What We Believe

We exist to embody Christ in our worship, wisdom, welcome and witness for the life of San Antonio and the world.

Worship

Human beings are made to worship. All people worship; the only questions are, what? And how? We worship the God revealed in Jesus Christ and proclaimed in this historic creeds of the church. Our worship is joyful and traditional, ancient and contemporary. We trust that God speaks in the reading and preaching of scripture. We receive ordinary bread and wine each week as Christ’s promised presence. For us, rituals are not rote but sacred gifts of grace.

Formation

Human beings are made in God’s image. Though sin distorts that image and distracts us to the foolish ways of the world, Jesus is renewing us back into God’s glorious image. We believe God wants to transform everyone to live and love like Jesus—the wisdom of God. This does not happen spontaneously, but through the intentional ordering of our habits. God wants to re-order our habits of time, attention, relationship, and money so that we might become a people of true wisdom.

Hospitality

Human beings are made to belong to one another, to be known and loved in community. Jesus is the great reconciler, who breaks down the walls of hostility, making it possible for disparate peoples to be one united body. Christ Church is seeking to be a community, not an affinity of party or class. Though imperfect, we believe in the ancient Apostolic vision of reconciliation and welcome, such that all people would encounter and follow the risen Christ together.

Mercy

Human beings are a real mess. We all need mercy and believe God’s mercy is inexhaustible. It’s been said that if you haven’t seen God, it’s because you haven’t looked low enough. We want to join Jesus in the low places and learn what he means by “I desire mercy and not sacrifice.”

• We believe the good news that God is making all things new in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, through his church and by his Spirit.
• We believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the revealed Word of God containing all things necessary to salvation.
• We worship one God in three Persons, praying with the Book of Common Prayer to the Father through the Son by the Holy Spirit.
• We take part in the Sacraments ordained by Christ himself, through the ministry of the apostolic orders.
• We are an integral part of the one Body of Christ composed of Churches which, united under the headship of Jesus, are in the fellowship of the one holy catholic and apostolic Church throughout the ages.
• We receive the one Faith revealed in Holy Scripture, and defined in the ecumenical creeds from The Great Tradition of the church.
• We belong to the worldwide Anglican Communion under the leadership of the Archbishop of Canterbury.
• We pray for the healing of the Church’s sad divisions and for the reunification of the Body of Christ.