t just welcome you; we affirm your God-created beauty and blessedness in this world.
We share belief that we are called to follow Jesus Christ, learning from his life and stories of his death and resurrection. While you may encounter different beliefs about Jesus’ nature here (Jesus as Divine, human, prophet, exemplar), we share an appreciation and deep reverence for the stories of Jesus and accept the challenges of Christ in our own discipleship.
We share belief that Jesus was focused on this world rather than an afterlife. Over and over, he sought to help people live authentic lives of worship to God, repenting of wrongdoings and embracing the Kingdom (or Kin-dom) of God on earth. Such embrace begins, he said, with the simple yet profound move to love God and others first and foremost and to do so radically.
We share belief that one of the areas in which we must repent of the collective sin of humanity is in the ways we have treated God’s creation with disregard for the gift it is meant to be to all life, including life that will come long after we are gone. God has not gifted us this world, but has entrusted us with its care, giving us the tools and intelligence, science and scientific learnings we need to properly appreciate and treat the Earth with reverence. Along these lines, we refuse to view scientific theories as standing in opposition to our faith.
We share belief in the Bible as the central book of our faith. We learn from it with reverence but do not read it literally, nor do we believe that much of it was intended to be read literally. A UCC saying well summarizes our approach: “We take the Bible too seriously to read it literally.” Our sermons do not prove points by cherry-picking scripture and blindly applying the messages of an ancient, far-away place and moment to our lives. Instead, you will hear our highly educated and rigorously trained pastors digging into multiple layers - the ancient location in which a story or passage is presented, the intent of editors and redactors, the nuances of the original Greek and Hebrew. They also apply other faithful, intelligent approaches to scripture in seeking to discern what the Spirit might be saying to the Church today.
We share belief that we are called as Christians to approach our faith looking for God’s ongoing cries for justice in the world, not just individual lessons of morality.
We share belief in a still-speaking, still-moving God who loves us too much to leave us alone, seeking always to come close to humanity and dwell with us, among us, and even in us - always urging us toward what is truly beautiful.
While Fauntleroy Church does not require alignment with a specific creed, we do appreciate expressions of faith created over time, including the UCC Statement of Faith. It places heavy emphasis on the call and challenge of discipleship, rather than just belief:
United Church of Christ Statement of Faith in the form of a doxology
We believe in you, O God, Eternal Spirit, God of our Savior Jesus Christ and our God, and to your deeds we testify:
You call the worlds into being, create persons in your own image, and set before each one the ways of life and death.
You seek in holy love to save all people from aimlessness and sin.
You judge people and nations by your righteous will declared through prophets and apostles.
In Jesus Christ, the man of Nazareth, our crucified and risen Savior, you have come to us and shared our common lot, conquering sin and death and reconciling the world to yourself.
You bestow upon us your Holy Spirit, creating and renewing the church of Jesus Christ, binding in covenant faithful people of all ages, tongues, and races.
You call us into your church to accept the cost and joy of discipleship, to be your servants in the service of others, 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 him in his passion and victory.
You promise to all who trust you forgiveness of sins and fullness of grace, courage in the struggle for justice and peace, your presence in trial and rejoicing, and eternal life in your realm, which has no end.
Blessing and honor, glory and power be unto you.
Amen.
