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CHRISTIAN

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• We believe in God the Creator, the incarnation of God in Jesus Christ, and our BFF and Advocate the Holy Spirit. They are distinct and yet they are all one.

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• God's grace is available to all who choose to receive it. The resurrection of Christ shows that death is not the end-game.

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• The Realm of God is present here on Earth for those who believe in it. We pray for the time when it is revealed to everyone.

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PROSTESTANT

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• Religious schisms happen. It's not what God wants, but sometimes it's healthier for some groups to serve the world separately until we can sort through our stuff and serve the world together again.

 

• Martin Luther broke from the Roman Catholic church for 95 reasons. They were selling tickets to heaven and he, rightly, thought that was wrong. He also wanted to get married. This later became Lutheranism.

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• King Henry VIII broke from the Roman Catholic church because he wanted a divorce. This became the Church of England, also known as the Anglican Church, also known as the Episcopal Church.

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• These descriptions are hugely oversimplified. 

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UNITED METHODIST

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• An Anglican priest named John Wesley believed that the Church of England should be sending pastors to the "New" country. They said no. He broke some major rules and sent pastors anyway. He also ran highly organized groups of Christians out of his campus ministry at Oxford. The term "Methodists" was first intended as an insult, but hey, it was true, and the name stuck.

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• Okay, here comes some real oversimplification. Methodists grew in numbers. There were some splits and unifications, some of the worst over slavery. In 1968, the Methodist Episcopal Church joined with the Evangelical United Brethren Church. The United Methodist Church grew to be the second largest Protestant denomination in the world.

 

• Schisms happen. It is expected that the United Methodist Church will split into two, maybe more, entities in the next few years. The disagreement is claimed to be over Scriptural authority regarding human sexuality. Though anyone who has read the Scriptures knows this argument isn't valid. Grifters gonna grift. It's very difficult to split a huge, global entity with millions of members and almost that many bylaws.

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RECONCILING

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• Speaking of human sexuality. Let's talk about it! Not the victorian, puritan version that puts covers on table legs. But the fact that God made us human and God made us sexual. Some of us make babies. Some of us don't. Hopefully, most everyone derives some pleasure from their sexuality. Thank God!

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• To that end, Grace on 3rd has stated publicly that it will be in ministry WITH and FOR people of differing gender-identities and consenting sexual-orientations.

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• "Reconcile" means healing relationships. We take this further to mean that we will stand with whichever section of society is being scapegoated by those wanting more power.

 

BUSY

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• In 1903, the founders of Grace United Methodist Church had a vision of serving the community at the corner of East 3rd Street and Junipero Avenue in Long Beach. They wanted to share their love of Christ through their property. After a number of dormant years (and a global pandemic), we are serving the community again in new and exciting ways. Follow our social media to stay updated. Make an appointment to drop-by and say hi!