Core Confessions



Confessional Statement of Hope Presbyterian Church
The Session of Hope Presbyterian Church, Richfield, Minnesota, meeting on September 20, 2001, joins faithful believers throughout the Presbyterian Church (USA) in confessing:
• That Jesus Christ is Lord of all and the only way of salvation.
• That Holy Scripture is the revealed Word of the triune God, and the Church's only infallible rule of faith and life.
• That God's people are called to holiness in all aspects of life. This includes honoring the sanctity of marriage between a man and a woman, the only relationship within which sexual activity is appropriate.

While we are pleased to join with other PCUSA churches in confessing these important truths of Christian doctrine, we also recognize that the biblical doctrines expressed here are already stated much more fully in the existing confessional documents of our constitution.

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We furthermore call upon the members of our own Session and of the sessions of all churches throughout the Presbytery of the Twin Cities Area to take up again the confessions of our Church; to study and teach their sound, biblical doctrine for the instruction and guidance of all God's people; and to give them their rightful, constitutional place -- under Scripture -- as our standards for the expression of "authentic and reliable expositions of what Scripture leads us to believe and do."
Douglas Dahl, Clerk of Session Jim Guyer, Moderator of Session

Abortion
In 1986, the Session of Hope adopted a statement on abortion which reads:
Hope Presbyterian Church believes that human life, from the moment of conception, is a gift from God to be received with gratitude. We accept God's charge to us to be stewards of the gift of life as of all His gifts; to protect, nurture and care for each life God bestows on us as individuals and as a body.

We believe this position to be consistent with Christian traditions, specific Scriptural evidence confirming the sanctity of all life, including the unborn, with the doctrines of the Presbyterian Church and as expressed by John Calvin.

We accept the biblical commission to bear each other's burdens as fulfilling the law of Christ and therefore support efforts to provide care and counsel to any woman of any age experiencing a difficult or unplanned pregnancy. We believe that abortion is the taking of human life, and must be opposed except under extreme circumstances. We support efforts to aid women who wish to keep their babies and efforts to find Christian adoption alternatives for those who are unable to keep their babies.

We encourage the following positive actions: The formation of study and/or support groups to explore issues and help raise the consciousness of Hope church members on the issue of abortion.

The development and support of ministries to men, women, and children in a crisis pregnancy or post abortion trauma..

Marriage
Hope Church – Covenant of Marriage
Representing various faith communities, the pastors of Hope Church share a common concern regarding marriage.

We believe:
• That God has established the sanctity and companionship of marriage in scripture.
• That God intends the marriage bond of husband and wife to last a lifetime.
• That as religious leaders we have a responsibility to participate in and to provide premarital preparation to improve the understanding and mutual commitment of those couples being married.
• That as religious leaders we have a responsibility to provide ongoing support to strengthen and nourish existing marriages.

Because of these beliefs, the pastoral staff at Hope Church will actively work toward a set of expectations that will strive for insuring that marriages remain intact, including premarital counseling and classes, and the utilization of a wide variety of formats to enrich, build, and help existing marriages.

Ordination

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