Covenant

Covenant of FMCSF

Introduction

Since the 1970s, our congregation has invited regular participants in church life to sign our annual covenant.

We come from a tradition in which how we live our faith is as important as what we believe. We affirm the statement of Hans Denck, a 16th century Anabaptist leader, who said, “No one can truly know Christ unless that person follow him in daily life.” Throughout Mennonite history, that “knowing Christ” has included an emphasis on community, peacemaking and reconciliation, service and social justice, and simple living. The first part of our covenant emphasizes this “knowing through following.”

However, we also know that it is important to try to articulate what we believe. The confession of faith that follows is our best attempt to corporately summarize that belief. Not everybody who is a member of our congregation can affirm every part of this confession. However, through membership – whether permanent or annual – we affirm our openness to dialogue on the confession of faith, as well as the entire covenant.

In signing this covenant, we accept the rights and responsibilities of active membership in this congregation for the next church year. We understand the making of this covenant to include:

affirming a commitment to walk in the way of Jesus in community with others
pledging to the members of this congregation commitments of both time and money, with active participation in worship, planning, outreach, and decision-making.
holding oneself and the other members of the congregation accountable for both word and deed as we grow together spiritually.
We covenant together to embody and proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ to each other and the world community. To do this:

We share a voluntary commitment to members of our congregation by:

sharing in a fellowship based upon the nature of Jesus Christ’s love for people.
developing trusting relationships as a body of Christ’s disciples.
recognizing and understanding our individual and corporate weakness, with support for each other in times of change, learning, growth, and difficulty.
maintaining a spirit of Christ’s forgiveness and acceptance while calling each other and our congregation to a life of spiritual growth, responsibility, and service.
identifying, receiving, sharing, and developing each other’s gifts.
participating regularly in worship and other significant congregational meetings and activities.

We share a voluntary commitment to the communities of the world by:

meeting all people in the spirit and mind of Christ.
speaking out against institutions, ideologies, and social movements whose spirits are contrary to Christ’s example of love and the tenets of our Anabaptist heritage.
living responsibly with the natural resources of the world that God has provided.
sharing generously our personal and congregational gifts and resources for the benefit of all.
living peacefully while actively working for peace and justice throughout the world.

Confession of Faith

We make our confession of faith as the basis for this covenant:

We believe in God
who is over all and through all and in all
who in love created people to live in covenant
with God and all creation.

We believe in Jesus the Christ
who lived, died and rose again
incarnating God’s love to give us hope and courage
as we live in our broken yet beautiful world.

We believe in the Holy Spirit
who regenerates and builds up God’s people
revealing God’s purpose and truth in the world
through creation, history, and scripture.

We believe in the church
whose purpose is to reflect God’s love for humankind
and to witness to God’s saving work in history
as Christ’s body in the world.

We trust you God
you choose us through your gift of grace
you give us our reason for being
you lead us with your word
you invite us to participate in your kingdom.