St THomas’ core beliefs are
summed up in six affirmations

• We affirm the centrality of the word of God.

• We affirm the necessity of the new birth.

• We affirm a conscious dependence on the Holy Spirit.

• We affirm a commitment to the whole mission of the church.

• We affirm the church as a fellowship of believers.

• We affirm the reality of freedom in Christ.

  St Thomas is part of what church historians would label a “Pietist” faith community. That means a lot of things, but in terms of beliefs it means that we center on our shared life in Christ, not doctrinal purity. It is through that lens we see the affirmations as guiding principles for community rather than as a litmus test for belonging. At St Thomas there is a lot of room to believe differently; it is the pietist way. In fact, we believe our diversity of opinion is a strength. Because of that, this church and individuals within it may not agree with one another on all sorts of things. Instead, we commit to the mission, vision, and values of this community over and above any list of theological beliefs. This doesn’t mean that we don’t believe things strongly, rather it means that we hold our beliefs in humility, knowing that right now ‘we see through a mirror dimly’. We center on Christ and Christ’s call to love our neighbors. We define love as, ‘any belief, behavior, or idea that heals or reveals the image of God in you or your neighbor, or the fingerprints of God on creation.

That said, everyone is welcomed at St Thomas. No one is excluded from any aspect of life in this community over their race, sex, gender, or sexual orientation. As already stated, we say this while intentionally holding space for members of this community to disagree or be in process in regards to their own opinions on these or any other issues. At St Thomas it’s not that you can belong before you believe; at St Thomas you can belong. period.