And so it begins. Here are a few of the eleven essays. I tell you, writing ordination essays takes the fun out of writing essays. I was telling a friend that most of these are brief. I am not entirely sure why they are so brief. I do not think of myself as brief, but there you go. Um, enjoy! Heh.
Serously, any helpful feedback you can give me is appreciated. I will be mailing these in to the regional office so that they may be distributed to the ordination committee for my October interview. Oy.
Please share with us a concise statement of your faith.
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.
This is the Apostle�s Creed. Though we are not a creedal people, I believe this to be an appropriate summary of my faith and Christian faith in general. The other reasons I chose a creed to express my belief will become more clear in my answers to the questions which follow. But to summarize, this creed is scriptural, it is rooted in time-honored traditions within Christianity as a whole. It has been used as a formative tool within Christian education and as a part of the liturgical life of Christian communities for centuries. It is, all on its own, a prayer. It is not necessarily a systematic document, a prooftext for Christian orthodoxy. Being a non-creedal people does not mean that the creeds (Apostles�, Nicean, Athanasian etc) cannot be guides for thinking, prayer and conversation between believers. They can serve as good historical road markers in our faith, both personal and corporate.