Faith

Our mission at Salem United Methodist Church is to live abundantly by growing in faith, fellowship, spirit, and service.

What? We believe that its not enough simply to have faith. We are also called to grow in faith. Faith is a process, not some mere possession. No matter how we relate today to the mystery of faith – whether we are atheists, agnostics, or devout believers – we still have growing to do. We remember how even Jesus set an example for growing through religious education in Luke 2:46-52.

When? Our primary gathering for growing in our faith is on Sunday morning. Faith development classes go from 9-9:45am, and worship goes from 10-11am.

What classes? We have four faith development classes: nursery age (ages 0-4), elementary (ages 5-10), Seekers & Sages (all ages), and Agape (older adults).

Kids and clothes? Throughout Sunday morning, our professional childcare staff worker and able volunteers provide childcare for ages 0-4. There is no dress code. Whether in a two-piece sweatsuit or three-piece dress suit, simply come prepared for the work of transformation.

Why worship? We worship in order to glorify God and to be transformed. We believe that worship is sacramental, which is a short way of saying that it’s a unique means by which God’s grace can meet us where we are and take us somewhere new.

What’s worship like? Worship at Salem is both rooted in tradition and freshly attentive to today. We employ ancient liturgies of communion as well as current prayers from the church around the world. We sing music ranging from Bach and the Beatles to Carlton and Neil Young. We engage tough texts from our history and difficult topics in our culture.

At the heart of our worship is our engagement with scripture. We struggle with the Bible, acknowledging how challenging, controversial, and downright confusing it can be. Like Jacob in Genesis 32, we receive new identity only by wrestling in search of a blessing.