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| Our Beliefs at Resurrection Lutheran Church What ELCA Lutherans Believe
Our Mission Resurrection Lutheran Church exists to:  Invite people into the body of ChristIgnite passionate growth in faithExcite believers for lives of service Our Vision With our vision we look outward to where God Calls us: Communities claimed and empowered by God for hope and wholeness. What do we mean by this? Communities ... It is not simply this worshiping body that we are speaking about. It is any community that we belong to: our workplace, our school, our neighborhood, our town, our state, our nation, our world. God's vision is that whatever community we belong to will be transformed. Communities claimed and empowered by God ... As God claims our communities, so God empowers them. When we open ourselves to see God's presence and God's purpose, we understand our role and responsibility within God's design. We know God's Spirit within us that enlightens us and strengthens us for the role. And we know that we only function fully as all others function fully. Communities claimed and empowered by God for hope ... We then ask and seek what is God's purpose and intention is for our communities. Why is hope important? Because we live in a world that is covered by fear and despair. We feel lost and without purpose. And yet, we are called by God in faith and in hope: "The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It's our handle on what we can't see" (Hebrews 11:1-2, The Message). As a member described hope to me it is by hope that we are drawn back from the edge of despair so that we can have the opportunity for other things, things that are not currently ... but that God can call into existence ... and by faith we live there. We are called to live out God's hope, be a sign of God's hope, a witness to God's hope. Communities claimed and empowered by God for hope and wholeness. Similarly, we are called to wholeness. We are called to wholeness, because whether broken or simply incomplete, we know that we ourselves and our communities are not experienced as fully as God wishes. The journey that God takes us on from brokenness or incompleteness to wholeness covers many parts of our lives. Our personal lives of mind, body, and spirit are incomplete or broken, and we are called to a wholeness in which healing and forgiveness take place. Our relationships are incomplete and broken, and we are called to a wholeness of maturity, forgiveness, and reconciliation. Our communities are incomplete or broken, and we are called to a wholeness of justice and peace. Wholeness speaks of healing. Wholeness speaks of health. Wholeness speaks of maturity and growth. Wholeness speaks of God's purpose in Jesus Christ, restoring us and our communities to himself, and empowering us to spread that wholeness throughout our world. There is a gap between where we are now and the vision that lies before us. There will always be a gap because a vision always calls us beyond ourselves. Yet, we pray to God for guidance, and we work together as the Body of Christ, the Church, to work toward that vision. And we reach together for that vision, inviting others along for the journey, igniting a passionate growth of faith within and among us, and exiting ourselves and others for lives of service to our God and to our world. Our Values Valuing people by building communityServing others and working for a just Church, Community and World Empowering discipleship and spreading the good newsGrowing our children, youth and adults to be fully devoted disciplesNurturing the spirit through worship, word, prayer, music, and sacramentBeing challenged to be the people God wants us to be
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