“With believers in every time and place, we rejoice that nothing in life or in death can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
– Excerpt from The Brief Statement of Faith of the Presbyterian Church (USA)
Southminster Presbyterian Church is called to be an open and affirming community, celebrating God’s love by seeking a caring and just society. There is a place for you here! As an active congregation of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and the Snake River Presbytery:
- We believe in the sovereignty of the Triune God, who we know as Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer – and who continues to create and sustain the universe out of love. Because God is the source of all that exists, what we discover through science and reason deepens rather than threatens our faith.
- We believe in Jesus Christ, God’s Son, who proclaimed the good news of the gospel and offered himself as the means of salvation for the world.
- We believe that the Bible is essential to our faith and that God’s Spirit continues to illuminate our understanding of Scripture. We take the Bible seriously – reading it through the lens of Christ’s life and teachings – while recognizing that some passages reflect the assumptions of ancient cultures rather than the fullness of God’s revelation.
- We believe that our salvation through Jesus is God’s generous gift to us, and not the result of our own accomplishments or works.
- We believe that God is present with us in every season of life – rejoicing with us in moments of joy and accompanying us through grief, uncertainty, and struggle. God’s Spirit strengthens us when we are weak, offers hope when we despair, and calls us toward justice and wholeness.
- We believe that all that we have and all that we are are gifts from God, and we respond with gratitude as we seek to live as Christ’s faithful disciples.
- We believe that the church is called in its ministries to “do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God.” (Micah 6:8)
- We believe in the “Priesthood of all Believers,” which means that all of us – clergy and laypeople alike – are called to share the Good News of God’s Love with the world.
- We believe that God calls us to care for the earth and all living things. As stewards of creation, we take seriously our responsibility to tend and protect this planet – and we recognize that environmental justice is inseparable from our call to love our neighbors.
- We believe that the church is called to be a community of faith that represents our unity in Christ even as we celebrate human diversity as a gift from God. Therefore, all people are welcome in the life, membership, and leadership of our congregation regardless of race, gender, social status, nationality, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, or any other distinctions that exist within our world.
To explore Presbyterian belief and theology in more detail, click here.
The Call to Covenant Community
Southminster Presbyterian Church is a proud member of the Covenant Network of Presbyterians, and our pastor, Rev. TJ Remaley, serves on its board of directors. Confident in God’s hopeful future and grateful for the ever-widening welcome of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), the Covenant Network of Presbyterians seeks an equity still not fully realized for LGBTQIA+ people in church and society, by:
- Engaging the church to invite all of God’s children into safe and welcoming congregational spaces of affirmation, healing, dignity and purpose;
- Educating the church to expand our welcome of LGBTQIA+ people, to affirm their gifts for ordained office, and to uphold marriage equality for all; and
- Equipping the church to bear witness to justice through advocacy and activism at the international, national and local church levels; speaking a prophetic word in anxious and divided times; and standing with others in fighting hate and oppression against any of God’s children.
The Covenant Network of Presbyterians calls the church to bear a unified witness to generous hospitality and faithful justice.
