What We Believe.

What if we chose to relish uncertainty? What if "I'm not sure, but I'm trying to learn" became our mantra? What if all you've been told about what's certain couldn't possibly be if many others are certain about their (almost certainly different) point of view?

Let's have faith in uncertainty. Let's cherish it. Let's worship it. Let's love the questions and the exploration and journey of growing together.

We were created as beings able to learn and grow and change and improve. That gift in the way we were created is divine. When we dive deeply into the pool of uncertainty we are tapping into the very essence of our human potential. Our curiosity, our wonder, our inquisitiveness, and our sense of possibility might be the most powerful tools we have.

A mindset that rejects blind and immature certainty but pursues ever improving answers with passion will win the day. This is the mindset we need to engage one another respectfully and hopefully. Let's be uncertain and be o.k. with that.

We are all creators. We create our work, our art, our offspring... But we also are powerful creators of every experience we encounter and every group within which we participate. We have power over the choices we make. We can take responsibility for our presence and contribution to each experience, interaction, encounter, and relationship in our lives.

Let's agree to own the responsibility and the privilege of co-creation. Let’s co-create this community together. We are, each of us, in charge of creating moments for ourselves and everyone we encounter that are the best possible moments we can muster. That might be our ultimate call as humans. To create a wonderful world to live in for ourselves and each person who enters our sphere.

All (and we mean ALL) are welcome here. The only people not welcome are the people who don't welcome all.

When you look at your reflection, what if you saw how truly magnificent you are? When you look at the face of another, what if you could immediately grasp how wondrous and complex and nuanced and beautiful they are?

Let's make that choice. Let's let each face we peer into during an interaction (digital or otherwise) reflect back our belief that "This person is magnificent!"

Each person we encounter contains a lifetime full of lessons and stories and insights that we can tap into. Each person we encounter has also somehow survived a lifetime full of moments of pain and loss and sorrow. We all enter each encounter full of this magnificence. And it is up to each of us to remind one another of our wondrous nature.

Each face you see and person you encounter is a mirror of your own magnificence.

Connecting with others as a community in real ways is scary and risky. Let's do it anyway.

Allowing others a peek below the surface of your soul can be terrifying. Let's do it anyway. The only times we ever really connect with each other in powerful ways that matter is when at least a little bit of vulnerability is accessed. We can't truly connect without vulnerability. It's that simple. Let's choose to embrace the risk of vulnerability as the price we're willing to pay to be fully human.

For many, faith, prayer and religion are intimate and sensitive subjects. We might feel fear or shame or uncertainty because of experiences in the past, and a community around faith might feel frightening. We welcome your vulnerability here and pray that others will honor it in this space.

Let’s all do everything we can to make this place safe for vulnerability. And let’s model it ourselves whenever we can.