The Foundations of Central Church
Our overall guiding principles are summarized in the Purpose Statement recently
adopted by the Natural Church Development Committee and ratified by the church
Administrative Council. That Statement defines our purposes as:
"Loving God, Loving People--While Serving Our
World"
The first four words declare what the Scriptures describe as the Greatest
Commandments--to love God with all our hearts, and our neighbors as ourselves.
As such, they are a concise reflection of the principles of the previously
discerned "Vision of Central United Methodist Church," manifesting the love
of God through meaningful worship experiences in the Methodist Christian
tradition, and the love of those around us expressed through welcoming
compassion. Yet, pursuing the principles of the faith does not pre-empt our
responsibility to simultaneously put that faith into practice with service
to those immediately surrounding us, as well as elsewhere in the world in
which we find our own shelter and sustenance. Our foundations are explored
in depth in the material appearing below.
The Vision of Central Church
We are a community of Christian disciples committed to prayerful
discernment, vital worship, compassionate service and expansive spiritual
growth; taking seriously Christ's teaching to "love your neighbor," welcoming
all people as neighbors.
Our Mission
The Mission of Central United Methodist Church is...
To make disciples of Jesus Christ,
To celebrate the love and grace of God,
To focus on Jesus Christ, our savior, and to help others know his love
personally,
To prayerfully seek God's will, guided by the Holy Spirit,
To develop meaningful worship experiences and opportunities for Christian
fellowship,
To promote life-long educational opportunities for Christian growth, global
ministry and community service,
To respond to the unique calls to service that come to this downtown
church,
And to love one another as creations of God, with all of our differences,
treasuring our
unity in Christ.
Our Values
Central United Methodist Church is a friendly, enthusiastic and charitable
congregation that:
The goals of Central Church will be accomplished as we:
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receive Jesus Christ's loving grace working to honor and unify individuals
in God's family (the Body of Christ),
-
foster unity based on commitment to Christ rather than conformity among the
membership,
-
offer a variety of settings for worship of God, the care and edification
of our members and outreach to the community,
-
increase our influence for God and good through growth and development of
programs and ministries,
-
equip people to live out and share their faith in every relationship at church,
home, work and play.
The character of our church includes the gifts of God's spirit:
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love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness
and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23) as well as,
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honesty, integrity and reverence, tolerance, understanding and trust,
friendliness, listening and respect.
Principles of our life together include:
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consistency with our Wesleyan tradition. We will be guided by scripture,
tradition, reason and experience in matters of faith and practice,
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taking seriously our connectional responsibilities as opportunities to be
in mission,
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modeling a life together based on love rather than fear.
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