A Brief Statement of Faith
Stories of Unity and Transformation
Eyes on Christ | Vol. 18, Issue 5 | January 29, 2025
Welcome to Eyes on Christ, a weekly letter, every Wednesday from my heart to yours. This is my 18th year writing Eyes on Christ and whether youāre new or a returning reader, Iām grateful that youāre joining me on this journey. ą®ą®ąÆą®°ąÆą®µą®¾ą®¤ą®ąÆą®ą®³ąÆ in Tamil means blessings. ā¤ļø
We started the year with Pr. Bobbyās creed of the beloved. A readerās questions led me to A Brief Statement of Faith (BSF) and A Declaration of Faith (DCF), Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Today, I offer my first story about the BSF highlighting themes of unity and transformation and an invitation to share your story.
About the photo (Unity in diversity): The image of the CSI Whitin Memorial Church in Madurai, built in 1904 by American missionaries, represents the long legacy of faith and unity in South India. Itās now a part of the Church of South India (CSI), the bold union of Anglicans (which includes Episcopalians), Congregationalists, Methodists, and Presbyterians. The 1947 CSI union was groundbreaking because it was the first practical attempt since the protestant reformation to unite episcopal and non-episcopal churches. Today, the CSI has 4 million members worldwide. Just as the PC (USA) Brief Statement of Faith calls us to celebrate the shared bond of believers across time and place, this church reflects the power of unity within diversity, bridging traditions and cultures in a common pursuit of Christās loveāserving the historically marginalized people in the surrounding communities. Look carefully at the architecture and other elements in this photo of a building from the worldās oldest democracy. What unity can you see in the diversity?
Announcement (A time for transformation): On January 29th, the Lunar New Year unfurls its colorful tapestry across China, Indonesia, Japan, Macau, Malaysia, South Korea, Thailand, Tibet, Vietnam, and their global communities. For 15 days, families come together in a celebration of fortune, renewal, and new beginnings. Yet for some American Christians whose roots are entwined with these traditions, the season may stir questions: which practices honor, and which might challenge our faith? It is a time for joyful discernment. Many of us too, especially in So Cal, will join in and welcome the Year of the Snake, which symbolizes wisdom, intuition, and personal transformation - consider that! I wish you health and happiness, and the guiding presence of the Holy Spirit. May this new year bring clarity and peace.
Now, my first story about the BSF, a very popular statement of Christian belief. Selected lines from it are set in italics and highlighted as pull quotes.
A Brief Statement of Faith | PC (U.S.A.)
Stories of Unity and Transformation
In life and in death we belong to God
In 1983, a historic reunion took place as the two largest Presbyterian churches in the United States, divided since the Civil War, came together again. The United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America (UPCUSA, northern church) and the Presbyterian Church in the United States (PCUS, southern church) merged to form the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). This reunion called for something special: a new statement of shared beliefs for the common task ahead.
Jesus proclaimed the reign of God: preaching good news to the poor, and release to the captives
Crafting this statement fell to a diverse Special Committee of twenty-one individuals, co-chaired by Jack L. Stotts and Jane Dempsey Douglass. They worked together for five years. Every word was carefully weighed and debatedāperhaps none more intensely than the phrase "We deserve God's condemnation," which proved to be the most hotly contested line in the entire document.
But we rebel against Godā¦accept lies as truth, exploit neighbor and nature, and threaten death to the planet entrusted to our care. We deserve Godās condemnation. Yet God acts with justice and mercyā¦
The process engaged Presbyterians at every level. Congregations across the country studied the draft line by line. A Young Adult Sunday School in Memphis was one of the 1,760 individuals and groups that returned extended comments. Members in a small-town church in South Carolina grappled with contemporary additions like "threaten death to the planet entrusted to our care."
We trust in God the Holy Spiritā¦the Spirit gives us courage, to unmask idolatries in Church and culture, to hear the voices of peoples long silenced.
The Committee of 15, charged with reviewing and revising the document, experienced what one member, the Rev. Eugenia Gamble describes as "one of the most unbelievable and powerful experiences of my life," witnessing the Holy Spirit "pulling threads and weaving threads together." It was also during this committee's work that Rev. Dr. Henry Fawcett, a Native / American of the Tsimpshian people of Alaska, suggested the profound addition: "to hear the voices of peoples long silenced."
In gratitude to God, empowered by the Spirit, we strive to serve Christ in our daily tasks
The statement's adoption was a moment of jubilation. At the final approval meeting, Isaiah Jones composed and performed a commemorative song, leading the entire assembly in celebration. The vote demonstrated a big consensus: 412 in favor, 40 opposed, and 16 abstentions, followed by overwhelming presbytery approval (166 to 2).
With believers in every time and place, we rejoice that nothing in life or in death can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord
Today, this short 552-word statement serves not just as a constitutional document but as a living expression of faith uniting Presbyterians in worship and service. It begins powerfullyā"In life and in death we belong to God"āand addresses modern concerns about diversity, gender equality, and environmental stewardship while remaining rooted in Reformed theology. It closes with the comforting, reassuring, and sacred āGlory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. Amen.ā
Share Your Story?
Do you have any untold narratives about A Brief Statement of Faith, particularly from the New Harmony and neighboring Presbyteries? If you have personal experiences with the Statement's development, implementation, or impactāwhether as a committee member, congregation participant, or witness to these historical moments or know someone who doesāyou can put it into comments below or contact me at faithsurvey@anitacoleman.org. Iām also curious about A Declaration of Faith, published earlier in 1977 and invite you to share your memories about this too. Our collective story matters in understanding these chapters of our history as followers of Jesus.
A Brief Statement of Faith | Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
In life and in death we belong to God. Through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit, we trust in the one triune God, the Holy One of Israel, whom alone we worship and serve.
We trust in Jesus Christ, Fully human, fully God. Jesus proclaimed the reign of God: preaching good news to the poor and release to the captives, teaching by word and deed and blessing the children, healing the sick and binding up the brokenhearted, eating with outcasts, forgiving sinners, and calling all to repent and believe the gospel. Unjustly condemned for blasphemy and sedition, Jesus was crucified, suffering the depths of human pain and giving his life for the sins of the world. God raised this Jesus from the dead, vindicating his sinless life, breaking the power of sin and evil, delivering us from death to life eternal.
We trust in God, whom Jesus called Abba, Father. In sovereign love God created the world good and makes everyone equally in God's image, male and female, of every race and people, to live as one community. But we rebel against God; we hide from our Creator. Ignoring God's commandments, we violate the image of God in others and ourselves, accept lies as truth, exploit neighbor and nature, and threaten death to the planet entrusted to our care. We deserve God's condemnation. Yet God acts with justice and mercy to redeem creation. In everlasting love, the God of Abraham and Sarah chose a covenant people to bless all families of the earth. Hearing their cry, God delivered the children of Israel from the house of bondage. Loving us still, God makes us heirs with Christ of the covenant. Like a mother who will not forsake her nursing child, like a father who runs to welcome the prodigal home, God is faithful still.
We trust in God the Holy Spirit, everywhere the giver and renewer of life. The Spirit justifies us by grace through faith, sets us free to accept ourselves and to love God and neighbor, and binds us together with all believers in the one body of Christ, the Church. The same Spirit who inspired the prophets and apostles rules our faith and life in Christ through Scripture, engages us through the Word proclaimed, claims us in the waters of baptism, feeds us with the bread of life and the cup of salvation, and calls women and men to all ministries of the church. In a broken and fearful world the Spirit gives us courage to pray without ceasing, to witness among all peoples to Christ as Lord and Savior, to unmask idolatries in Church and culture, to hear the voices of peoples long silenced, and to work with others for justice, freedom, and peace. In gratitude to God, empowered by the Spirit, we strive to serve Christ in our daily tasks and to live holy and joyful lives, even as we watch for God's new heaven and new earth, praying, āCome, Lord Jesus!ā
With believers in every time and place, we rejoice that nothing in life or in death can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Notes
The pictorial BSF and full text along with more of my notes and bibliography are available here https://eyesonchrist.substack.com/p/a-brief-statement-of-faith
#1. Which GA(s) approved BSF to be added into the Book of Confessions is unclear to me.
#2. Denomination membership at the time of reunion, in the 1980s, is estimated to be ~3 million. 15,000 of the response forms were returned to the special committee that drafted the first version of BSF.
#3. How BSF made it into the Book of Confessions, Presbyterian Church U.S.A. is very well documented but there is less information about A Declaration of Faith.
PC(USA) website. https://pcusa.org/
The CSI Whitin Memorial Church website is here and YouTube is here.
Acknowledgments
Rec. Dr. Robert Nicholson | Happy to be a Presbyterian | Leslie Scanlon