We are members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).
Our church is a creedal church, meaning we appreciate the Christians who came before us and struggled with the question, “What do we believe?”
The three Creeds of the church that shape our faith are: the Apostles’ Creed, the Nicene Creed and the Athanasian Creed. The first was/is a statement of faith made at baptism; the second an ancient statement about the nature of Jesus; the third a later statement about what we mean by calling God, The Trinity.
We are also Lutheran Christians. This means we were the first Protestants, but stayed close to the catholic church. In many ways, we have a foot in each world. Our liturgy and practice reveal a lot of our catholic character. Our church structure and use of the Bible reveals a lot of our protestant character.
Finally, when we teach the faith we generally ask three questions:
What to believe? What to do? How to pray?
Our three answers to these questions are:
The Apostles’ Creed. The 10 Commandments. The Lord’s Prayer.
This is what shapes our life here at Grace.