Center for Progressive Christianity
Part of the affiliation procedure is to rewrite TCPC’s Eight Points to fit our community.
Here are our Eight Points which show how we are alike, and how we differ, from other progressive Christians:
We affirm that we are a Meeting held together by Quaker principles, not formal doctrines or statements. Quakers are guided by the testimonies of equality, simplicity, community, integrity and peace. We acknowledge our kinship with the progressive Christian community because we:
1. Unite in belief that there is that of God in everyone and include those who have found an approach to God through the life and teachings of Jesus.
2. Recognize the faithfulness of other people who have other spiritual practices and acknowledge that their ways are true for them, as our ways are true for us
3. Believe that all of life is sacramental because of our “belief in the primacy of the inward experience of the Spirit.
4. Invite all people to participate in our community and worship life without insisting that they become like us in order to be acceptable (including but not limited to):
- believers and agnostics
- conventional Christians and questioning skeptics
- those of all sexual orientations and gender identities
- those of all races and cultures
- those of all classes and abilities
- those who hope for a better world and those who have lost hope
5. Know that the way we behave toward one another and toward other people is the fullest expression of what we believe
6. Wait upon God in silence for divine guidance, are open to continuing revelation and trust that the Inward Light is the ultimate teacher.
7. Form ourselves into Meetings dedicated to equipping one another for the work we feel called to do: striving for peace and justice among all people, protecting and restoring the integrity of all God’s creation, and bringing hope to those Jesus called the least of his sisters and brothers.
8. Recognize that being in such a community is costly, and entails selfless love, conscientious resistance to evil, and renunciation of privilege.