Statement of Values

• Christian Commitment We do not promote generic religiosity. Rather, we find our identity and our reason for being in the particular/peculiar story of Jesus of Nazareth, who, through the power of the Holy Spirit, we identify with God the creator.

• Intellectual Honesty House of Mercy we seeks to create a place where questions are encouraged, where no one is handed a checklist of orthodoxy, and where ambiguity is not the enemy of faith but its partner.

• Inclusion House of Mercy will strive to incubate racial, ethnic, gender, and class diversity. House of Mercy will be an inclusive community, a community that welcomes and affirms everyone who seeks a deeper relationship with Christ.

• Ecumenism We appreciate the energy and creativity of the free church tradition but we reject its isolation from other parts of the body. Though House of Mercy's roots are in the free church tradition we seek to embrace forms of worship which draw upon the most creative artistic venues, while seeking to incorporate elements of Christian worship from a vast variety of traditions.

• Evangelism The Greek word “gospel,” the word for the four stories of Jesus in the Bible, means “good news.” We believe that the Jesus story is, first and last, good new. We seek to recover the proclamation of good news. We reject shameful and manipulative means for gaining allegiance to the church.

• Social Justice The gospel of Jesus Christ means liberation for the poor and oppressed. In the name of God’s love for the world, we seek to foster and cooperate with acts of mercy and visions for justice in our church and in our community.

• The Arts We affirm the value of art both as a means of exploring and expressing the Christian faith as well as a confirmation of the goodness of creation. We believe that art is to be celebrated, whether or not it is self-consciously Christian.

• Self-critique We reserve the right to be humble but rigorous critics of the distortions of the church, both in its contemporary forms and in its history.

• Shared leadership We reject the notion that we need a single, authoritative pastoral leader. We trust in the possibility that leadership can come from a team of pastoral leaders.

• Do-it-yourself-ism Having our origins in the attitude “let’s start our own church,” House of Mercy seeks to foster creativity and vision in all of those who associate with us.