Creeds & Affirmations of Faith

Christian creeds have predominantly been written in response to something: a distortion, a heresy of some kind. There is some irony to this because our most enduring creeds were also shaped, at least in part, by the political forces of their day (councils convened by emperors, for example). So, empire...writing against empire, in theory?

Summer is practically here, and this United States that I call home is on the verge of celebrating it's 250th birthday. Something that has been on my mind (and the mind of many others) as of late is the rise of state religion here in the US. Many call this Christian Nationalism. Some call it "White-Christo-Nationalism," a phrase coined by Episcopalian Priest Stephanie Spellers. I encountered this term in her (fantastic) book Church Tomorrow? What the 'Nones' and 'Dones' Teach Us About The Future of Faith. 

In this strange and painful mix, I wrote this affirmation of faith. It stands somewhat in that tradition of response to heresy and distortion. It moves (somewhat) along the familiar rhythms of historic trinitarian creeds. It is totally written by a person in a position of significant power from multiple social angles. It is not written against any nation, but hopefully a reminder to all of us here in the US who like to claim Christianity as part of our heritage, of the Triune God we've actually received: so far beyond any nation and it's claims. And, hopefully done in words that spark new awareness in us today. 

PS: these are the moments I especially love being an ELCA Pastor. It's not total apostasy
to write a new affirmation of faith and use it. A significant difference from where I've been
in my lifetime, ​and something that I think holds promise for where this very messy church might go.
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We believe in God,
who spoke light into being
before anyone could claim the sun,
who breathed life into dust
in every form it has ever taken,
and called it good.

God's love precedes every border ever drawn.
God's delight has never been limited by nation or tribe. 

We believe creation is the fullness of God's goodness,
and the inheritance of every community,
especially those whose bodies are suffering
what an entitled few have usurped for themselves.

We believe in Christ, born of a woman,
who gathers people across every line
who, without exception, calls people by name,
feeds, heals, and remains.

His insistence that every person bears the image of God
became a direct threat to every system
that feeds itself on human insecurity and fear.
He was executed. He rose beyond their reach.
We believe he rises, still.

We believe in the Holy Spirit
who at Pentecost arrived as wind and flame
and will not allow herself to be held back:
fire that does not recognize fences,
wind that has never waited for permission
going beyond every binary attempting to contain her.

We believe the Spirit moves
toward healing, toward justice,
freeing every place where God's beloved are locked down
by power's certainty that God favors them.

We believe in the church
not a building, not reducible to an institution,
but a wildly imperfect body, 
called again and again back to table.
More enduring than any nation that has ever usurped her words
to raise its flag and label its deeds holy. 

We believe in a holy communion of compassion,
forming and re-forming around the practice of love
the close-by kingdom of heaven.

We are committed to this table,
where the communion of saints gathers across every age,
where we practice making room.
A table so simple, so accessible,
that no empire, no nation, and no oppressor
​will ever fully extinguish its power
to reconstitute the Body of Christ.
Amen.


written for the people of University Lutheran Palo Alto 
by Rev. Sam R. LaDue

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