An Affirmation of Faith

 

(For use as a prologue to worship, or as an alternative to the Nicene Creed, or as a hand-out for visitors. May be used in sections at intervals during the service. May be spoken antiphonally.)

 

We are a community of faith.

 

We share a vision of God:

a God whose spirit is love,

accessible to all yet beyond our knowing,

 

                the source of all being,

the way leading to wholeness,

the spirit which pervades everything.

 

We search for the meaning of God and our own experience

revealed in those sacred stories which have been passed down to us.

We tell them again and again:

 

Of God the Creator, the Almighty,

who made everything that is,

and saw that it was good.

 

Of Jesus of Nazareth, who in history lived among us,

healed the afflicted, taught, suffered and died.

He forgave those who crucified him.

In the mystery of the resurrection

he continues to live more profoundly through the ages,

the Incarnation of Love, the Christ,

to whom his disciples have responded “My Lord and my God!”

                He shows us the Way which leads

                to the reconciliation of all things, saying

                “Whatever you do for the least of these, you do for me.”

                It is the Way of love, compassion, justice, forgiveness and peace.

 

Of the Spirit, the Breath, the Wind of God,

the Giver of Life, the Holy Wisdom,

who inspires the people of God

                to cry out for justice for the powerless and oppressed,

to see the presence of God in every created thing,

                and to respond with love.

 

Of the communion of saints: all the people of God,

living, dead and yet to be born,

who are empowered to recognize that they are,

and always have been,

brothers and sisters,

one family in God.

 

We are reborn in the Spirit,

followers of that Way shown by Jesus:

               

to love God with our whole being;

to love our neighbors as ourselves;

to treat others as we would have them treat us;

to strive for justice and peace;

to have respect and compassion for every person

and for the whole of creation;

to forgive those who do us harm;

to love one another as Christ has loved us.

 

We journey together on this Way

towards reconciliation with the whole creation.

We break bread together and pray together.

We reach out to one another

for strength beyond our own.

 

This is our community. This is our faith.

 

(St. John’s-Grace Episcopal Church, May 2005)

 

 

The following version of An Affirmation of Faith has been divided into sections for use at the suggested points, or other points, in the Eucharistic service.

 

 

 

Section I. – Beginning of Service – A Vision of God

 

We are a community of faith.

 

We share a vision of God:

a God whose spirit is love,

accessible to all yet beyond our knowing,

 

                the source of all being,

the way leading to wholeness,

the spirit which pervades everything.

 

Section II. – After the Sermon – The Sacred Story

               

We search for the meaning of God and our own experience

revealed in those sacred stories which have been passed down to us.

We tell them again and again:

 

Of God the Creator, the Almighty,

who made everything that is,

and saw that it was good.

 

Of Jesus of Nazareth, who in history lived among us,

healed the afflicted, taught, suffered and died.

He forgave those who crucified him.

In the mystery of the resurrection

he continues to live more profoundly through the ages,

the Incarnation of Love, the Christ,

to whom his disciples have responded “My Lord and my God!”

                He shows us the Way which leads

                to the reconciliation of all things, saying

                “Whatever you do for the least of these, you do for me.”

                It is the Way of love, compassion, justice, forgiveness and peace.

 

Of the Spirit, the Breath, the Wind of God,

the Giver of Life, the Holy Wisdom,

who inspires the people of God

                to cry out for justice for the powerless and oppressed,

to see the presence of God in every created thing,

                and to respond with love.

 

Of the communion of saints: all the people of God,

living, dead and yet to be born,

who are empowered to recognize that they are,

and always have been,

brothers and sisters,

one family in God.

 

Section III. – Post Communion – The Way of Jesus

 

We are reborn in the Spirit,

followers of that Way shown by Jesus:

               

to love God with our whole being;

to love our neighbors as ourselves;

to treat others as we would have them treat us;

to strive for justice and peace;

to have respect and compassion for every person

and for the whole of creation;

to forgive those who do us harm;

to love one another as Christ has loved us.

 

Section IV. – Dismissal – The Journey Together

 

We journey together on this Way

towards reconciliation with the whole creation.

We break bread together and pray together.

We reach out to one another

for strength beyond our own.

 

This is our community. This is our faith.

 

 

An Affirmation of Faith can also be read antiphonally by line.