“We Believe…”
We say these words together each week when we pray the Nicene Creed. The fact that our “belief statement” is made as a prayer (an active, listening and growing conversation with God) is a strong clue to the way we follow Jesus in the Episcopal Church. Our ancient creedal statement of faith delves into the mystery of God’s redemptive work, and Christians across the world continue to affirm it today:
We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth,...
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God,...
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life...
Book of Common Prayer (BCP) p. 358-59.
St. Andrew’s is an Episcopal Church in the wider Diocese of New Hampshire and a member of the world-wide Anglican Communion. We are a church rooted in the “Gospel”—the good news—of God’s love and grace made known in Jesus Christ. The mystery of this faith can be plumbed to unfathomable depths yet can be summed up in the simple proclamation: “Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again.” (BCP p. 363).
At the core of this gospel truth is the reality that God loves you — no exceptions.
We are part of God’s One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church.
As Anglicans we look to the Holy Scriptures as “the revealed word of God” that “contain all things necessary to salvation.” (BCP p. 877). This does not mean we all agree about everything or that we all experience God the same way. Rather, we walk together to honestly explore and wonder in the mystery of God, worshiping in unity with Christians across time, connected through the Creeds, the Historic Episcopate (bishops who trace their ministry to the early Church), and the union we have with Christ and each other in the Sacraments of the Church.
We believe through prayer.
Our worship is rooted in the Book of Common Prayer, which emerged during the Protestant Reformation and preserves ancient forms of Christian worship. In this, our faith is informed by the insights of the Protestant reformers while maintaining the ancient Catholic and Orthodox faith. In worship we pray our faith together and, in so doing, encounter God and mature in faith.
Our faith is sacramental.
We embody and affirm our faith through Baptism and in our Baptismal Covenant. Each week, God meets us tangibly in the Eucharist (also called Communion or the Lord’s Supper), a shared sacrificial meal of bread and wine where we remember and recognize Jesus, sharing together in the Body and Blood of Christ—his life, death, and resurrection—until his coming again.
Our faith is active, working toward peace, justice and reconciliation.
In the Nicene Creed we affirm our faith in one God who creates, redeems, and reconciles all things through Jesus. More than an intellectual affirmation, this is something we seek to participate in and live out in community. As we promise at Baptism, in faith we endeavor to “seek and serve Christ in all persons,” to “love our neighbor as ourselves,” and to “strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being.” (BCP p. 305).
All this is reflected in our parish motto, which draws from the example of the disciples who walked together on the road to Emmaus where they encountered the risen Jesus. So we live out our faith by:
Walking Together. Recognizing Jesus. Practicing Resurrection.
