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The Reformed View of Christian Faith
In the Reformed view, the final authority is the Bible--known as the Holy Scriptures, the Word of God.
The Reformed perspective is centered in the overwhelming love of God toward us. We believe that God is three in one--God the father, God the son (Jesus Christ), and God the Holy Spirit.
We believe that we are saved by grace alone through faith, not by what we think or do to earn God's favor. Our good works don't earn our salvation, but are a way to thank God for this free gift of salvation.
The Reformed Church in America celebrates two sacraments: baptism and the Lord's Supper. They remind us of God's promises to us and help us to claim those promises as our own.
The RCA is confessional, which means that together we have statements of belief, called creeds and confessions. These statements guide our understanding of faith and shape its practice.
The RCA is "Reformed and always reforming," earnestly seeking to know the mind of Christ as it strives to be faithful in a changing, complex, and often troubled world. The RCA's position papers on contemporary issues provide guidance to the members of the church and are a part of the church's witness in society.
How We Began
The Reformed Church is part of the historic church of Jesus Christ.
The Reformed Church in America is part of the worldwide church of Jesus Christ. Its history can be traced to the Netherlands in the seventeenth century, to Germany and Switzerland during the Protestant Reformation, to the Roman Empire, and beyond. Ultimately, it is rooted in the Old Testament--God's ancient covenant with the Hebrew people.
Its North American beginnings go back to a worship service in 1628 in a room above a grist mill in what is now New York City. Today the RCA spans two countries, the United States and Canada, and includes about 1,000 churches and 170,000 confessing members--people of diverse ethnicities and many cultures, growing and worshiping God together.
RCA History
Three noteworthy events mark the dawn of United States history--the settlement of Jamestown in Virginia; the arrival of the Pilgrims in Massachusetts; and the establishment of New Amsterdam, now New York City, by Dutch colonists.
Commercial reasons, not religion, compelled the Dutch to settle the area. But with these pioneers came their church--a church that has survived on these shores continuously for nearly four hundred years--the Reformed Church in America.
Today, the Reformed Church in America includes 300,000 people of many cultures across the North American continent, remembering their heritage, growing together, reforming always to do the work of the global Christian church.
How We Worship
Worship is the central act of the church's life. It is the action of acknowledging God's praiseworthiness and glory. We acknowledge God's presence with us through songs, hymns, prayers, sacraments, giving gifts, and listening to a message from the Bible.
Worship celebrates God's greatness and faithfulness to his people. Worship enables believers to articulate their faith and to act it out in word, song, and action.
Reformed congregations share a commitment to sound preaching, Christian education for people of all ages, and loving spiritual care and guidance. RCA worship services range in character from highly formal to very informal, and many congregations have their own special worship traditions and practices.
These aspects of worship are usually shared by Reformed congregations:
Reformed Church worship is corporate.
Worship is not a performance with the minister as actor or actress and the congregation as the audience. God is the audience and the whole congregation is involved in the service, in prayer, song, and offering.
Reformed Church worship is liturgical.
Sometimes the expression "liturgical" is used to describe a church whose worship is highly formal and follows specific rituals; this is not the sense in which the term "liturgical" is used in Reformed circles. The word "liturgy" means "the work of the people." Reformed Church worship is liturgical in the sense that our worship involves the whole people of God in the activity of worship.
While each local congregation has its own worship traditions, most Reformed worship services include singing, praying together, and a message given by the pastor, based on a passage from the Bible.
Reformed Church worship is sacramental.
When we celebrate the sacraments of baptism and the Lord's Supper, God comes to us through all of our senses. We hear God's promise of forgiveness; we see and hear the water of baptism that cleanses; and we touch and smell and taste the bread and wine that signifies Christ's body and blood. Our faith is awakened, renewed, and energized when we celebrate the sacraments.
(Excerpts taken from The Reformed Church in America web site.)
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