Community

Statement of Faith: Congregational Church of Austin, United Church of Christ

The Congregational Church of Austin’s Statement of Faith reflects our commitment to seek and celebrate God’s presence and calling in our lives through worship, on-going spiritual development, service to the world, and community.

We are a people united in Christ.

God calls us to be a loving and inclusive community of faith, a people united and uniting. God calls us to welcome all people in the name of Jesus Christ, who welcomes us.

We are a people who sing God’s praises.

God calls us to invite all people to participate with us in life-renewing worship, to cry out in our brokenness, and to celebrate God’s grace and blessing upon us.

We are a people who seek God’s ways.

God calls us to discover God’s word in the Bible, in our rich heritage, in faithful witness to the living Word, and in the fresh winds of the Spirit.

We are a people who serve God’s world.

God calls us to promote the integrity, justice, mercy, and peace God intends for all creation, and to reach out in ministries and partnerships of prophetic criticism and care.

We are a people who share life’s journey.

God calls us to support one another and to share in the hopes and fears, joys and sorrows, of all God’s people, both in the church and the world.

As a church deeply committed to Christ’s ministry of liberating, healing, and reconciling the world, and to the prophetic call to “do justice” in this world, we find that the following World Council of Churches Statement of Faith also reflects our commitment to work for a “new earth where justice and peace will flourish.”

Community

More than two hours on a Sunday, church is about sharing life together. The Congregational Church of Austin’s are the way we gather during the week around the table to be the people of Jesus in our neighborhoods. This is how we practice the way of Jesus together in Portland.

Live as family

As the family of God, we take time each week to eat together, pray for one another, and share life together. Communities are formed with 10-15 people who live in the same part of the city, loving and supporting each other in practical ways. This is where we share the bread and cup of communion; our kitchen tables become sacred spaces of celebration and remembrance of our hope in Jesus.

Become like Jesus

As disciples of Jesus, we order our lives around the lifestyle of Jesus. Each week we spend time praying together, holding honest conversation, and creating space for the Spirit to speak. We believe that spiritual formation takes place in community. Through deep relationship and accountability, we are able to transform our lives to become more like Jesus.

Serve our City

As the people of Jesus in our city, we get to share the gospel and serve our neighbors. Through everyday life, we are building a new humanity defined by the way of Jesus. We want to be people of hope and joy in a city of sadness and despair. We want to do what Jesus would do if he were us, partnering with God to see his Kingdom come and will be done in Portland as it is in Heaven.

Partner together on the journey of discipleship

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An Affirmation of Faith - WCC (Simple CSS)

An Affirmation of Faith

World Council of Churches

We Believe In...

  • • God, who is love and who has given the earth to all people;
  • • Jesus Christ, who came to heal us, and to free us from all forms of oppression;
  • • The Spirit of God, who works through all who are turned toward the truth;
  • • The community of faith, which is called to be at the service of all people;
  • • God’s promise to establish the kingdom of justice and peace for all humankind.
  • • Human rights, in the solidarity of all people, in the power of non-violence.
  • • That all men and women are equally human, that order based on violence and injustice is not order.
  • • The beauty of simplicity, in love with open hands, in peace on earth.

We Do Not Believe In...

  • × The right of the strongest, nor the force of arms, nor the power of oppression.
  • × Racism, in the power that comes from wealth and privilege, or in any established order that enslaves.
  • × That war and hunger are inevitable, and peace unobtainable.
  • × That suffering need be in vain, or that the disfigurement of our world is what God intended.

We dare to believe, always and in spite of everything, in God’s power to transform and transfigure, fulfilling the promise of a new heaven and a new earth where justice and peace will flourish.