Progressive
Fear not, for God will be unto us a helper, a mariner, and a pilot. May God do unto us his servants and his little vessel as he willeth.
- Saint Brendan
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Saint Brendan's is progressive
Saint Brendan's is a community that is non-dogmatic. It does not take the approach that there is only one correct or orthodox way to believe, or that there are a particular set of principles or doctrines which must be believed in order to obtain good standing with God. Therefore the information which follows should be understood as reflecting the general character and spirituality of our community, and not as articles that set forth belief requirements.
Saint Brendan's is a community guided by a progressive spirituality. This means that, in general, we are people who:
One of the components of our community's progressive spirituality is that of universalism. This means that, in general:
In connection with our progressive spirituality, it is worth noting that although Saint Brendan's is rooted in the Celtic Christian tradition, its members do not generally consider all Christian and Pagan ideals to be mutually exclusive. Rather, Saint Brendan's synthesizes these two approaches to spirituality.
Some have asked if we are a Christian church. Others have asked if we are a Druid grove. We simply answer, "Yes."
Saint Brendan's is a community guided by a progressive spirituality. This means that, in general, we are people who:
- Have found an approach to God through the life and teachings of Jesus
- Recognize the faithfulness of other people who have other names for the way to God's realm, and acknowledge that their ways are true for them, as our ways are true for us
- Understand that the sharing of bread and wine in Jesus' name to be a representation of an ancient vision of God's feast for all peoples
- Invite all people to participate in our community and worship life without insisting that they become like us in order to be acceptable (including but not limited to):
- believers and agnostics, conventional Christians and questioning skeptics, women and men, those of all sexual orientations and gender identities, those of all races and cultures, those of all classes and abilities, those who hope for a better world and those who have lost hope
- Know that the way we behave toward one another and toward other people is the fullest expression of what we believe
- Find more grace in the search for understanding than we do in dogmatic certainty - more value in questioning than in absolutes
- Form ourselves into communities dedicated to equipping one another for the work we feel called to do: striving for peace and justice among all people, protecting and restoring the integrity of all God's creation, and bringing hope to those Jesus called the least of his sisters and brothers.
- Recognize that being followers of Jesus is costly, and entails selfless love, conscientious resistance to evil, and renunciation of privilege.
One of the components of our community's progressive spirituality is that of universalism. This means that, in general:
- We believe in a God who is Love, Light, and Spirit, the Creator of the universe, whom we are called to seek, know, and love; and whose nature was revealed to the world in the person and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ.
- We believe that the universal commandment is to love and serve one another as each loves oneself.
- We believe in the law of justice by which actions generate consequences, whether to be manifested in this life or in the life to come.
- We believe in the ultimate triumph of divine mercy and grace: that no being ever created will be condemned or allowed to suffer forever, but God has arranged through a benevolent plan of learning and growth for all souls to attain salvation, reconciliation, restoration, and reunion with the Source of All Being, in the fullness of the ages.
- We believe every person is the divine offspring of God, created in the image of the Heavenly Parent of all; and that every person is destined to be raised up from imperfection to maturity according to the pattern of the archetypal Christ, the Son of God, the Perfect Human in whose image all humanity shall be transformed.
- We believe in miracles and mysterious spiritual phenomena, such as the resurrection of Jesus Christ, which transform materialistic views of reality.
- We believe that God's Holy Spirit has inspired numerous prophets, saints, philosophers, and mystics throughout history, in a variety of cultures and traditions; and that by reading the Bible and other great texts of spiritual and moral wisdom with a discerning mind, and meditating to connect to the Spirit within, we may all gain a greater understanding of truth, which should be applied for the betterment of ourselves and our world.
In connection with our progressive spirituality, it is worth noting that although Saint Brendan's is rooted in the Celtic Christian tradition, its members do not generally consider all Christian and Pagan ideals to be mutually exclusive. Rather, Saint Brendan's synthesizes these two approaches to spirituality.
Some have asked if we are a Christian church. Others have asked if we are a Druid grove. We simply answer, "Yes."
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