An Open Letter to the Community
- Terry Sweeney
- Jul 17, 2009
An Open Letter to the Community
Dear Friends and Neighbors,
We are writing to make an invitation and give you some information.
Our Invitation –
If you are spiritually weary and seek rest, or mourning and long for comfort, if you struggle and desire victory or in sin and know you need a savior, if you desire fellowship and are seeking God’s righteousness, St. Timothy’s opens her door wide and offers welcome in the Name of Christ.
Who are we?
o Established in 1844, we are the oldest church in Catonsville.
o We are traditional Christians who have a high view of the Bible and the Creeds.
o We believe the Bible is God’s word, we believe in the uniqueness of Jesus Christ as God’s only begotten son; born of a virgin mother, who lived a sinless life; who died for our sins, who rose from the dead, ascended into heaven and will one day return to judge the living and the dead.
o We believe there is only one way to heaven and that’s through faith in Jesus Christ.
Diversity and tolerance are two key words in today’s culture that need some clarification.
Diversity: We are aware that we hold theological and social positions that differ from some of the other congregations in the Episcopal Church. We do not believe that God is fickle by giving different people different truth. As a result we uphold that which the early church believed, taught, and at various times was martyred for. We therefore do not support teaching or practices that are outside of the plain meaning of Scripture and the Apostles’ teaching. We are pro-life, we do not bless same sex unions, and we do not support the ordination of those who have chosen to live outside of scripture. We do believe God will correct errors of faith and practice in His Church. We don’t say this out of arrogance or hatred but in love and humility knowing that we as a church are sinners constantly in need of God’s grace. Our traditions and consciences however require us to honor God and His Church through the faith He has handed down to us.
Tolerance is defined as a fair, objective, and permissive attitude toward those whose opinions, practices, race, religion, nationality, etc., differ from one’s own. We believe the practice of tolerance is necessary to living a Christ like life; we love everyone who comes to our church, yet because we are under both Grace and the moral law we must be restrained by Godly love to set the limits of permissiveness. For example, without limits on behavior we have a tendency to go to extremes and make bad choices.
Putting Diversity and Tolerance into Practice
If we apply our understanding of diversity to the practice of tolerance we find that while holding to our beliefs and our call to follow Christ: all are welcome, all will be treated with respect, and all will be afforded care and love in the Name of Jesus.
Your friend and neighbor in Christ,
The leaders of St. Timothy’s Church
410.747.6690
