Key Values

Love

Love is the embodiment of what it means to follow Christ. Because of this, love is central to who we are at Hessel Park Church. Our love is shaped and formed by the Holy Spirit through corporate and individual spiritual practices which ground us in God’s love and move us to love others. Our love flows from abiding in God’s unconditional, radical love and comes to expression as we actively seek justice and show care and mercy for all, especially the wounded and vulnerable. “If we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us” (1 John 4:12).

Faith

Faith is the active, communal practice of discipleship. As disciples of Christ Jesus, we seek to be shaped and formed by the dynamic Word of God so that we follow the way of Jesus in all aspects of life. We demonstrate our faith through our individual work in the broader community, at the university, through volunteering, and through our communal support of local organizations that address the needs of the most vulnerable. “Show me your faith without deeds, and [we] will show you [our] faith by what [we] do (James 2:18). Our faith(ful) practice avoids simplistic interpretations and answers, but, rather, humbly seeks depth of understanding, wisdom, and knowledge so that we may become ambassadors of God’s kingdom. It sees the necessity of allowing for mystery, curiosity, and even doubt. In this way “we live by faith, not by sight” (2 Cor. 5:7).

Community

Community is an active state of living together out of God’s triune nature by celebrating both our diversity and unity. We do so by practicing hospitality, cultivating deep relationships, and offering mutual service for each other. We engage our broader community and the world with compassion, recognizing the image of God in all people and that God's glory shines in all of creation. As God’s agents of renewal we work for justice in our local community, around the globe, and for the creation. As members of Christ’s body, we draw upon and celebrate the various theological, musical and liturgical gifts of God’s people from around the globe and throughout time. “For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body - Jews or Greeks, slaves or free - and we were all made to drink of one Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12:13).

Worship

Worship is the ascription of honor and worth to God. All actions in life are potential acts of worship. The whole of our Sunday service, which includes liturgical readings, scripture readings, prayers, preaching, offerings and singing, is an act of worship. Into that service we bring our curiosity, creativity, labor, and intellectual pursuits in order to praise and honor God. Since we are called to do all things for the glory of God, our worship extends beyond Sunday mornings to the activities we do in and through our everyday lives. The church service thus reinforces and reflects our everyday worship. While worship is a "vertical" action, being between us and God, it is also "horizontal" because it is a communal act in which we engage one another, the world, and the creation. As a “priestly nation,” we give voice to the worship of the creation. “Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let the sea resound, and all that is in it (Psalm 96:11). Finally, Worship is simultaneously a communal and an individual act for it is an expression of our communal identity as the "body of Christ”. “I rejoiced when I heard them say to me, ‘Let us go up to the house of the Lord.’” (Psalm 122:1).

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