This is the week of the General Synod. The church will be making profound decisions that will alter the nature of the church for years to come. It is a time when people who in the Spirit of Jesus will have spoken truth to power. There was an established way of doing things but conditions changed and there is a debate upon how to respond. This has been ever true in the journey of the church. All Saints supports a Progressive Vision of Christianity.
A Progressive vision is the inspiration that God’s Love as expressed by Jesus is timeless and inclusive. As new issues emerge, we as Christians as people of the new creation must respond, modelling our response upon the ministry of Jesus as reflected in the Gospels and in the Book of Acts.
Progressive Emergent Christianity is often defined as: 1) a Conserving of the values of dynamic love, compassion and reconciliation as expressed by Jesus; 2) having courage to challenge established ways of doing in the light of current affairs and new knowledge as builders of social justice for all; 3) reaching out to the marginalized; 4) including all instead of “othering” and “out casting” ; 5) sensitive to new knowledge and incorporate this into our journey of faith recognizing that the first word of God is creation and that the bible is an inspired human product.
The hallmarks of this definition are eight fold. We are going to explore them all in the weeks to come: 1. Belief that following the path and teachings of Jesus can lead to an awareness and experience of the Sacred and the Oneness and Unity of all life; 2. Affirming that the teachings of Jesus provide but one of many ways to experience the Sacredness and Oneness of life, and that we can draw from diverse sources of wisdom in our spiritual journey; 3. Seeking community that is inclusive of ALL people, including but not limited to: Conventional Christians and questioning skeptics, Believers and agnostics, Women and men, Those of all sexual orientations and gender identities, Those of all classes and abilities; 4. Knowing that the way we behave towards one another is the fullest expression of what we believe; 5. Finding grace in the search for understanding and believe there is more value in questioning than in absolutes; 6. Striving for peace and justice among all people; 7. Striving to protect and restore the integrity of our Earth; 8. Committing to a path of life-long learning, compassion, and selfless love.
