What we believe as Presbyterians
The words of A Brief Statement of Faith affirm the following:
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. 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 to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. Amen.
We at BPC seek to live out these words with our worship, our care and nurture of one another, our ongoing educational efforts for all ages, and our outreach and service in the world.
With our roots in the Protestant reformation, and with our ties to Scot Presbyterians in Virginia, we are grounded in the following:
- The Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testament through which we affirm God's abiding love, God's covenant, God's Emmanuel in Jesus Christ, and God's purposes and plans through Christ's life and death and resurrection.
- The grace of God which is freely offered to each of our lives, which saves us from sin, selfishness, and despair, and out of which we seek to live lives of grace, love, and generosity in all things.
- Our election to service as well as salvation. We believe that we have been richly blessed in order to be a blessing to the world. God sends us out to do God's work near and far.
We are guided by the Constitution of the PCUSA - the Book of Order and the Book of Confessions. The Book of Order frames our life and practice. The Book of Confessions states our faith and bear witness to God's grace in Jesus Christ. There are 11 statements from across the ages that affirm who the church is and what the church resolves to do.