A summary of our community ‘story’ is found in the words of the ancient Apostle’s Creed. The mystery of the Christian faith which calls us into prayer and action in this neighbourhood is deep and powerful. It is, in fact, the story of all of a loving Creator and of all creation. Sometimes the words of the Creed, which are thousands of years old, may be difficult to understand. Still, we believe that the grace and truth contained within these words – with all the different ways they are lived and understood – adequately summarizes what we believe in all of our diversity. Part of our community life is to live this mystery as a conversation through community and mission.

THE APOSTLES’ CREED
We believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.

We believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again; he ascended into heaven,
he is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and he will come to judge the living and the dead.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.
Amen.

An Additional Word about Faith
Finding Meaning in the Experience
For most people, the experience of the rhythms and practices of a faith community comes before faith itself. The real – and only – way of understanding faith is to be explore it, practice it – taste it. A person named Sara Miles, in her book ‘take this bread: the spiritual memoir of a 21st century christian’, captures this wonderfully in her opening words. If you’re seeking an explanation for why we believe, Sara’s story reveals what most of would have to confess – we stumble into it…

“One early, cloudy morning when I was forty-six, I walked into a church, ate a piece of bread, took a sip of wine. A routine Sunday activity for tens of millions of Americans – except that up until that moment I’d led a thoroughly secular life, at best indifferent to religion, more often appalled by its fundamentalist cursades. This was my first communion. It changed everything.
Eating Jesus, as I did that day to my great astonishment, led me against all my expectations to a faith I’d scorned and work I’d never imagined. The mysterious sacrament turned out to be not a symbolic wafer at all but actual food – indeed, the bread of life. In that shocking moment of communion, filled with a deep desire to reach for and become part of a body, I realized that what I’d been doing with my life all along was what I was menat to do: feed people.
And so I did. I took communion, I passed the bread to others, and then I kept going, compelled to find new ways to share what I’d experienced. I started a food pantry and gave away literally tons of fruit and vegetables and cereal around the same altar where I’d first received the body of Christ…”

If you are looking for a community to explore the mystery of faith – or just want bread – you are welcome to come by (really, no matter who you are). And if you feel called elsewhere, wherever your path leads you, may you find fewer answers and only greater mystery and wonder in this gift we call Life.