A note from Pastor Travis 6/1/23

Perhaps you remember when churches recited the Apostle’s Creed every Sunday in worship. Though I haven’t recited it very often in the last 30 years or so, I could still recite it if asked. It is burned into my memory and my heart.

The word creed comes from the word credo, which is related to the word cardio. Credo means “something to which I give my heart.” Originally creeds were meant to speak of the metaphors which express the common story that our faith tradition uses to name our experience and connection to God. They had power because people found in them a way to express their encounter with God.

When we say that we give our heart to them, we are saying that we discover our story in the community’s story. When we recite a creed, we are connecting ourselves to other faithful people. Just as the Bible is not to be taken literally, the creeds aren’t meant to be taken literally. Rather, they contain the common and central metaphors of the faith community.

However, all too quickly, the idea of a creed moved from that of a faith statement to that of a literal truth. They became the litmus tests of orthodoxy and the seeds of oppression. People were persecuted because they understood their faith differently. The Church divided into Orthodox and Catholic Churches because the Western churches added one word, Filioque (which means “of the son”), to the Nicene Creed.

Yet, creeds can still have power in our lives. Our Confirmation class has studied some of the important creeds of the Church and they have written their own creeds. They are beautiful statements of faith that express what our Confirmation students “give their hearts to.” I invite you to join us this Sunday as we Confirm two students into full membership in the church, and to learn what their creeds say.

Blessings and Grace, 

Pastor Travis