We're mainstream Lutherans, so it's "By Grace Alone... By Faith Alone... By Scripture Alone..."
Our best, traditional, and official statements of belief are:
- The three ecumenical creeds, including the Apostles Creed
- The Lutheran Confessions in the Book of Concord - documents from the 16th century which set forth our understanding of God's gracious love for us through Jesus Christ, received by faith and communicated to us in the Bible
The sacraments are central to our church life and worship:
- Holy Baptism
- Holy Communion
Beneath these umbrellas of companionship and community is a range of views held by individuals who are influenced by their own church and personal experience, study, and serious reflective thought. We are enriched in this community of faith by our respectful dialogue with Christians of many traditions.
"Liturgical" means following the historic Christian order of worship:
- Entrance - coming into worship, often using a gathered Confession & Forgiveness
- Word - using the Scriptures, usually following a "lectionary" of scheduled readings, and communicating God's Word in understandable language applicable to our lives (in message/sermon to children and adults)
- Table - receiving God's blessing in Holy Communion, and using traditional words and songs as our prayers of thanksgiving and consecration
- Departure - taking leave of worship, preparing to re-enter the life of Christian service, and receiving the benediction as we do so
"Sacramental" means that Baptism and Holy Communion form central hubs in our personal and gathered Christian lives.
- "Marked by the cross of Christ forever" in Baptism, we know we are received by God purely through undeserved grace and love. That divine welcome shapes the DNA of our relationships with others. It's also God's reason why children of every age are fully respected and honored as part of God's household. We frequently talk of this with children in our educational ministries, and it's one reason why we include a children's sermon as "The Word in Children's Language" in most of our worship services.
- Holy Communion is offered in each service every weekend. It's where we are restored and strengthened for renewed energetic Christian service starting in our most personal relationships at home and extending to citizenship, charity, and stewardship of the earth's resources.
During the 4th grade year all our children (and their parents) learn about Holy Communion in a child-friendly, family-centered process with the pastors.
Children who are "faith-ready" before their 4th grade year learn about the sacrament along with other families and with one of the pastors in an age-appropriate session. Many of our children do this at about the 2nd grade level, but some are younger. When these children reach the 5th grade we ask that they (and parents) participate in the lengthier and deeper First Communion instruction.
All these children are received publicly in a ceremony of welcome to the Table.
"Faith-ready" means that a child takes an interest in what's happening in worship and at Communion... asks/talks about God... knows that he/she is loved and received by God through the Family of the church... prays meaningfully... and wants to take this next step of faith.
No, but we do ask that parents talk with one of our pastors. We ask that parents prepare thoughtfully and prayerfully well in advance of a preferred date and take seriously the mutual responsibility we undertake in baptism.
- Parents promise that they will intentionally raise their child to be active in a Christian home and congregation - prayers and stories of God at home and meals, coming often to worship services, bringing their child to Sunday School, etc.
- Congregation promises that we will provide all the support, resources, and opportunities necessary for parents, families, and children to grow in faith.
If you're a newcomer to Family of Christ, we want you to worship with us for a while, get to know our church from the inside, (re-)develop good church habits - and then, when YOU are faith-ready, step forward for your child's baptism. In these ways we are together building a good foundation for your family's growth in faith and Christian life.
Welcome to faith! God's smile in your life makes a difference! Come talk with one of our pastors and let's take steps together toward your baptism. You'll start worshiping regularly and often, have questions, want to talk about the Bible, faith, and the intersection of God and life, and ask to know more. When you're faith-ready, you'll know it.
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America formed about 20 years ago from three national Lutheran church-bodies. On the church spectrum we're centrist, spanning the middle of the Protestant "family" without going to either extreme on right or left.
It's a regional partnership of ELCA congregations. Ours is the Minneapolis Area Synod - almost 170 congregations on the west side of the Mississippi from New Prague on the south, Cambridge and Isanti on the north, and Norwood Young America on the west.
"Version" is a misnomer. All Bibles in modern languages are translations from ancient languages. In the last decade there has been a flurry of new translations/versions published in the U.S. They usually are the product of many linguists, historians, and theological scholars collaborating on translating from the most reliable manuscripts. There may be a theological "slant" to some versions, but most are a matter of individual taste, reading level, and preference. We use several versions, depending on grade/age level. Our worship Scriptures are usually from the New Revised Standard Version (1989 & following) and sometimes "tweaked" by the preacher for 21st century use.
