Our Faith
We understand and recognize that faithful, Holy Spirit filled, Christ centred, God honouring people can sometimes hold different views of certain tenets of faith. We focus on what we have in common in our faith and the Christian love that unites us rather than building walls that divide people. We believe that unity does not demand uniformity but rather is expressed through the diversity of personalities and opinions our community represents, united by the same love for each other, the created World and God. Therefore, as a common ground of our faith, the Apostles' Creed is what we all confess:
I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, God's only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again;
he ascended into heaven,
he is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and he will come again to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. AMEN.
The word "creed" comes from the Latin word credo, meaning "I believe". The first Christians professed the simple creed, "Jesus is Lord". With the death of witnesses to Jesus' life, death and resurrection, many questions arose regarding God, Jesus and the Christian life. These questions led to several centuries of intense debate, meetings of church councils and the writing of many creeds, including the Nicene Creed and the Apostles' Creed.
Despite its name, the Apostles' Creed was actually a statement of faith developed over several centuries in Rome to teach new Christians the basic beliefs of the church. The text we use today can be traced back to the late 7th century.
For a more elaborated and detailed expression of faith, please check out the contemporary confession of the Presbyterian Church in Canada called the Living Faith. You can download it in PDF format by clicking here.
