You matter to God.

 

At Living Grace, we have no ulterior agenda for your life. Come as you are, wherever you are, on your spiritual journey. Through you, God makes a one of a kind impact in the world. God is not mad at you, and we, as a church, are not mad at the world.

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The life and teachings of Jesus are our central reference point. 

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We are of the Christian religion and Lutheran tradition. Therefore, we focus on the words and actions of Jesus to find meaning for our lives. The main purpose of the scriptures is to point us to Christ, his teachings and how he lived as the Son of God. His is our inspiration as we live as sons and daughters of God as well. His words take priority in our preaching and devotional life.

 

Even though we identify as Christians, we also deeply value and respect the human longing for connecting with the ineffable that is present in other spiritual and religious traditions.

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Practicing faith leads to spiritual growth. 

 

We believe that faith is not only believed but, more importantly, practiced. We value personally connecting with God instead of simply thinking correct thoughts about God. Faith is less of an intellectual assent to points of doctrine, and more of a worldview that informs how we live and interact with God's world. Our faith and spirituality impact how we think, feel, decide, and act.  Quiet meditative prayer time and reading relevant parts of the Bible are important practices of a Christian. 

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We act with generosity without expectation of reward. 

 

We believe that helping others, as individuals and as a church, without expectation of reward or recognition, is the purest form of spiritual service. We work together to finically support organizations that are making a positive impact in people’s lives. We want to give people the opportunity to be generous in ways they would have never dreamed of if it wasn’t for our church. However, we believe, at its deepest level, the best and most effective church “outreach project” is you being inspired to show spontaneous compassion and generosity in your daily interactions with others.

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We courageously embrace the mystery of life and faith.

It is our goal to let “God be God” and not think we have a corner on defining the mystery of the divine. God transcends all of our names, metaphors and even doctrines about God. We are not afraid to ask hard theological questions, follow our consciences, and reflect critically about the beliefs we have about ourselves and the world.  Embracing an evolving world with dynamic faith, hope and love is what we are called to do.

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Connecting with others personally, in community, is a central part of our Christian experience.

 

In a world that increasingly pushes people towards what is  individualistic and personal, we believe that real, face-to-face connections with other people matter. People can find value in forming relationships outside the circle of their family, workplace, or friends on social media. That’s why gathering as a community on a regular basis is a high value of ours. In a world of mass media and “big box” churches, we believe we are called to be a place of personal, human interactions, even if those interactions may be messy at times.

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We live with simplicity. 

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We are a simple church. We don’t want to be a church that is cluttered with physical items, programs and activities that distract us from living our identity as followers of Jesus and practicing our faith. When we focus on doing the basics well, like worship, prayer, generosity, and practicing our faith, we will make a greater impact in the world and live in freedom. Also, we encourage people to live lives of simplicity to ease our collective burden on the gift of God’s wonderful creation.