The United Methodist Church is a Trinitarian, Christian body of faith. There are 25 historic Articles of Religion that are the core of our understanding our relationship with God, Christ and the Holy Spirit. These three persons of God are sometimes referred to as Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer. Alternately they are known as That from which all things flow, Him who makes right all that is wrong, and The One who is with us to the end of the age.
God is transcendent (over and beyond all that is), yet at the same time immanent (present in everything). God is omnipresent (everywhere at once), omnipotent (all-powerful), and omniscient (all-knowing). God is absolute, infinite, righteous, just, loving, merciful…and more. As has been said by one of the Church Fathers, “God is that of which no greater can be conceived.”
As United Methodists, we have an obligation to bear a faithful Christian witness to Jesus Christ, the living reality at the center of the Church’s life and witness. To fulfill this obligation, we reflect critically on our biblical and theological inheritance, striving to express faithfully the witness we make in our own time.
Essentially our (The United Methodist people) core theology has been described as the “Extreme Center”. If one blended all other Christian theologies, then stripped away their peculiarities, only holding onto those commonly held beliefs …those would be ours. Our only particular emphasis is on divine grace. We understand Grace to exist in three ways: Prevenient (the grace that comes to us before we are aware of God’s working in our lives), Saving (that grace that makes us new beings in and through Jesus Christ) and Perfecting(the grace that moves us along the path of becoming more Christ like each day).
For those matters not defined by the Articles of Religion we follow the lead of Mr. Wesley who indicated that there should be a unity on core matters and thoughtfulness in all others. When we are at our best, we happily co-exist, taking the opportunity to learn from each other something of the greater vision of God and how we are to live in God’s world.
We invite you to learn along with us.
Membership
Please visit us and see if Salem is where God is calling you to. We believe that being a part of the local church is important to living a life in Christ. Learn more…