What is a Presbyterian?

You, me, anyone. This doctrine is called the “priesthood of all believers.” Priesthood is the way we describe people who want to serve God by serving others. A priest is a follower of Christ, a witness to God’s grace given to us in the life of Jesus Christ, a willing partner in sharing that love by offering the blessings of God to others with unconditional love, and working for peace and justice in the world.

The word, “pesbyterian” actually describes the form of government for our branch of the Christian church. Form follows function and Presbyterians primarily believe that God can and does speak to and through anyone God chooses. Therefore no one is more valuable than another in the work of Christian faith.  Our government and life together support diversity, equality, and inclusion as our best path to understanding the who God is and God is doing and what we are made for (see sections in the first chapter of the pdf in the DEI link. The specific paragraph numbers are: F-1.0403 and F-1.0404). 

What do Presbyterians believe?

Presbyterians do not all believe exactly the same things about God. We do all affirm three things:
There is only one God, maker of heaven and earth;
Jesus Christ is Lord, by whom and through whom and for whom all things are created;
The Holy Spirit is eternally God in Christ at work in the world bringing about new creation.

In the the symbol of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
you can see highlighted aspects of our faith:  the Holy Spirit as a dove, Christ’s cross of salvation, the fire of God’s glory or presence (and the Spirit’s inspiring revelatory power), a cup of blessing and a baptismal fount representing our adoption into Christ’s family, the pulpit for preaching the Word, and the Bible for hearing the word, even a fish which was an early Christian symbol for Christ. The official description is here.

Watch for opportunities to dig deeper to into your own spirituality, your questions, your doubts, and most importantly –what does faith have to do with everyday life! Check our Programs page for these updates.

Briefly:

Since the beginning of the church we have worked to write down what we believe for that moment in history. Presbyterians have adopted a number of these statements as effective and unifying words of faith. We say these things in a variety of ways called “confessions.” You can find those confessions here.

The summary of what we believe can be read here (in chapter 2, paragraphs F-2.03, F-2.04, F-2.05). That statement explains we are:

Christians first – we believe Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ, the savior promised to the people of God we know as being Jewish. We believe in the God of Abraham, who is the forefather of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

Reformed Protestants second – We believe in justification by faith through grace. This was a protest movement in the 1500s. They were protesting the idea of buying or having to earn forgiveness and thus salvation, as well as other aspects of theology and governance. The branch of Christianity that led to our branch of faith were called the Reformed churches (16th century) which believed that salvation is a gift of God through Christ. We cannot buy or earn God’s saving grace. God simply loves and redeems us from sin and death. 

Presbyterian third – We believe God is our only sovereign (or king), that God chooses people for salvation and service, those people live in covenant with one another as Gods lives in covenant with us and all creation, that evil and sin exist and cannot be ignored therefore the covenant people are meant to care for the earth and all creatures, to seek justice, to seek peace. The primary architects of our Reformed and Presbyterian heritage are John Calvin and John Knox.

If you want to learn more:

The pastor can be reached at bfriedlander@wyomingpresbyterian.org or
join us in worship and fellowship, 10:00 a.m. every Sunday
or in serving our neighbors
(check the mission calendar for the 2025-2026 year).