The Potter's House UCC

Statement of Faith

We are Christians

We do not find our identity in a general notion of a deity but rather in the concrete manifestation of Jesus of Nazareth, who, by the power of the Holy Spirit, we confess as the Christ. We find in the message of Jesus the Good News of God’s love and care for all creation. We humbly declare ourselves disciples, followers, of this same Jesus. Yet we recognize and acknowledge that we are disciples who are, by no means, in a state of spiritual perfection. Rather we are pilgrims on a journey. We affirm the classical confessions of Christendom, not as a litmus test for orthodoxy, but as the historical trail of the many diverse communities who have confessed Jesus as the Christ.

We are people with a vision

Having seen the power of the Jesus story at work in our lives, we desire to tell that story to others. While we seek the healing and forgiveness of all people, we see our special mission as ministering to those who have, for a number of different reasons, come to understand the Good News of Jesus’ gospel as bad news. Therefore, in the face of cynicism, despair, isolation and misunderstanding we seek to bear witness to the hope, reconciliation, justice and compassion of God. We believe this vision is best nurtured in the life and context of a community of worship and responsibility.

We are people with a social conscience

While we affirm the classical confessions of the faith, we do so in full knowledge of the genuinely disturbing political associations of Christianity that history so amply exhibits. Thus we are a people who believe that acts of violence and oppression are not the necessary effect of Christian beliefs, but severely grave distortions of God’s love for all of creation. We believe that the proper preaching of the Scriptures and the right administration of the Sacraments are powerful resources in our day-to-day struggles for peace, justice, and compassion.

We are free to draw upon a variety of worship expressions

Aware that the understanding of our faith will never burst the bounds of our culture, and affirming that human creativity is a gift from God, we embrace forms of worship that draw upon the most creative artistic venues. We incorporate elements of Christian worship from a vast variety of traditions, including Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, Reformed, and the free-church tradition.

We are committed to the arts

We affirm the value of art both as a means of exploring and expressing the Christian faith as well as a confirmation of the goodness of creation. We believe that art is to be celebrated, whether or not it is self-consciously Christian.

We are committed to a team concept of pastoral leadership

We uphold the value of community over conquest, of cooperation instead of competition. Therefore we affirm a vision of shared leadership which places a team rather than a head minister in a position of leadership.

We are a Church, a part of the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church

We affirm the divine directive by which Jesus commissions the Church to proclaim the Word of God. We affirm the New Testament image of the Church as an assembly of worship, instruction and edification, and a concrete agent of solidarity and service in the face of the needs of human society. While we affirm that the Church is a chosen people, we understand this calling to be one, not for prestige and domination, but for service to others. We believe the Church exists not for its own sake, but for the sake of the world.

Statement of Values

Christian Commitment
While we honor and affirm the diverse variety of religious expressions, we find our identity and our reason for being in the particular/peculiar story of Jesus of Nazareth, who, through the power of the Holy Spirit, we identify with God.

Intellectual Honesty
The Potter’s House seeks to create a place where questions are encouraged, where you’ll never be handed a checklist of orthodoxy, and where ambiguity is not the enemy of faith but its partner.

Inclusion
The Potter’s House strives to incubate racial, ethnic, gender, sexual, and class diversity. We are an inclusive faith community that welcomes and affirms everyone who seeks a deeper relationship with Christ, regardless of where they are in their faith journey.

Ecumenism
While we appreciate the energy and creativity of the free church tradition, we reject its isolation from other parts of the larger body of believers. Though the roots of The Potter’s House are in the free-church tradition, we seek to embrace and incorporate diverse and creative elements and styles of worship that have been thoughtfully and carefully drawn from a variety of traditions.

Evangelism
The Greek word for “gospel” describes the four stories of Jesus in the Bible. “Gospel” simply means “good news.” We believe the Jesus story is, first and last, good news. We seek to recover the proclamation of this good news. We reject any and all shameful, guilt-inducing or manipulative means for gaining allegiance to the church.

Social Justice
The gospel of Jesus Christ means liberation for the poor and oppressed, healing for the broken and hurting, and peace and justice for all people. In light of God’s love for all creation, we seek to foster and cooperate with acts of goodness and visions for justice in our church, in our community, locally and beyond.

The Arts
We affirm the value of art both as a means of exploring and expressing the Christian faith as well as a confirmation of the goodness of creation. We believe art is to be celebrated, regardless of whether it is self-consciously Christian or not.

Self-critique
We reserve the right to be humble but rigorous critics of the distortions of the larger church, both in its contemporary forms and historically.

Shared Leadership
We reject the notion that we need a single, authoritative pastoral leader. We trust in the possibility that leadership can come from a team of pastoral leaders.

Do-It-Yourself-ism
Having our origins in the vision “let’s start a new church,” we seek to foster creativity and vision in all who associate and affiliate with us.