God's being and essence is revealed in the relationship between the persons that make up the Trinity: Creator, Christ, and Holy Spirit. God's inherent nature is relational both within Godself and with creation.
God as Creator is the author and origin of all creation and life. God created the whole world good and intentionally diverse. The model of relationship for this diverse creation is found in God's relational nature. No part of creation can survive on its own. Every creature is dependent on God and on each other for life, wholeness and health.
God as Jesus Christ shows us how to be truly human. The name "Jesus" indicates God's specific witness as human at a particular time and place. The name "Christ" indicates his divine nature and presence with us in every time and place. God became human and lived with us in Jesus Christ so that we can know how to relate to God and to each other with compassion, forgiveness, and love. Even though Jesus Christ offered us God's endless love and amazing grace, we rejected him and broke relationship with God by crucifying him on a cross.
The resurrection of Jesus Christ not only testifies to God's power, but to God's love-a love that knows no bounds, a love that saves us, that makes us whole.
God as Holy Spirit enables us to experience the surprising, dynamic, and connectional nature and activity of God in the world. The Holy Spirit provides the means for us to connect and to relate to each other. At Pentecost, the Spirit was made known in breaking down the barriers of language and culture which so easily separate us. The Spirit - the continuing, accompanying presence of God with us - enables us to relate to the diversity of God's creation, to relate to and enrich each other. God yearns and works to connect every part of the creation to Godself and to each other, and will do so in any and every way at God's disposal.
Humanity, because we are made in the image of God, is conscious of its relational nature and can choose to enter into relationships with God and one another. However, human beings are broken creatures not living as God intended us to live. Sin is the choice not to be in relationship, a choice which breaks creation and the heart of God. God's gracious presence in Jesus Christ teaches, exemplifies, and leads us to wholeness and new life; God in the presence of the Holy Spirit daily gives us the power to follow Christ's example.
God has called the Church into being as the place where we can learn to live in new relationships with one another. God has also called the church to be a witness to this new way of relating for all the world. With the power of the Holy Spirit and the model of Jesus Christ, the church, for all of its failings, points to human community as God intended it to be.
The sacraments of baptism and eucharist are the ways by which the Church marks and strengthens the church; they are the Christian way of marking relationship. Baptism assures every believer of God's eternal love for us and marks our place in the Christian community. The eucharist is the way we practice this new relationship with God and each other. Eucharist strengthens us to share God's good news of a renewed humanity with the whole world.
Scripture, by the Holy Spirit, is God's word to each of us. Scripture records the faithful testimony of God's people through the ages, revealing God's desire to reconcile all of creation to Godself.