Mark Northey gave a second talk last Sunday on "Living the Doctrines". After sharing some more about ways in which his views towards faith have evolved, Mark took us back in time by focusing on the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed (printed in last week's bulletin). By reciting this or any other creed, we all confess the same convictions rather than attempting to express our faiths in our own individual ways. The formulaic creeds developed by compromise and at times enforced by political might during and following the conclusion of the Roman Empire give us an interesting glimpse into their view of the universe, the end of time, the nature of God and our relationship to all of the above. They also stress certain unusual and therefore debated aspects of Christ's life, but never ask us to embrace his teachings or discuss how Christians ought to live. Instead, these creeds focus quite specifically on issues which divided Christians more than 1,500 years ago. By reciting such creeds frequently over the ensuing centuries, many of the creeds' issues have been put to rest, or have they? Mark then invited us to consider each phrase of the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed, giving a brief background for the thinking of the time. In our inimitable PGIMF fashion, we then freely shared our more-or-less informed views and vague recollections of church history, enthusiastically discussing why creeds might/might not be important to our spiritual tradition, whether and how we can embrace creeds either privately or in worship, what portions of the creed we find most difficult to believe, how faith assists as we confront difficulties in believing ancient yet post-apostolic theological thinking, and whether we even bother to reflect on some of the creedal statements any more, particularly when they seem far removed from daily life in Vancouver. [JEK]

Passage: The Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed
Communion: No
Ecumenical or Event:
Potluck Lunch: No
Congregational Meeting: No

Speaker: Mark Northey
Worship Leader: Jeff Schulz
Song Leader:
Pianist:
Usher: Erna Friesen
Zoom Coordinator:
Children's Feature Leader:

Bring Flowers: HELGA & PETER NEUDORF
Coffee Helper:
Sound Helper:

Child Care Volunteer: