Community Covenant

Riverside Church at Park and King is an ecumenical congregation in the baptist tradition where all are welcome and all means all.

Core Value: Love

We Love God, rooting our community in the ancient Scriptures and in daily communion with God and each other. We recognize that God’s unconditional love is sufficient for us and for everyone, and it comes as a free gift. We promise to be ever attentive to the movement of the Spirit, discerning God’s call in community and remembering that God often speaks to us in unexpected ways.

We Love Each Other, offering not simply tolerance, but abundant and extravagant love. We promise to love people who are difficult to love, to forgive people as many times as they need, and to use accountability as a tool of reconciliation rather than condemnation. We promise to forgive freely, listen with curiosity, and disagree without division. We promise to be a model of transformative and beloved community, with people of every race, culture, class, gender, sexuality, ability, and age finding a place in our leadership, membership, and circle of care.

We Love the World, attaching ourselves to the hope that comes from God’s society, which has already begun and will one day be fully realized. We affirm that God’s vision is one of radical justice: with kindness, mercy, care for creation, economic and personal agency, and inclusion for all.

Interpretive Principle

We are followers of Jesus. Therefore, our reading of Scripture, ethics of daily life, and priorities as a community will be primarily discerned through the lens of the life and teaching of Jesus

Foundational Practices

The practices of universal welcome, seeking justice, and spiritual formation will guide the rhythms of our church life.

In the practice of universal welcome, we will make space for connection and community, developing a faithful practice of hospitality.

In the practice of seeking justice, we will work in solidarity in our care for the widow, the orphan, the prisoner, the oppressed, and the poor – freeing all to live in God’s justice.

In the practice of spiritual formation, we will create pathways for deeper connection with God and a shaping of each individual to their unique potential for shining forth the image of God through worship, study, small groups, and other spiritual practices.

Commitment to Spiritual Freedom

Because of our historic roots in the baptist tradition, we believe that the freedom of conscience gives rise
to authentic faith, sustainable community, and equitable society. We speak of this freedom in four ways:

Personal Freedom: we believe that every person is given agency by God to make choices in their spiritual lives, and that each person is responsible to God, not the church, for those choices. We recognize that our pastors join us on the journey as guides and teachers, not dictators or judges.

Bible Freedom: because we are ultimately accountable to God for the choices in our spiritual lives, no interpretation of the Scripture is binding on another believer. Rather, we recognize the freedom of each person to study and interpret the Scriptures for themselves. We recognize that our congregation will have theological diversity without division; we will not force agreement.

Church Freedom: we recognize no outside authority over our congregation, but rather assert the freedom of our local faith community to listen to the Holy Spirit and follow in the way that we believe that God is calling us.

Religious Freedom: we believe that these freedoms can only truly be exercised within a society where every person has the right to pray and worship – or not – as they choose. We will partner with those in the interfaith community to create a societal framework that promotes liberty and justice for all.