Here are the next two Affirmations along with scripture (links are
active). We will be reflecting on these during worship this Sunday.
Please leave your reactions in comments, particularly if you won't be
present on Sunday to share them in person. Comments may be used in
worship.
LOVING OURSELVES INCLUDES:
Affirmation 11: Caring
for our bodies, and insisting on taking time to enjoy the benefits of
prayer, reflection, worship and recreation in addition to work;
Exodus 5:4-8; 1 Corinthians6:19; 1 Thessalonians 5:16-19
As Christians, we strive to
embrace and embody ways of living that promote the health of the
body, the joy of living, and the benefits attained when work is
combined with rest and recreation, reflection and prayer. We do this
for our sake, for the sake of others, for the sake of the earth, and
for the sake of Christ.
We affirm that the Path of Jesus
is found where Christ's followers care for their bodies as temples of
the holy, and take time to pray and play, to worship, and to reflect,
as essential parts of their vocation.
We confess that we have moved
away from this Path when we have supported the ethics of Pharaoh over
the ethics of God by promoting systems of production and consumption
without attending to the disciplines of rest and recreation,
reflection and prayer. We have further moved from the Path when we
have denigrated or abused our bodies, or those of others, or denied
the rights and responsibilities of others to make decisions about how
they care for the bodies God gave them.
Affirmation 12: Acting
on the faith that we are born with a meaning and purpose; a vocation
and ministry that serves to strengthen and extend God's realm of
love.
Jeremiah 1:5; Luke 5:15-16;
Romans 12:4-8; 1 Corinthians 12:4-31
As Christians, we practice prayer
as a daily discipline, seeking in prayer both to enjoy God's presence
and to discern God's will for our lives and our faith communities. We
accept it as one of our highest responsibilities and privileges to
help those in our communities of faith discern God's direction for
their lives, and to celebrate and value their discernment in the
worship and missional life of the church. In every available way, we
seek to help people develop and use their diverse callings as an
expression of their faith.
We affirm that the Path of Jesus
is found where all of Christ's followers are understood to be called
into a ministry. God's intention for us can be found and followed,
however haltingly and imperfectly, in obedience to the guidance and
insights, which come in prayer. We hold this conviction to be true of
the Church as well as of each of its members.
We confess that we have moved
away from this Path when we have claimed that one form of ministry is
any higher or more sacred than any other, in or outside a church
Further, we have moved from the Path when we have failed to
concretely value meaningful input and participation by both laypeople
and clergy in the worship and mission of our communities.
Here are the next two Affirmations along with scripture (links are active). We will be reflecting on these during worship this Sunday. Please leave your reactions in comments, particularly if you won't be present on Sunday to share them in person. Comments may be used in worship.
LOVING OURSELVES INCLUDES:
Affirmation 9: Basing our lives on the faith that, in Christ, all things are made new, and that we, and all people, are loved beyond our wildest imagination —for eternity;
Psalm 22:27-29; Psalm 23:4-6;Psalm 139:7-12; John 3:16-17; Romans 14:7-11; Philippians 1:20-26
As Christians, we bear witness to, and nurture faith in, all persons who are hungry for, or open to the revelation, love, and salvation of God in Christ. We do not seek to evangelize those who have no desire to explore the Christian Path.We trust, rather, that God's love, grace and invitation, has been,and will be, revealed in other paths, witnesses and times.
We affirm that the Path of Jesus is found where Christ's followers are continually discovering, and rediscovering that they — and all people — are loved beyond their wildest imagination, and they determine to live their lives according to this discovery. We find in this discovery and surrender the very essence of salvation, which is a process, not an end-point, within an eternal journey.
We confess that we have moved away from this Path whenever we have denied God's love for all people, or have denied the effectiveness of God's eternal will that all be saved. We have moved further from Christ's path when we have not actively born witness to God's love and grace with those who seek it.
Affirmation 10:Claiming the sacredness of both our minds and our hearts, recognizing that faith and science, doubt and belief serve the pursuit of truth;
Proverbs 1:20-22; 1Corinthians 3:18-19; 1 Corinthians 14:15
As Christians, we seek to develop intellectually as sincerely as we seek emotional development. We further seek to clarify that the truths contained in Scripture are not conveyed primarily through scientific revelations, but through wisdom which may be gleaned frequently in story and song, symbol and parable.
We affirm that the Path of Jesus is found where Christ's followers value the pursuit of wisdom, which is found at the intersection of head and heart, where God seeks relationship with the human soul.
We confess that we have moved away from this Path when we have denied either the role of the mind,or that of the heart, in the seeking of wisdom. Further, we have moved off the Path when we have denigrated the role of doubt or pursuit of scientific knowledge as if they were enemies rather than allies of faith.
