Our Vision

Our vision looks ahead to a future where our community has been successful in achieving some of the conditions that we see as essential attributes of any movement that would profess to follow the teachings of Jesus. The path to achieving these conditions may be clouded, but it is a journey we are willing to take in the hope that by living authentically, and in awareness of God and one another, we may come closer to the spiritual conditions we seek.

Openness is a condition of spiritual honesty wherein each community member may reveal and express their true identity as a unique child of God. Openness, as opposed to piety, means we are willing to share of our true selves and reveal our strengths and weaknesses, our beauty and uncomeliness, without fear of community judgment or presupposed standards.

Openness is only possible in an environment of freedom. By recognizing Jesus as a role model for liberating truths, we find freedom to be ourselves. When we recognize our own self worth, we are also freed from destructive behaviors and empowered to accept and nurture others in their journey. God is the source of our freedom and we seek a community where others appreciate and value the freedom due to each individual.

Unfortunately, the lack of these freedoms is rampant in current society due to a lack of justice. While our vision is not so bold as to see a moment in our lifetimes when injustice disappears, we do believe that we can become a community alive in the spirit of justice. We can cry out for the oppressed, speak up for the voiceless, give care to the overlooked, and love to the unloved.

We foresee a Basileia community that is both transformed and an agent of transformation through the inexplicable power and love of Jesus Christ. We commit ourselves to this journey in the name of Jesus Christ and seek the community of all who share in our vision.

Our Mission

In the Basileia event, we support all in their journey of exploration, community service, spiritual growth, communion and the celebration of life; this is a safe environment where diversity is valued and life is free of societal limitations.

While our vision is largely an expression of where we want to go, the mission of Basileia expresses in broad terms how we think we can get there. We begin by recognizing the Basileia event:

"In the basileia-event something happens that radically restructures human relationships, reversing all the privileges based on class, race, sex, wealth, ethnic identity, religious piety, social acceptability. In the basileia it is the last who shall be first, the poor who are blessed, the social outcasts who are invited to the banquet, unnamed women who exhibit true piety, sinners who are forgiven, lepers who are cleansed. It is as if a tremendous wind has swept away the whole tangled web of constricting human relationships, bringing about a clearing of freedom in which everything becomes open, direct, and whole. This wind is the Spirit of God, the Spirit of freedom." (Hodgson, Winds of the Spirit)

Exploration.

In exploration, we seek new truths to replace the rigid understandings of the past that have contributed to the injustices around us. We seek honest study of the historical Jesus that can illuminate our understanding of Christian tradition and yield the wisdom of Jesus that is applicable in the present day. We open ourselves to new understandings of God and new revelations of spirituality.

Community Service.

Sensing that Jesus called disciples to acts of mercy, love and justice, we seek to immerse ourselves in community. Basileia is purposeful in pursuit of community service as a new form of worship and engages itself as a community in service to the greater community at least monthly.

Spiritual Growth.

While spiritual growth may be seen as largely an individual pursuit, we believe that prayer partners and circles of spiritual friendship enhance our awareness of self, God and others. Out of the tension between authentic openness and the desire for greater communion with God, comes spiritual growth.

Communion.

Our desire for communion with God and one another brings us together in new avenues of worship that can best be described as relational and revelatory. Setting aside traditional rules and roles, we focus on authentic expressions of our understanding of God, hoping to catch a glimpse of the image of God in one another as we worship. Our communion is relational in that the rules of communication allow us to interact with one another more freely as we come into awareness of God. It is revelatory in that we seek new understanding and truth through symbolic elements and honest awareness of the need for ministries of peace, justice and healing of the spirit.

Celebration.

Openness. Freedom. Acceptance. Justice. Communion. Love. We have a lot to celebrate! There are times when we joy in the unfettered expression of praise, the unconditional embrace of one another and the exuberance of community that is so much a part of the happiness of life. In celebration, we declare our identity as "Basileia: An Open Door Community of Christ" and make a joyful noise.

...this is a safe environment where diversity is valued and life is free of societal limitations.

A safe environment.

One of the tragedies of our times is that many feel unwelcome and even unsafe in traditional churches. Our aim is to provide a safe place to experience one's spirituality regardless of gender, sexual orientation, marital status, economic status, race, or other differentiators. We speak out against violence and hate crimes regardless of what group or individual they victimize. Our understanding of God leads us to believe in God's desire for humanity to live in peace one with another. A church should not only be free from physical abuse, but also free of verbal attacks against individuals or groups or a pervasive sense of judgment and the subsequent social isolation that attends it.

Valuing Diversity.

Valuing diversity means that we recognize that we are different, but we celebrate and appreciate those differences as intentional acts of creation. Physical "handicap," sexual orientation, racial diversity and other differences between individuals should not be allowed to become barriers between people. We seek to build bridges, not walls.

Overcoming Societal Limitations.

In the process of pursuing our mission as an authentic community, we seek to overcome the "whole tangled web of constricting human relationships." New understandings of pastoral leadership within the Basileia community are an example of our mission to overcome these limitations. Together we seek to share leadership responsibility in a dynamic of action that is unfettered by traditional roles and responsibilities. By using the Internet, we break through some communication barriers that are an unfortunate part of our diverse geographic setting. More importantly, by seeing each one as a unique creation, we set aside society's attempts at power and control over individuals who are viewed differently from the "main group." In Basileia, our mission is to set forth an open door. All may enter and join the communion of Jesus Christ.

Our Welcoming Statememt In working to bring about the realm of God, Basileia: An Open Door Community of Christ values diversity and celebrates those differences as intentional acts of God's creation. In that the realm of God includes all persons, we welcome and include all persons including persons of all sexual orientations, gender identities and family units in the full life of the congregation. Adopted by Basileia: An Open Door Community of Christ on January 4, 2004