Newport Presbyterian Church is a congregation of the Presbyterian Church (USA) and guided by its Confessions and its Book of Order. In less churchy language, that means we believe in doing life and exploring faith together, with guidance from leaders elected from the congregation and in relationship with other churches with similar values and structures. Within our context, we welcome all who want to understand the Christian faith and what it may mean in their lives—including Christians with longstanding ties to a faith community as well as seekers, people who are uncomfortable with traditional interpretations, and those who have felt excluded by other churches.  All are invited to bring their questions to church and wrestle with their doubts in this faithful community.

 

Many at Newport embrace a "progressive" understanding of Christian theology.  This is not a political stance but a theological approach that, in our view, leads us to a few basic understandings: 

• God is a mystery whose nature is beyond human understanding; in God "we live and move and have our being." The fruits of God's Spirit are "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control."  God, our Creator, is intimately present in us and in all of creation and intervenes in our lives in ways we cannot fully understand.  Our main tasks as Christians are to be in a relationship with God and to share Christ's love and care for all people. 

• God is neither male nor female, so we use "inclusive language" and do not refer to God only as "He" or "Him" but try to use many images, such as mother, rock, or shepherd, through which we can experience the fullness of God.  God loves all people equally (men and women and people who don’t fit into binary categories) and calls us all to serve the church in leadership roles. 

• God loves all people, and 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 have felt rejected by other churches, including those who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender, and invite them to full participation in our church. 

• The life and teachings of Jesus are fundamental to our faith, as important as the lessons of his death and resurrection.  The way of Jesus consists of compassion, forgiveness, humility, nonviolence, service, and a deep passion for justice. This kind of life is not always going to be easy and will often challenge us, but we strive forward in confidence that love will make the world a better place for all of us. 

• We experience the Holy Spirit as the bringer of guidance and wisdom, the "still, small voice" that inspires us when we are quiet enough to listen for and pay attention to it. 

• We strive to do good not because of fear of sin and hell in the afterlife but inspired by gratitude for the gift of God's grace, freely given to all, and the desire to transform our lives and our world. 

• The Bible is our sacred and authoritative 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. 

• Social Justice is an important part of our life of faith, modeled after the advocacy and presence of Jesus. Our social witness stance is affirmed by the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), 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.

• Care for our Earth and all God's creation is a theological mandate, which we take seriously.  We seek to weave creation-care into the fabric of Newport's church life. 

• We seek and understand God through our Christian faith.  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!