What We Believe
Newport is a place that values diversity in our family of faith. This includes diversity of thought, beliefs, background, political leaning, and even sports team affiliations.
We do not think everyone must hold identical beliefs and we recognize that we are living in a time of spiritual renewal in which new understandings of the Christian faith are emerging.
Here are a few beliefs that generally unite our community:
For Christians, such abundant living arises from following Christ who calls us to love God with our entire being and to love our neighbors as ourselves. Our congregation is open and accepting of all, just as Jesus opened his heart and his ministry to all. Among many others, we warmly welcome our siblings who identify on the LGBTQIA+ spectrum and invite everyone to full participation in our congregation.
God rejoices with us in the celebrations of our lives and suffers with us when we walk through the dark valleys of life. God’s Spirit strengthens us in times of weakness, guides us when the way forward is unclear, sheds the light of hope in times of despair, and challenges us to strive for justice and peace as partners with God in transforming the world.
We ask a lot of questions at Newport. Jesus was the same way. He asked over 300 questions in the gospels, and of the nearly 200 questions he received, he answered less than 30. We believe that our questions, doubts, and uncertainties are fertile ground for spiritual growth. Newport is a place where all your questions - and the stories behind them, including the painful ones - will be treated with dignity. Here, you won’t have to search for answers alone.
The Bible is our sacred scripture, our foundation document, and our wisdom tradition. We wrestle with the reality that the Bible is inspired by God but written by human hands, calling us to dive into context, culture, and other factors that impact how we interpret this special Word. We know that each individual's understanding is developed in prayerful study and is unique to this time and place. Our response to scripture is guided by the Holy Spirit and found most faithfully in community.
Our social witness stance is affirmed by the Presbyterian Church (USA), which encourages all of us to go to places of suffering and need to alleviate poverty, stop violence, protect the planet from climate change, and seek justice for immigrants, the LGBTQIA+ community, and people of color. By engaging in those issues from a biblical perspective, the church recognizes the value of every aspect of human life to God.
We recognize that God speaks to other people in different ways, so we respect people of other denominations and faiths and actively reach out to know them better.
Newport Presbyterian Church's commitment to progressive theology has shaped our church into a faith community with a welcoming spirit. We welcome all to join us for Sunday worship and to participate in church activities as we live our faith together!
Learn more about our denominational affiliation, the Presbyterian Church (USA).
Learn more about open and affirming Christians.