What We Believe

Here at St. James’ Parish, and throughout the Episcopal Church, we hold together ancient belief and practice with a spirit of curiosity, acceptance of new ideas, and love. Together, we confess the faith handed down from the first followers of Jesus through the centuries, and yet ask our members what we believe and you’ll find lots of different answers. As long as we are able to pray the same prayers, as long as we are able to gather together around the holy table and receive Christ together in bread and wine, we are blessed to call one another fellow children of God, and to walk with one another in this journey of faith. We find room in this ancient faith for questions, for doubt, for disagreements—so long as we trust that it’s the Holy Spirit who brings us together in love.

We believe in one God, who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We believe that the Son of God has taken on flesh and lived as one of us in Jesus Christ. We believe that the Holy Spirit has spoken through the prophets and the words of the Bible, and speaks still in our hearts. We believe that this God lies always beyond our full understanding, and that seeking after God leads us away from easy answers and into deeper mystery. We believe that we meet God every week in prayer, proclamation of the Word, and in the Sacraments.