Pastor Ben’s July letter
Dear Friends in Christ,
The Nicine Creed Banner
Though you may not have noticed it, one of the changes that came with our merger involved confessions. The Presbyterian Church (USA) has a Book of Confessions, a series of statements of faith written over the centuries that say what our church believes. At BAPC, one of the big ways the confessions were remembered was visual—handmade banners representing the confessions lined the sanctuary. At MPC, the confessions were remembered differently—by weekly affirmations of faith, usually taken from one of the PCUSA confessions. Together, Evergreen Presbyterian Church retains both traditions—double the confessions!
Several weeks ago, we ordained deacons and installed our elders and deacons to their
offices. We asked two questions of these officers that relate to the confessions: first, do you consider these confessions a reliable exposition of scripture, and second, will you be instructed, led, and guided by them? And—to both questions—our deacons and elders say “we do, and we will.” But how much do we really know about these confessions? Do we know why one of our banners has a crossed-out swastika on it? Do we know why so many Presbyterian
churches are called Westminster, or something else-minster? Do we know that the Nicene creed involved fistfights, or that the Confession of 1967 almost split the church? Probably not.
This summer, I’m preaching about the Confessions. All of them make different, interesting points drawn from scripture—so you’ll learn the stories behind them and why the church adopted their witness. We will feature the banner of the week, and will confess bits of these confessions together for our affirmations of faith. If you are a follow- along type, you can read the confessions yourself—there are free online copies at https://www.pcusa.org/resource/book-confessions/.
The confessions are the story of our church. They tell us how we responded to the biggest questions of our day. Who is God? What is the church? What does the Bible mean? How do we stand up to Nazis or Apartheid? How can we be reconciled across big
differences? Does God call men and women on equal terms? What is our calling in the world today? If you have ever asked yourself any of these questions…well do I have good news for you.
In Christ, Rev. Ben