AFFIRMATION OF FAITH
We believe in God,
our Maker, and Creator of the universe.
God created the Earth and all that is in it
and saw that it was very good.
We believe that God has called us
to protect and care for the Earth –
its landscapes, waterways, oceans and skies,
its flora and fauna,
and its human inhabitants.
We believe God calls us
to consume only what we need,
and not unthinkingly to grab what we want
out of selfishness and greed.
We believe in Jesus the Anointed One,
Preacher, Teacher and Healer,
sent by God to show us the way to live and to love.
Jesus teaches us still.
His message of God’s Reign,
a Reign of peace, justice and love,
a Reign which favours the poor and the pariahs
is our eternal goal.
We believe we are called to work with God
to make this Reign a reality for all people.
We believe in God’s Spirit,
a powerful moving motivator,
available to us at all times,
to be used by us to show God’s great love
to those in need.
We believe in God’s community of saints,
past, present and future –
this great gathering of people working for the greater good.
We are grateful for God’s saints down the ages –
Christian thinkers, Christian pioneers,
renewers of society, reformers of the church,
martyrs, apostles,
faithful servants, people of prayer
and witnesses to Jesus.
May we be numbered among them.
Blessed be God for ever. Amen.
(Source: Ross Mackinnon, Glen Waverley Uniting Church, Victoria, 27 March 2013)
We believe in God the creator
who created water for us in diverse forms;
creeks and currents,
springs and spas,
ponds and puddles.
Without this gift of water, we would perish.
We believe in Jesus,
baptised by John in the waters of the Jordan,
and sent by God to bring Living Water to all people.
This Jesus spent time
chatting with a Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well.
His contact with her so refreshed her
that she was able to start life anew
and, in turn, give new life to her community.
We believe that our contact with Jesus
enables us to do likewise.
We believe in God’s Spirit
which has the force of a thundering waterfall,
ready to be used to renew the world,
if only we would let it.
We believe that God calls us all
to work joyfully to create communities
where the river of water of life
gives fullness of life to all people. Amen.
(Source: Ross Mackinnon, July 2009)
An affirmation of faith based on the Preamble added to the national constitution of the Uniting Church in Australia.
We say God created the universe,
and the world we live in,
and every living thing on this earth.
We believe the Creation shows us the power and presence of God,
and makes us want to praise and give thanks to God,
and take good care of the earth God has made.
We are full of joy that across the world
different peoples have their own culture and language,
and that in God we are all united together as one.
We say God is Spirit,
breath of life,
who is always working to bring people to life in God.
We believe the Spirit has been alive and active
in every race and culture,
getting hearts and minds ready for good news:
the good news of God’s love and grace that Jesus Christ revealed.
We are full of joy that from the beginning
the Spirit was alive and active,
revealing God through the law, custom, and ceremony
of the First Peoples of this ancient land.
We say Jesus is Saviour and Lord,
and that he began the church,
and prayed that the church might be together as one.
We believe that in the risen Jesus
we are all brothers and sisters in the one great family of God,
and that God calls us to live in faith, hope, and love
for the sake of the Kingdom of God here on earth.
We are full of joy that we can learn,
grow and serve together
as a pilgrim people
in the name of Christ.
(Source: Craig Mitchell, 2012)
The Immigrant Apostles’ Creed
I believe in Almighty God, who guided the people in exile and in exodus, the God of Joseph in Egypt and Daniel in Babylon, the God of foreigners and immigrants.
I believe in Jesus Christ, a displaced Galilean, who was born away from his people and his home, who fled his country with his parents when his life was in danger. When he returned to his own country he suffered under the oppression of Pontius Pilate, the servant of a foreign power. Jesus was persecuted, beaten, tortured, and unjustly condemned to death. But on the third day Jesus rose from the dead, not as a scorned foreigner but to offer us citizenship in God’s kingdom.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the eternal immigrant from God’s kingdom among us, who speaks all languages, lives in all countries, and reunites all races.
I believe that the Church is the secure home for foreigners and for all believers. I believe that the communion of saints begins when we embrace all God’s people in all their diversity.
I believe in forgiveness, which makes us all equal before God, and in reconciliation, which heals our brokenness. I believe that in the Resurrection God will unite us as one people in which all are distinct and all are alike at the same time. I believe in life eternal, in which no one will be foreigner but all will be citizens of the kingdom where God reigns forever and ever. Amen.
(Source: Rev. Jose Luis Casal)
An affirmation that could be used as words of mission
We believe in the God of grace.
We follow the Teacher of Love.
We live by the Spirit of mercy.
We trust God’s healing of the world.
When people spread fear and division,
when evil, injustice and oppression thrive,
no political revolution, program or platform will save us,
but only a people transformed by grace and light,
and a bold and sustained outbreak of gentleness.
We will stand up to cynicism, hate and indifference,
and blanket this world with compassion, calm and mercy.
We will proclaim the truth against all resistance.
We will meet fear and hate with healing.
We will obstruct the progress of injustice
with our prayers, our words and our bodies.
We will infest the world with grace and love.
We pray for open hearts and a spirit of deep listening.
We pray for courage to enter the wounds of the world;
for a spirit of peace to face violence with nonviolence;
for patience to answer darkness with light.
We pray for humility to offer ourselves
as the first to be changed.
We pray for one another, for we are one Body.
We devote ourselves to sacrifice and discipline.
Giving thanks for the great spirit of grace
already breathing in us, already rising,
in hope and love, as the gentle people of God,
we go forth.
(source: Steve Garnaas-Holmes, Unfolding Light)
AFFIRMATION OF FAITH
We believe in one God,
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
We proclaim Jesus Christ, the crucified and risen One,
confessing him as Lord to the glory of God the Father.
In the fellowship of the Holy Spirit,
we acclaim Jesus as the Lord of the Church,
the Head over all things, the beginning of a new creation.
We acknowledge that we live and work
between the time of Christ’s death and resurrection
and the final consummation of all things which he will bring.
We are a pilgrim people,
always on the way towards a promised goal;
on the way Christ feeds us with word and sacraments,
and we have the gift of the Spirit
in order that we may not lose the way.
We will live and work within the faith and unity
of the one holy catholic and apostolic Church,
bearing witness to that unity which is both Christ’s gift and his will.
We affirm that every member of the Church
is engaged to confess the faith of Christ crucified.
Together with all the people of God,
we will serve the world for which Christ died.
And we await with hope the day of the Lord Jesus.
(Adapted from the Basis of Union of the Uniting Church in Australia, from Uniting in Worship 2 Creeds & Statements of Faith No.5)
We believe in God
whose love is the source of all life
and the desire of our lives,
whose love was given a human face
in Jesus of Nazareth,
whose love was crucified by the evil
that awaits to enslave us all
and whose love, defeating deathless,
holds a promise of freedom.
Therefore, though we are sometimes fearful
and full of doubt, in God we trust;
and in the name of Jesus Christ,
we commit ourselves, in the service of others,
to seek justice and to live in peace,
to care for the Earth and to share the commonwealth
of God’s goodness,
to live in the freedom of forgiveness
and the power of the spirit of love,
and in the company of the faithful,
wherever found. Amen.
(Source: Iona Abbey Worship Book, p.75/adapted)
Some interesting affirmations of faith on this Progressive Christianity website.
Today I believe
Lord, You have always given
Bread for the coming day,
and though I am poor,
Today I believe.
Lord, You have always given
strength for the coming day
And though I am weak,
Today I believe.
Lord, You have always given
Peace for the coming day,
and though I am of anxious heart,
Today I believe.
Lord, You have always kept
Me safe in trials,
And now, tried as I am,
Today I believe.
Lord, You have always marked
The road for the coming day
And though it may be hidden,
Today I believe.
Lord, You have always lightened
This darkness of mine,
And though the night is here,
Today I believe.
Lord, You have always spoken
When time was ripe,
And though You be silent now,
Today I believe.
From the Celtic Daily Prayer: A Northumbrian Office 1994 MarshallPickering,
an Imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers
AN AFFIRMATION OF FAITH
We believe in one God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
We believe in God above us,
Maker and sustainer of all life,
Of sun and moon, of water and earth, of male and female.
We believe in God beside us,
Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh,
Born of a woman’s womb, servant of the poor.
He was tortured and nailed to a tree.
A man of sorrows, he died forsaken.
He descended into earth to the place of death.
On the third day he rose from the tomb.
He ascended into heaven to be everywhere present,
And his kingdom will come on earth.
We believe in God within us,
The Holy Spirit of Pentecostal fire,
Life-giving breath of the church,
Spirit of healing and forgiveness,
Source of resurrection and life everlasting. AMEN.
AN AFFIRMATION OF FAITH: “THIS I BELIEVE” by Bruce Prewer
(especially applicable on ‘Good Shepherd Sunday’ or when Psalm 23 is used)
I believe I need a shepherd.
Because I am sometimes timid and other times overconfident,
because I often don’t know the best path yet pretend I do,
because I rush into dead ends or lead others into hazardous places,
because my brightest ideas are seamed with darkness,
because the things I crave may not be what is good for me,
I need a shepherd.
I believe in Jesus, the best possible shepherd;
his wisdom leads me to the best opportunities,
his word comforts me when I’m anxious or afraid,
his arm steadies me when I feel weary and heavy-laden,
his wounded body displays the cost of my rescue,.
I believe in Jesus, the best possible shepherd.
I believe that I do not find him but he finds me,
that I under his care by virtue of sheer grace,
the love he gives me is to be shared with others,
that he treasures my name and prepares a place for me,
that his fold transfixes earth and heaven.
I trust Jesus, the good shepherd. AMEN.
(Copyright 2002. Bruce D. Prewer)
AFFIRMATION OF FAITH
We trust in God, the Creator Spirit
who moved upon the face of the deep
at the beginning of creation,
who created all that is,
and who spoke through the prophets of old.
We trust in Jesus Christ
into whom God’s spirit was poured
in fullness and in power,
that the whole creation might be restored and unified;
and who promised that the Spirit would come and
fill the faithful with power to witness to the mighty love of God.
We await on that Spirit today with longing hearts,
seeking to be empowered to the witness to God’s love,
with fresh words and courageous actions of love and hope.
Glory be to God – Creator, Christ and Holy Spirit – now and always. Amen.
AFFIRMATION OF FAITH
I believe in the God of Jesus of Nazareth, who blesses the meek, the poor and the persecuted, exalts the least and saves the lost..
I believe in the Holy One whose dearest Child, Jesus the Christ, pleased God far more than tongue or pen can ever tell.
I believe in the baptised Christ, and the community of love and hope which grew around his word and witness.
I believe that he is the first citizen of a new race, where the entry fee is Divine grace, and the ground rules are shaped by love.
I believe in the baptism of the Holy Spirit, by whom old things find new birth, and new things grow on to maturity, and the dead receive regeneration.
I believe in one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and in the limitless life which flows for the healing of the nations. AMEN.
(by Bruce D. Prewer, Epiphany 1, 2005.)
‘WE BELIEVE’
We believe in a universe that is not some meaningless, accidental process, but is the work of a loving Creator.
We believe in a God who has chosen the planet earth to be the site of one of the Creator’s riskiest projects; that of shaping creatures in the divine likeness, and giving them the dangerous gift of free will.
We believe in a very caring God who has raised up enlightened souls in every race and culture; who called their people to go forward, responding to the pulse of the Holy Spirit within and around them.
We believe is a purposeful God who chose one small nation to be a light to other nations; giving the Jewish people high ethical values, spiritual insights, prophetic hopes and poetic songs of faith and hope.
We believe in a gracious God who sent among us a humble person named Jesus, the very Word and Wisdom of God; born as one of us, living among us, pointing us to a narrow road that leads to abundant life, and then dying and rising to make our new journey possible.
We believe in the God who collects an odd assortment of characters around the name of Christ Jesus, and by the Spirit welds them into one fellowship of the holy church, with the mission of sharing the free grace of Jesus with all the world.
We believe in God who gave each of us those particular people who first told us the story of Jesus, who nurtured us within Christ’s Body, the church, and who have helped equip us to love one another even as Jesus has first loved us.
We believe in God who continues to send contemporary liberators, prophets, saints and poets; those who by the grace of Christ Jesus take on formidable tasks and achieve much more than a just reward for their efforts.
We believe in the underlying Divine Purpose, which still guides and empowers us, and in a glorious destiny for God’s people which nothing in life or death can annul. AMEN.
(by Bruce D. Prewer, 2005.)
The following affirmations of faith are by
We Belong to God
We belong to God, eternal and infinite,
Creator of all things and all that is to come.
We follow Christ, who comes to us from God,
and reveals God to us.
He heals people and transforms lives,
and calls us to join in his ministry.
He was crucified, died, and was raised again by God,
and reigns over all Creation;
and he bids us to die and rise with him
in the service of the healing of the world.
We are moved by the Holy Spirit,
together with the communion of saints,
as members of the Body of Christ, God’s holy universal church.
We are confident in the forgiveness of sin,
the power of resurrection and the reality of eternal life.
In all things it is our desire to follow Christ,
by the grace of the Holy Spirit, for God’s glory.
Amen.
Christ Accompanies Us
We believe in God, Creator of all things,
heavenly father and mother,
Soul of infinite love, wisdom, and power,
ruler of all that is and all that is to come,
who is mystery, yet revealed.
We follow Christ, God’s chosen one,
who loved and served humbly,
who healed the broken and included the outcast,
who chose to suffer rather than harm
for the sake of the healing of all Creation,
who gave his life for our redemption,
and who was raised by God to new life.
In his teaching, in his death and resurrection,
and in his presence with us in all circumstances,
he reveals God to us.
He calls us to serve him
for the sake of proclaiming God’s grace.
We trust that he accompanies us
and will help, guide, heal, and defend us
through all difficulty and suffering.
We believe the Holy Spirit sustains us,
and guides us and empowers us
as servants of God’s grace.
We live as the body of Christ,
in the power of forgiveness
and the reality of resurrection,
and the light of eternal life. Amen.
Vine and Branches
We believe in God, the Root of all living,
Creator of all things.
We live in Christ Jesus, God’s Son,
who loved all people and who makes us one in his love.
He suffered and died, and was raised to new life.
In his death and resurrection
we are also raised to life that is transformed.
Christ is our Vine, and we are his branches;
and without him we cannot live.
We live by the Holy Spirit, flowing through us
so that we may bear fruit for God, the fruit of love.
In the Spirit we are one with Christ, one with each other,
and one in ministry to all the world.
We trust in the one holy church, the communing of saints,
the forgiveness of sin,
the mystery of resurrection,
and the grace of eternal life. Amen.
Brother and Teacher
We trust in God, Spirit of life,
Creator of all that is and all that is to come;
who surrounds us and fills us;
who speaks the Word of life in us; and so we listen.
We listen to Jesus, Revealer of God,
our brother and teacher;
who lived in prayer and in love.
Listening to God’s voice and doing God’s will,
he gave his life in love;
but God raised him to life that is eternal;
and so we follow him.
We follow in the power of the Holy Spirit,
God alive in us, for the sake of the healing of the world.
We trust in the power of forgiveness,
the reality of resurrection,
the gift of the universal Church as the body of Christ,
and the mystery of eternal life. Amen.
The Deepest Truth
We believe in God, maker of all things,
provider of all things, who loves all people.
We follow Jesus, in whom salvation has come to us:
he sees us for who we are,
heals the wounds of our hearts, and makes us new.
In his death and resurrection we see the deepest truth of life.
We live by the power of the Holy Spirit,
which empowers us for self-giving love.
We give thanks for the Church, the Body of Christ,
and for the gift of forgiveness,
the power of resurrection
and the mystery of eternal life. Amen.
Abundance
We belong to God,
creator of all that is and all that is to come,
abundant provider of the gifts in this life
and the gifts in our own hearts.
It is God alone who gives life,
who is generous beyond measure with grace and blessing.
We follow Christ, whom God sent to teach and heal,
to show us a new way of living,
with love and trust and courage, with joy and generosity.
In this faith Jesus gave of himself, even his very life.
He was crucified and buried;
yet God raised him from death,
and he lives among us, and grants his spirit to us.
We live by that Holy Spirit,
and entrust ourselves to its guidance and empowerment.
As members of the church, the Body of Christ,
we devote ourselves to lives of love,
rejoicing in the power of forgiveness,
the reality of resurrection,
and the mystery of eternal life. Amen.
1 Peter 1:3-9
We bless you, God! You raised Jesus Christ from the dead, and in so doing you gave us a new birth, a life of hope — a gift that is imperishable, perfect and unfading. Our lives are now in your Realm. We trust that you save us for your purposes, which you will reveal in your time. Therefore we are willing to suffer in practicing our faith, for the sake of praise and glory and honor when Christ is revealed. We have not seen you, but we love you; and we rejoice with indescribable and glorious joy. Alleluia!
1 Peter 1:17-25
Gracious God, you who judge all, we live in reverent awe of you. We have been kidnapped by our own sins, but you paid dearly to set us free — not a ransom of perishable things like silver or gold, but by your precious love, which we see in the blood of Christ. When he died, like an innocent lamb sacrificed for someone else, we saw your willingness to suffer for us. You have had this love for us since the beginning of time; and in Christ, it has now become evident. Through him we have come to trust in you, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory. For you have given us a new birth, through your living and enduring Word. Therefore our faith and hope are set on you alone. With your love we love one another. The grass withers and fades, but your Word of love endures forever. Alleluia!
John 14:1-14
We believe in God,
creator of all that is and all that is to come.
In God’s house are many rooms,
and God prepares a place for us,
so that where God is, we may be also.
We believe in God; we believe also in Christ,
who is our way, our truth and our life.
Through him we have seen God,
who lived and worked in him.
We believe in the Holy Spirit,
who lives and works in us;
so that we may do the works that Jesus does,
and even greater works;
so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. Alleluia.
Take Up Your Cross
We believe in God, the maker of all things,
source of all life and Mother of all children.
Our life is in God, and in God we are one with all beings.
We follow Jesus, the Christ, the Revealer of God,
who taught us to love,
who gave us courage to trust God’s grace,
and who bid us to take up our cross and follow him.
In his life and ministry and his death and resurrection,
he has shown us that in losing our lives we find them.
He who was crucified is the Lord of the Universe.
We rely upon the power and presence of the Holy Spirit,
the communion of saints,
the unity of the church,
the forgiveness of sin,
the resurrection of the body,
and the reality of eternal life.
Therefore we devote ourselves to disciplined practice
of the Way of Jesus in our daily lives,
so that we may grow in faithfulness,
and serve God in humble, confident love
for the sake of the healing of the world. Amen.
God’s Rule of Grace
We believe in God, creator of all things,
ruler of all that is and all that is to come.
God is transforming the world
into the place of God’s justice and mercy.
We follow Jesus, who taught and healed,
who died and rose, revealing God’s abundant grace.
He sent disciples out into the world to heal,
to proclaim the good news of your grace,
and to participate in the Reign of God in all that we do.
He reigns in love over all Creation,
and holds all accountable to their faithfulness to God’s rule of grace.
We rely upon the unfailing grace of God,
the presence of the Holy Spirit,
the community of the church as the Body of Christ,
the unity of all believers,
the power of forgiveness,
the reality of resurrection and the alluring blessing of eternal life.
Therefore we devote ourselves to lives
of daily prayer, study, service and reflection,
following Jesus as our Master,
for the sake of the transformation of the world by the grace of God.
We Are God’s
We are God’s.
We belong to The One who creates all things,
in whose image all people are made.
We are Christ’s.
He has loved us, healed us, called us
and anointed us with his Spirit.
We belong to his death and resurrection and ministry.
We are the Spirit’s.
We belong to the church, the Body of Christ.
God gives us the gifts of forgiveness,
resurrection, and eternal life,
and the gift of participating
in the healing of the world by God’s grace.
As God’s beloved, we devote ourselves
to God and to God’s will,
wholly, joyfully and with the help of Christ. Amen.
Trust and Let Go
We believe in God, who creates us,
who sustains us each moment,
who is our life and our breath.
We follow Christ, who showed us God.
He received and shared God’s grace.
He trusted God in everything.
He let go of things so that he might cling to Life.
He let go of life, so that he might hold onto Love.
He gave of himself, even his very life,
for the sake of the healing of the world.
And though he was crucified,
God have him life again;
and he rose and is still among us in a new way.
We live by the Holy Spirit, which alone gives us life.
We rejoice in the church, the Body of Christ,
and in the oneness of all life,
the gift of forgiveness,
the reality of resurrection,
and the mystery of eternal life.
By the power of that Holy Spirit, and in the name of Christ,
we devote ourselves to give generously of all that we receive,
for the sake of the healing of the world,
and the eternal glory of God. Amen.
Love
We believe in God,
who is love, whose love is manifest
in all Creation, in our lives, and in all people.
We follow Christ, who embodied God’s love.
In his life and ministry, his death and resurrection,
and his granting to us of his Spirit,
he filled us with that love as well.
We live by the Spirit, the presence of God’s love in us.
In that love we participate in the Church, Body of Christ,
in loving God by loving our neighbors
through our prayers, our presence, our gifts and our service.
Love is our faith, and it is a gift from God.
We thank God, and ask God’s blessings,
that we may love in the name of Christ
and the power of the Spirit, to God’s glory. Amen.
Litany: We Believe in a Sacred Power…
The people stand as they are able
We believe in a sacred power within and around us.
A divine spirit that we call by many names
and experience in many ways,
that empowers and heals,
that calls us forth.
We believe in our creativity.
Making and transforming beauty
out of words and notes,
images and colours,
lines and pictures
… and silence.
We believe in doing justice.
Justice that compels and empowers us
to risk whatever we must risk
to create a climate
in which all people can be who they are.
We believe in our dreams.
We experience the world as it is,
in both its ugliness and beauty,
and we see what it can become.
We believe in making peace.
A peace that is based on openness,
honesty and compassion.
We believe in hope.
We expect change to continue to occur in our world.
We rely on our courage to continue
to bring about these changes.
We believe in love.
A passionate love within and around us
that laughs and cries,
challenges and comforts,
a healing love that perseveres.
We believe in potential.
We know who we are,
painful as that can be at times,
yet we continue to call each other
to become more of who we are.
We believe in celebrating.
We remember and we commemorate.
We create rituals.
We play and dance,
and sing and love well.
We believe in our diversity.
We affirm our many shapes and sizes,
colours and traditions,
emotions and thoughts,
differences and similarities.
We believe in life.
Life that wells up within
and flows out of us
like a streaming fountain.
All We believe we are good and holy,
a sacred part of all creation.
(Words: Susan Kramer)
Music
I Believe (a paraphrase of the Apostles’ Creed)
AUSTRIAN HYMN 8.7.8.7D
I believe in God the Father, the Almighty God above,
Maker of the earth and heaven which were formed in God’s great love.
And in Jesus, loving Jesus, God’s own Son, who makes us new.
This, the creed of generations, is the faith for our church, too.
Jesus, by God’s Holy Spirit, was so wondrously conceived,
Born unto the Virgin Mary, who your promises believed.
Jesus suffering under Pilate, on a cross was crucified.
Soldiers mocked him, friends denied him; he hung there until he died.
So it was, our Lord was buried, in a borrowed tomb he lay.
To the dead he then descended, where was joy on earth that day?
There is more to God’s great story: in three days he rose again.
He ascended into heaven, and he sits at God’s right hand.
I believe what God has promised: Christ will come as he has said.
He will judge the nations’ peoples, both the living and the dead.
I believe God’s Holy Spirit makes the church one family.
We’re surrounded by God’s people, saints who in our Lord believe.
I believe that God forgives us for the times we turn away,
And that God will raise our bodies on that resurrection day.
We rejoice we’ll live forever, singing praise to God’s great name.
This, the creed of generations, is the faith that we proclaim.
Tune: Franz Joseph Haydn, 1797, (“Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken”).
Text: Copyright © 1998 by Carolyn Winfrey Gillette. All rights reserved.
Email: bcgillette@comcast.net New Hymns: www.carolynshymns.com
Reproduced from Gifts of Love: New Hymns for Today’s Worship by Carolyn Winfrey Gillette (Geneva Press)
