What We Believe
Statement of Inclusion
Garden Street United Methodist Church extends to all the hand of friendship and faith, believing every person is of sacred worth. We commit ourselves to the hospitality Jesus taught, by creating a place of safety and spiritual sanctuary for people in all stages of their faith journey.
We are enriched by people of all economic or social conditions, gender identities, sexual orientations, political affiliations, biblical interpretations, ages, racial or ethnic backgrounds, mental or physical conditions, and family structures.
We gather for worship, study, and fellowship and we disperse to spread God’s love in the community. As we move toward a church of full inclusion, we will continue to engage with one another and celebrate our similarities and differences. We encourage ourselves and challenge our denomination to truly embrace “Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors.
--adopted April 2009
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Our Mission
Our Shared Values
As a Christian community, we value:
- the love of God for each of us and the duty of sharing our experience of that love.
- being well-grounded in the content and practice of the Christian faith and our Weslyan heritage and its Biblical foundations.
- being a church in which clergy and laity work together in ways that nurture, energize, and empower one another.
- the uniqueness and worthiness of every person.
- relationships built on integrity, honesty, and respect for all God’s people.
- cooperation with community groups which are involved in activities that are expressions of God’s love.
- being open to new methods and practices that may challenge us, and that may lead to spiritual growth and/or change.
- Christian justice, just solutions, and living out our understanding of God’s way for us.