At Christ The King you'll find people at every stage of life -- from those just starting out, to those with a lifetime of experience to share.   And you'll find people at every stage in their spiritual journeys, too. That's one of the things that makes Christ The King such an exciting place.

Christ The King is a congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, but we're a diverse group, from a variety of religious backgrounds. Some of us used to be Roman Catholics . . . others were "generic Protestants" . . . some of us never attended a church at all before coming here; but we've all found a spiritual home at Christ The King.

We're also a "Reconciling in Christ" congregation. That means we offer a warm and explicit welcome to everyone, regardless of their sexual orientation -- or, for that matter, their race, social class or any other designation. When we say everyone's welcome at Christ The King, we mean it!

We think you'll find Christ The King to be a great place to worship God, to make friends, to grow in your faith, and to make a difference in the world.

 The ELCA. Christ The King is a congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), the largest Lutheran denomination in the United States, with over five million members and nearly eleven thousand congregations. Worldwide, the ELCA sponsors missionaries in fifty-seven countries around the globe and works with other Lutheran bodies through the Lutheran World Federation. The official magazine of the ELCA is The Lutheran.

The Upstate New York Synod. Christ The King is part of the Upstate New York Synod, one of sixty synods of the ELCA. With its headquarters in Syracuse, the Synod serves two hundred congregations throughout upstate New York. The Rev. Marie Jerge is the Bishop of the Synod.

The Broome County Council of Churches. Christ The King is also a part of the Broome County Council of Churches, whose mission is to help the congregations of our area do together what they could never do separately. The Council provides chaplains for our area hospitals and county jail, supervises the Neighborhood Interfaith Volunteer Caregiver Program to assist homebound people in our community, and helps coordinate other efforts of local churches. The Council also operates the Community Hunger Outreach Warehouse program (CHOW) and Broome Bounty, a program that helps distribute unused food to local soup kitchens and food programs.

One God. We believe in one God, who meets us as God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. We affirm the Christian doctrine of the Trinity, which holds that this God we know as our creator, our redeemer and our sustainer is one God.

God the Father. We believe that God the Father created the universe and continues to uphold it with love and power. The Father is both just and merciful, and desires to live in an intimate relationship with all people.

God the Son. We rejoice that God's love is so great that God came to earth as a human being, Jesus of Nazareth. This Jesus, born of a virgin, is fully God and fully human. Through his death and his resurrection, Jesus makes it possible for all people to enjoy a living relationship with God.

God the Holy Spirit. We believe that the Holy Spirit is the continuing presence of God among us. Through the Holy Spirit, God comforts us, empowers us and lives within us. We believe that the Holy Spirit gives gifts to all believers, so that we can use those gifts to build up one another, to serve all people, and to give glory to God.

Human Beings. We believe that all persons matter to God. Created in God's image, men and woman have inherent dignity and worth. Yet we acknowledge that because of our sinful nature, all humanity is alienated from God. If left to our own efforts and judged on our own merits, all men and woman are lost and spiritually dead. Nevertheless, we joyfully proclaim the good news that, because of Jesus Christ, forgiveness and new life are open to all. We proclaim that Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth and the Life, and that faith in him is the only pathway by which people may come to God. We dedicate ourselves to sharing this life-changing good news with our friends, our families, and the entire world.

The Church. We believe that the Church - be it a local congregation or the world-wide fellowship of believers - is the Body of Christ. As his Body, we accept the responsibility to reach others with the good news of Christ, to care for them so that they may experience God's love, to help them grow in their relationship with God, and to equip them to serve others in Christ's name.

The Bible. We affirm the Bible as the written Word of God. We believe that the Old and New Testaments are inspired by God, and we accept the Bible as the authoritative source and norm for all that we believe, all that we teach, and all that we do.

The Creeds and the Lutheran Confessions. We accept and affirm the Apostles' Creed and the Nicene Creed, as well as the historic confessions of the Lutheran Church, as faithful restatements and true expressions of the Christian faith.

Baptism and Communion. We affirm and practice the sacrament of Baptism, and believe that through the waters of Baptism we are adopted as God's children and receive the gift of new life. We practice and encourage the Baptism of infants, as a sign of God's unconditional love. We affirm and practice the sacrament of Communion, believing that through this holy meal God comes to love us, cleanse us and embrace us. In communion we do not merely remember Christ and his sacrifice for us: we also experience anew the real presence of Christ in our midst.

The End of History. We believe in and anticipate the return of Jesus Christ as the final fulfillment of God's will for this hurting world. As we eagerly await Christ's return, we acknowledge that no one can know its day or hour. We therefore call upon all people to place their faith in Christ, and thereby make the most of life today.