Philosophy

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=65 BGCOLOR="#333366" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="00b00410dkcfsz.gif"> <div> <B>Community United Church of Christ</B></div> <div> <A HREF="default.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Community United Church of Christ"><U>Home Page</U></A>   |   <A HREF="about_us.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="About Us"><U>About Us</U></A>   |   <A HREF="resources.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Resources"><U>Resources</U></A>   |   <A HREF="newsletter.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Newsletter"><U>Newsletter</U></A>   |   <A HREF="day_care_center.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Day Care Center"><U>Day Care Center</U></A>   |   <A HREF="sunday_bulletin.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Sunday Bulletin"><U>Sunday Bulletin</U></A>   |   <A HREF="contact_us.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Contact Us"><U>Contact Us</U></A>   |   <A HREF="still_speaking.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="God is Still Speaking"><U>Still Speaking</U></A>   |   <A HREF="bill_johnson_s_media_packet.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Bill Johnsons Media Packet"><U>Bill Johnson's Media Packet</U></A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=155 BGCOLOR="#333366" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <A HREF="our_pastor.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Our Pastor"><U>Our Pastor</U></A></div> <div> <B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700c8ffff3300.gif" HEIGHT="13" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Philosophy</B></div> <div> <A HREF="location.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Location"><U>Location</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="activities.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Activities"><U>Activities</U></A></div> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" height=415 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B>Philosophy Overview and Statements of Faith</B></div> <div> <I>The San Carlos Community Church accepts and embraces a variety of statements of faith and philosophy ranging from the historical and poetic to the modern. The following represents a small sample. Feel free to visit</I><I><B> </B></I><A HREF="http://www.ucc.org" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.ucc.org"><U><B>www.ucc.org</B></U></A><B> </B><I>for a more complete selection of the philosophical diversity welcomed by UCC churches.</I></div> <div> <B> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="3" WIDTH="459" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 477 WIDTH="221"><div> <B>Community United Church of Christ of San Carlos, Statement of Faith</B> </div> <div> "Community United Church of Christ is a progressive Christian gathering, serving God and humanity by sharing God's good news, emboding Christ's loving acceptance and working together for social and environmental wholeness."</div> <bR> <div> "We are an open and affirming congregation valuing everyone's race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, age, class, physical and mental ability.  God's love knows no bound."</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="221"><div> <B>Faith</B> </div> <div> The United Church of Christ embraces a theological heritage that affirms the Bible as the authoritative witness to the Word of God, the creeds of the ecumenical councils, and the confessions of the Reformation. The UCC has roots in the "covenantal" tradition—meaning there is no centralized authority or hierarchy that can impose any doctrine or form of worship on its members. Christ alone is Head of the church. We seek a balance between freedom of conscience and accountability to the apostolic faith. The UCC therefore receives the historic creeds and confessions of our ancestors as testimonies, but not tests of the faith. Here are some of those testimonies</div> <bR> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 1009 WIDTH="221"><div> <B>United Church of Christ Statement of Faith—original version</B> </div> <div> We believe in God, the Eternal Spirit, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ and our Father, and to his deeds we testify:</div> <div> He calls the worlds into being, creates man in his own image and sets before him the ways of life and death. </div> <div> He seeks in holy love to save all people from aimlessness and sin. </div> <div> He judges men and nations by his righteous will declared through prophets and apostles. </div> <div> In Jesus Christ, the man of Nazareth, our crucified and risen Lord,he has come to us and shared our common lot, conquering sin and death and reconciling the world to himself. </div> <div> He bestows upon us his Holy Spirit, creating and renewing the church of Jesus Christ, binding in covenant faithful people of all ages, tongues, and races. </div> <div> He calls us into his church to accept the cost and joy of discipleship, to be his servants in the service of men, to proclaim the gospel to all the world and resist the powers of evil, to share in Christ's baptism and eat at his table, to join him in his passion and victory. </div> <div> He promises to all who trust him forgiveness of sins and fullness of grace, courage in the struggle for justice and peace, his presence in trial and rejoicing, and eternal life in his kingdom which has no end. </div> <div> Blessing and honor, glory and power be unto him. </div> <div> Amen. </div> <bR> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="221"><div> <B>United Church of Christ Statement of Faith—adapted by Robert V. Moss</B> </div> <div> We believe in God, the Eternal Spirit, who is made known to us in Jesus our brother, and to whose deeds we testify: </div> <div> God calls the worlds into being, creates humankind in the divine image, and sets before us the ways of life and death. </div> <div> God seeks in holy love to save all people from aimlessness and sin. </div> <div> God judges all humanity and all nations by that will of righteousness declared through prophets and apostles. </div> <div> In Jesus Christ, the man of Nazareth, our crucified and risen Lord,God has come to us and shared our common lot, conquering sin and death and reconciling the whole creation to its Creator. </div> <div> God bestows upon us the Holy Spirit, creating and renewing the church of Jesus Christ, binding in covenant faithful people of all ages, tongues, and races. </div> <div> God calls us into the church to accept the cost and joy of discipleship, to be servants in the service of the whole human family, to proclaim the gospel to all the world and resist the powers of evil, to share in Christ's baptism and eat at his table,to join him in his passion and victory. </div> <div> God promises to all who trust in the gospel forgiveness of sins and fullness of grace, courage in the struggle for justice and peace,the presence of the Holy Spirit in trial and rejoicing, and eternal life in that kingdom which has no end. </div> <div> Blessing and honor, glory and power be unto God. </div> <div> Amen.</div> <bR> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 531 WIDTH="447"><div> <B>United Church of Christ Statement of Faith in the form of a doxology</B> </div> <div> We believe in you, O God, Eternal Spirit, God of our Savior Jesus Christ and our God, and to your deeds we testify: </div> <div> You call the worlds into being, create persons in your own image,and set before each one the ways of life and death. </div> <div> You seek in holy love to save all people from aimlessness and sin. </div> <div> You judge people and nations by your righteous will declared through prophets and apostles. </div> <div> In Jesus Christ, the man of Nazareth, our crucified and risen Savior, you have come to us and shared our common lot, conquering sin and death and reconciling the world to yourself. </div> <div> You bestow upon us your Holy Spirit, creating and renewing the church of Jesus Christ, binding in covenant faithful people of all ages, tongues, and races. </div> <div> You call us into your church to accept the cost and joy of discipleship, to be your servants in the service of others, to proclaim the gospel to all the world and resist the powers of evil,to share in Christ's baptism and eat at his table, to join him in his passion and victory. </div> <div> You promise to all who trust you forgiveness of sins and fullness of grace, courage in the struggle for justice and peace, your presence in trial and rejoicing, and eternal life in your realm which has no end. </div> <div> Blessing and honor, glory and power be unto you. </div> <div> Amen. </div> <bR> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></B></div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>