Mission Statement

With joyful hearts and open minds, we welcome all persons as diverse, unique, and individual expressions of the image of God as we:

• Affirm the unconditional love of God for all people as expressed in the life of Jesus Christ.
• Celebrate God’s grace and creative work through ritual, sacrament, music, art, movement, and play.
• Honor our Christian heritage while we explore the knowledge and wisdom of multiple religions, science, philosophy, humanities and psychology to deepen and enrich our spiritual journeys.
• Nurture one another through fellowship and compassion in a community that seeks to offer wholeness.
• Embody our faith through local ministries and in actions that promote environmental sustainability, peace, and justice for all people and Earth.
• In awe and gratitude for the Divine Mystery that dwells within each of us and pervades our Universe, we seek to create a Christian community that honors our past, is vitally connected to our present, and looks with hope and vision to the generations after us.

8 Points of Progressive Christianity

By calling ourselves progressive Christians, we mean we are Christians who…

1. Believe that following the path and teachings of Jesus can lead to an awareness and experience of the Sacred and the Oneness and Unity of all life;
2. Affirm that the teachings of Jesus provide but one of many ways to experience the Sacredness and Oneness of life, and that we can draw from diverse sources of wisdom in our spiritual journey;
3. Seek community that is inclusive of ALL people, including but not limited to:
   • Conventional Christians and questioning skeptics,
   • Believers and agnostics,
   • Women and men,
   • Those of all sexual orientations and gender identities,
   • Those of all classes and abilities;
4. Know that the way we behave towards one another is the fullest expression of what we believe;
5. Find grace in the search for understanding and believe there is more value in questioning than in absolutes;
6. Strive for peace and justice among all people;
7. Strive to protect and restore the integrity of our Earth;
8. Commit to a path of life-long learning, compassion, and selfless love.

More Light

First Presbyterian Church of Elizabethton (FPCe) is an open and inclusive church. We welcome everyone to the table. FPCe is a proud member of More Light Presbyterians, a national non-profit organization dedicated to allowing the full participation of LGBTQIA+ people in the life, ministry, and witness of the Presbyterian Church (USA) and in society.

In 2014, the late Rev. Don Steele oversaw the creation of FPCe's More Light LGBTQ+ Outreach Committee. Its goal is to serve gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people and their families and friends — both those who are members of the FPCe congregation and those in the community at large.

At the core of the subcommittee’s sense of mission is the creation of a welcoming, inclusive environment at FPCe where members of the LGBTQIA+ community feel safe, loved, and free to be fully part of First Presbyterian’s faith community. As congregant Jim Sutton put it, “We don’t want to just tolerate our LGBTQIA+ members, we want to celebrate them.”

More Light tries to accomplish this aim through organizing spiritual, social, and educational activities at FPCe. For example, the committee celebrates the LGBTQIA+ community by organizing the annual More Light Sunday service. It also presents information and encourages conversation about LGBTQIA+ experiences and issues at Adult Forums.

The subcommittee publicly demonstrates FPCe’s support of the LGBTQIA+ community as well. Examples include:

• Organizing FPCe participation in TriPride’s annual parade.
• Staffing booths at the TriPride Festival.
• Hosting workshops on LGBTQIA+ issues.
• Organizing letter-writing campaigns, at times in partnership with the Peacemaking Committee, to Tennessee legislators asking them to take pro-LGBTQIA+ positions on proposed legislation.