The Western Jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church

Statement of Values

adopted by Riviera UMC June 2, 2019

·  We believe in the Triune God: God as Creator, Jesus as Redeemer, and the Holy Spirit as Sustainer

·  We believe that the Spirit of the living God is often encountered in the reading and study of the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament. We honor, and benefit greatly from, the academic study of Scripture and find it essential in the task of discerning eternal truth from cultural or contextual bias.

·  We believe in the Wesleyan Way of Salvation: that salvation is sought in our daily faith journey as we engage in acts of piety and acts of mercy on a regular basis.

·  We believe that our church should be a home for all of God’s people: a place where all are welcomed, accepted, and affirmed.

·  We believe in the diversity of the whole human family with all of its cultures, nationalities, languages and sexual identities. We believe we are made better with greater diversity, and this includes theological and social diversity.

·  We believe that God calls and gifts LGBTQI persons for ministry just as God does other people, and we are committed to the full inclusion of LGBTQI persons in the Church today. We also believe our pastor and church should be free to bless those who commit their lives to one another in marriage without restriction.

·  We believe in the transformative power of relationships bound in mutual respect and openness to the diversity present. We understand that we are more likely to grow when challenged by different opinions held with love, than in ideological silos.

·  We believe in the making of disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world and are committed to evangelism, growth, and innovation to fulfill our mission and mandate.