We Are Reformed Christians

St. James is a member of The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), The Synod of Lincoln Trails, and The Presbytery of Chicago. It is part of the strand of Christianity commonly known as the Reformed Tradition.

Our denomination has an online guide to the facts about the Presbyterian Church (USA) including a discussion of what we believe.  It's called Presbyterian 101

When people begin the journey of becoming members of our congregation, they take a short class which discusses in detail what we believe.  You may visit the online part of that class here.

We Embrace Diversity

On December 12, 2001, St. James became a More Light Church by adopting the following Statement of Inclusion.

We the congregation of St. James United Presbyterian Church publicly affirm our intention to be a house of prayer for all people, offering membership to those who accept baptism and who make a public profession of faith in Jesus as Lord.  We are particularly sensitive to welcome persons from those groups whose voices have been long silenced.  We further invite all active members to participate in the sacraments and to participate in parish government by voting and holding office.

We join with likeminded congregations by affirming that “Following the risen Christ, and seeking to make the Church a true community of hospitality, the mission of More Light Presbyterians is the full participation of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender people of faith in the life, ministry, and witness of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)."  (More Light Presbyterians Mission Statement)

Our study and prayer on this issue includes reflection on the principles of inclusion found in Acts 10, Galatians 3, The Brief Statement of Faith, G-5 of The Book of Order, and the St. James Creed.

We Take Our Faith Personally

A part of what it means to us to be a Presbyterian congregation is that we are encouraged to bring our own understanding and experience to our religious life.   We deeply respect the traditions, practices, opinions, and dogmas of other religious groups and of other times, but we believe we are engaged in a personal relationship with God which may not be the same as the personal relationship someone in another part of the world or at another period of history would have.

The Bible itself is a document reflecting the vital lived experiences of women and men who were faithfully trying to be servants of God in their own times.   They did not all live the same way, value the same things, or have the same expectations of their life with God.

Just as every child in a family has (and should have) a slightly different perspective of who that family is, we believe that each of us brings a unique perspective and experience of the divine.  Our gender, race, ethnic background, sexual orientation, occupation, nationality, age, and marital status are among the many aspects of who we are that influence how we know God.

Although the differences among our individual experiences occasionally create tension, we embrace our disagreements rather than subscribe to a static, uniform code of belief.  It is often at our points of disagreement where we find the most proof that our faith and spiritual relationship is to a living God and within a vital, thriving community.  Although most parts of the Christian tradition hold to this personal, relational concept in one way or another, we have since the Sixteenth Century made it a motto that we are "the church reformed, and always reforming."

The topic of inclusive language has been a matter of discussion for more than two decades.  For a brief discussion of our attitude at St. James about this issue, go here.

We Use Creeds as Spiritual Landmarks

In the midst of our tensions we regularly attempt to bring clarity by creating documents that identify what we share and how we are trying to be a community of faith.  These creeds, confessions, and affirmations are historic pieces that serve as landmarks along our joint spiritual journey.  That said, below are two recent statements of some of what we believe and two much older statements.

For a longer discussion of the confessional documents of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), go here.

The St. James Creed (1984)

I believe in a creator God, Who was before all else.  Was with us in the flesh, And who is with us in the spirit

In a God who created all people, Women and men and all races, To be free and equal;

In the power of the risen Lord, Empowering us to live for each other As a new community making a new world;

In a church embracing and serving Its whole neighborhood;

In a people called to live free and forgiven And living the vision of a human family In thanksgiving for what we receive each day;

I believe in striving to do justice, In loving mercy, And in walking humbly with our God.

Amen.

St. James United Presbyterian Church
Chicago, Illinois
September 1984

A Brief Statement of Faith (1990)

In life and death we belong to God. Through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, The love of God, And the communion of the Holy Spirit, we trust in the one triune God, the Holy One of Israel, whom alone we worship and serve.

We trust in Jesus Christ, Fully human, fully God. Jesus proclaimed the reign of God: preaching good news to the poor and release to the captives, teaching by word and deed and blessing the children, healing the sick and binding up the brokenhearted, eating with outcasts, forgiving sinners, and calling all to repent and believe the gospel. Unjustly condemned for blasphemy and sedition, Jesus was crucified, suffering the depths of human pain and giving his life for the sins of the world. God raised Jesus from the dead, vindicating his sinless life, breaking the power of sin and evil, delivering us from death to life eternal.

We trust in God, whom Jesus called Abba, Father. In sovereign love God created the world good and makes everyone equally in God's image male and female, of every race and people, to live as one community. But we rebel against God; we hide from our Creator. Ignoring God's commandments, we violate the image of God in others and ourselves, accept lies as truth, exploit neighbor and nature, and threaten death to the planet entrusted to our care. We deserve God's condemnation. Yet God acts with justice and mercy to redeem creation. In everlasting love, the God of Abraham and Sarah chose a covenant people to bless all families of the earth. Hearing their cry, God delivered the children of Israel from the house of bondage. Loving us still, God makes us heirs with Christ of the covenant. Like a mother who will not forsake her nursing child, like a father who runs to welcome the prodigal home, God is faithful still.

We trust in God the Holy Spirit, everywhere the giver and renewer of life. The Spirit justifies us by grace through faith, sets us free to accept ourselves and to love God and neighbor, and binds us together with all believers in the one body of Christ, the church. The same Spirit who inspired the prophets and apostles rules our faith and life in Christ through Scripture, engages us through the Word proclaimed, claims us in the waters of baptism, feeds us with the bread of life and the cup of salvation, and calls women and men to all ministries of the church. In a broken and fearful world the Spirit gives us courage to pray without ceasing, to witness among all peoples to Christ as Lord and Savior, to unmask idolatries in church and culture, to hear the voices of peoples long silenced, and to work with others for justice, freedom, and peace. In gratitude to God, empowered by the Spirit, we strive to serve Christ in our daily tasks and to live holy and joyful lives, even as we watch for God's new heaven and new earth, praying, Come, Lord Jesus!

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.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. Amen.

From The Constitution of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
Part I The Book of Confessions 

The Nicene Creed (4th Century)

We believe in one God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.

And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds, God of God, Light of Light, Very God of Very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father by whom all things were made; who for us men, and for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary, and was made man, and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate. He suffered and was buried, and the third day he rose again according to the Scriptures, and ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of the Father. And he shall come again with glory to judge both the quick and the dead, whose kingdom shall have no end.

And we believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of Life, who proceedeth from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified, who spoke by the prophets. And we believe one holy catholic and apostolic Church.  We acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins. And we look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come.

Amen.

From The Constitution of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
Part I The Book of Confessions 

The Apostles' Creed (2nd-9th Centuries)

I believe in God, the Father Almighty, the Creator of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord:

Who was conceived of the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell.   The third day He arose again from the dead.  He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty, whence He shall come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting.

Amen.  

From The Constitution of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
Part I The Book of Confessions 

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