We at Immanuel Church are a people on a long and adventurous journey — called by Christ to follow Him, but rarely to destinations that are disclosed ahead of our arrival. Thus, it is a journey with Christ that is filled inherently and wonderfully with both certitude and ambiguity:
- Certitude, because we know it is Christ who is calling each one, and all, of us to follow.
- Ambiguity, because He rarely tells us where we are going – only that we are going with Him.
- Ambiguity, because we are often led individually to different places.
- Ambiguity, because we are often led, individually and together, to places we would never have thought possible.
All of us on this journey recognize that we are severely broken as human beings, that we cannot fix ourselves, and that no one else can fix us either. But we recognize as well that we are welcomed and loved by Christ just as we are and, through Him, enabled with Joy — even in the midst of our problems, sins and suffering — to become so much more than we ever otherwise could have been or imagined possible.
We are a people on this journey who constitute the Body of Christ, gathered by Christ for worship, fellowship and growth, and sent by Christ to serve the needs of others and to proclaim the thing most needful in everyone’s life: the need for Christ. Thus, as Christ’s Body, we are a people who embrace both the communal and the individual nature of our faith in Jesus Christ. We are called by Christ individually ‘to follow.’ But we are called in every instance into a community of followers where we covenant to regard others as better than ourselves and to place the interests of others ahead of our own. We are called into a community of humility.
We travel the road of faith together — leaving all ultimate judgements about people to God alone. We demand only, in accordance with Christ’s commands to love God, neighbor, and one another, that all who join us in this communal journey treat one another as Christ has treated us, striving increasingly to have in each and all of us the Mind and Spirit, and Love and Joy, of Christ.
Finally, we are a congregation of the United Church of Christ, in covenant with other congregations in the UCC, and committed to ecumenism.