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What We Believe:
- We hold in common with all Christians a faith in the mystery of salvation in and through Jesus Christ.
- We share the Christian belief that God’s redemptive love is realized in human life by the activity of the Holy Spirit, both in personal experience and in the community of believers.
- We understand ourselves to be a part of Christ’s universal church when by adoration, proclamation, and service we become conformed to Christ.
- With other Christians we recognize that the reign of God is both a present and a future reality.
- We share with many Christians the recognition of the authority of Scripture in matters of faith, the confession that our justification as sinners is by grace through faith, and the sober realization that the church is in need of continual reformation and renewal.
As Wesleyans, we assert that God’s grace is manifest in all creation even though suffering, violence, and evil are everywhere present. The goodness of creation is fulfilled in human beings who are called into covenant partnership with God. God has endowed us with dignity and freedom and has summoned us to responsibility for our lives and the life of the world. In God’s self-revelation, Jesus Christ, we see the splendor of our true humanity. Even in our sin, with its’ destructive consequences for all creation, does not alter God’s intention for us – holiness and happiness of heart. Nor does it diminish our accountability for the way we live. Despite our brokenness, we remain creatures brought into being by a just and merciful God. The restoration of God’s image in our lives requires divine grace to renew our fallen image.
(From 2008 Book of Discipline; pp. 43-46)