What we believe

We believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that he came into our world to bear God's creative and redeeming love to us.  Because we are Lutheran Christians, we also believe that nothing that we do can earns this love: it comes to us out of grace alone.  We take the Bible so seriously that we can't take it literally.  We recognize that it speaks differently in different circumstances; it is not a "how-to" manual, but rather an account of God's great love throughout the generations.

St. Stephen is part of the Evangelical* Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).  The ELCA is the most progressive of the Lutheran denominations in the US where women and people in the LGBTQ+ community are pastors and deacons and welcomed in the full life of the church.  The ELCA is a denomination that believes God calls us to move outside of the physical walls of a church building into the world.  As part of this call, we seek the common good for society and are committed to addressing social and cultural injustice. 

*Learn more the meaning of the word "evangelical" here.

 

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