We believe in a loving God, who blesses all creation as good.

We believe that the nature and purpose of God are fully disclosed in Jesus Christ, who comes among us as One filled with grace – teaching, expressing love, and above all caring for those who have been rejected.

We believe that humankind is created in the image of God but is fallible and inclined to sin, both personal and systemic. We recognize that humankind stands always in need of Divine grace and acknowledge with humility that the ways of God greatly transcend the grasp of human knowledge and understanding.

We believe in the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit, present always as an expression of Divine love, drawing us into the heart of God and into new visions of human possibility.

We believe in the Divine call for the church to be an embodiment of God’s purposes and a sign of God’s reign.

Therefore, at this critical juncture in our common history as United Methodists, we are called to hold our church accountable to be an inclusive community. The sin of exclusion manifests itself as white privilege, male privilege, heterosexual privilege, economic privilege and other privileges through imperialism, domination, arrogance and violence. We stand for the celebration of the sacred worth of all persons and of the rest of creation. We witness to God’s work of breaking down the dividing walls of hostility and will co-operate with God in creating a new humanity in the image and likeness of Christ Jesus.

                                                                                                   September 28, 2002
                                                                                                    Plainfield, NJ