Sacramental Community of the Coworkers of Christ
An Emergent and Ecumenical Community
From the Free Catholic Tradition of the Christian Church
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Inspired by Celtic Christianity, the Catholic Worker Movement,
Red Letter Christians, and the New Monasticism
Who We Are
The Sacramental Community of the Coworkers of Christ (CWC) is a distinct branch within the Independent Sacramental Movement. We stand firmly within the Christian tradition upholding the spirit of the core tenets of the faith as expressed in Scripture and affirmed by the first seven Ecumenical Councils. Our mission is to preserve and share this “Free Catholic” faith through a unique blend of new monasticism and a community-based congregationalism, as outlined in our governing document Our Common Rule.
The CWC embraces the seven Sacraments and finds its foundation in the Apostles’, Nicene, and Athanasian Creeds. We draw inspiration from historical documents like the Old Catholic Declaration of Utrecht (1889), the Fourteen Theses of the Old Catholic Union Conference at Bonn (1874), as well as contemporary affirmations of faith such as the Bill of Rights as published by the Association for Rights for Catholics in the Church (1998) and the Declaration Affirmation (2009). Our approach is one of “generous orthodoxy,” welcoming a broad range of beliefs within the Christian framework.
The CWC views itself as one expression of God’s truth among many within Christianity. We believe in the unity of the Church, transcending national borders, ethnicity, or earthly authority. Following the “free church” tradition, we answer only to Jesus Christ and hold no allegiance to worldly powers or principalities.
Our mission is to extend God’s love and the Sacraments to all people, regardless of background or circumstance. Age, ability, race, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, or socioeconomic status hold no barrier within our Community. We strive to embody the spirit of the apostolic faith while offering a truly inclusive and welcoming environment.
Our Core Principles
Our life together is guided by these core principles:
God’s will is paramount. We strive to follow His plan as revealed through Jesus Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit.
The Church is our family. As the embodiment of Christ’s love, it fulfills our purpose and guides every aspect of our earthly existence.
The Sacramental Community of the Coworkers of Christ is our training ground. Through the sacraments and supportive fellowship, we learn to overcome personal struggles and find God’s peace. This supportive community becomes our chosen family, bound by the shared commitment to our Common Rule.
Love is our mission. We strive to bring God’s love into the world through our relationships, ministries, and wherever we live – chapter houses, missions, individual cells, and or churches. In this way, we find wholeness, whether alone or together.
Local communities are the foundation. Chapter houses, missions, cells, ministries, and Sacramental Community Churches provide support and challenge, fostering growth for God’s people. Empowered by these gifts, we go forth to serve the world, remaining distinct from it while offering overflowing love.
Our Core Doctrine
The Coworkers of Christ find the heart of our faith in the transformative revelation of God through Jesus Christ, His Son. We are a community dedicated to sharing this profound truth with the world.
We hold steadfast to the belief in the Trinity – one God expressed in three distinct persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. We further proclaim that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is both fully divine and fully human. He miraculously took human form through the Virgin Mary, lived a perfect life, and offered himself as a sacrifice for humanity. His triumph over death through resurrection and ascension to Heaven is the cornerstone of our faith.
But Jesus did not leave us alone. He gifted us the Holy Spirit, his ever-present voice guiding us. We believe the Holy Spirit speaks through scripture, historical events, and even whispers within our own souls. Wherever two or three gather in Christ’s name, we believe he is present among us, a constant source of love, guidance, and strength.
We believe the Holy Spirit’s presence extends beyond individual experiences. The Church itself is an essential vessel for God’s ongoing revelation. Driven by this conviction, we are dedicated to working towards the greater unity of the Holy, Catholic (universal), and Apostolic Church. This includes a commitment to understanding and appreciating the rich historical traditions present within all branches of Christianity.
Inspired by the early Church, we trust that the Holy Spirit will guide us on this journey of understanding. Through open hearts, respectful dialogue, and a shared love for Christ, we believe we can learn from one another and contribute to a more unified expression of faith.
The Coworkers of Christ extend a warm welcome to all who confess faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. We believe all are God’s children, regardless of their current spiritual journey. As the scripture reminds us, “while we were yet sinners Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). Therefore, we don’t exclude anyone from our fellowship, but instead offer a place of belonging.
Saint or sinner, all are welcome to experience the joy of the Holy Spirit’s gifts and the abundant life God offers. We give witness to the love and life of Christ, creating a space where we can freely commit to one another, grow together, and express God’s love in the world.
The Coworkers of Christ acknowledge the importance of the Seven Sacraments as observed throughout Christian history. We believe these rituals, rooted in scripture and reaffirmed by God’s ongoing revelation, offer powerful expressions of faith and channels of grace.
While professing Christians and members of our community are encouraged to participate in the Sacraments, particularly Baptism, Communion, Confirmation, and Reconciliation, participation is seen as an act of love and devotion, not a requirement for salvation. Ultimately, faith in Christ is the cornerstone of salvation.
Following the spirit of Christian unity and historical collaboration, we believe worship offered in the name of Christ and guided by the Holy Spirit is pleasing to God.
Our Confession of Faith
The Sacramental Community of the Coworkers of Christ acknowledges as its sole Head, Jesus Christ, the Son of God and Savior of the world. It acknowledges as kindred in Christ all who share in this confession.
It looks to the Word of God in the Scriptures, and to the presence and power of the Holy Spirit, to prosper its creative and redemptive work in the world. It affirms the responsibility of the Church in each generation to make this faith its own in reality of worship, in honesty of thought and expression, and in purity of heart before God.
Recalling that it has always been creedal differences and personal disputes that were the major cause of division among Christians, we are a people who use the word “creed” with constraint.
We believe that God is calling us to be a faithful and growing, ecumenical and Free Catholic community of believers that demonstrates true communion, deep Christian spirituality, and a passion for social justice. Our faith and beliefs as Christians are rooted in the spirit of the ancient Didache – the Apostolic Teachings of the Church, yet interpreted within the richness of the postmodern culture in which we live. Our beliefs are a living reflection of the nature and call of God. In that spirit, we offer the following Confession of Faith as one of many possible reflections of what it means to be a Free Catholic:
We trust in the One Living God, present in all reality, the Source of all creation and creativity.
We experience this Creator God in a way that transcends hate, injustice, conflict, sickness and death. We recognize the True Presence and work of the Living God throughout the entirety of creation.
We accept that Jesus is the Christ, the Child of the Living God and the manifestation of God’s healing, reconciliation, transformation, peace, love and justice.
We experience the presence of the Holy Spirit, as the dynamic action of the Living God, present in all of life and freely offering love, justice, peace, healing and life more abundantly to everyone.
We acknowledge that the Living God can be revealed through canonical and non-canonical writings, sometimes referred to as Holy Scripture, in church tradition, human reason, life experience, nature, music and in many forms of creative expression.
We affirm that the Spiritual Experience of a life of prayer, worship and spiritual nurture, of communion with God, and the eternal family of God, is central to becoming and sustaining the Commonwealth, sometimes translated as the Kingdom of God.
We share in the Unbroken Apostolic Tradition of preserving the best aspects of Christian wisdom and practice and of calling out particular people for service and leadership, for teaching and proclamation, for healing and justice, and for the ministry of Sacraments.
We believe that everyone is called by God to gather together as a faith community, the One True Church, undivided by human boundaries, doctrines, organizational schemes, prejudices, languages and cultures, to share in the creation of God’s Commonwealth. This community, in Christian Tradition is also referred to as the Body of Christ, the collective presence of the living, resurrected Christ in the world.
We celebrate the Grace of the Sacraments, the visible signs of God’s blessing of birth, rebirth, of joining in love, of reconciliation, of health and healing, of loving service, of transformation from death to life eternal, and all expressions of the presence and action of God in life and lives, and commit that they should freely and without qualification be made available to everyone.
We expect that the Living God will work through the Body of Christ and human creativity to transform life and culture into the Commonwealth of God, the manifestation of love, peace and justice.
We thank God for giving all people a share in the priesthood of Christ, and empowering each person with the ability to become God’s child, to directly experience God’s reconciliation, love and justice without any human intermediary or impediment. All Christians are called into ministry of healing, reconciliation, justice, worship and witnessing to the Good News of Christ.
We affirm the equality of every person in life, faith, sacrament and service, regardless of age, ability, race, sexuality or gender, appearance, culture, vocation, socioeconomic status, or theological opinion. We recognize the four orders of the priesthood: laity, deacons, presbyters and bishops all working together to manifest the Commonwealth of God.
We celebrate the eternal Cloud of Witnesses to the grace of God and the power of faith. These eternally living witnesses include Mary the Mother of Jesus and all the Holy Ones of the Church and God’s people throughout the ages.
We know that True Faith is simply trust in the reality of the living, loving God active in the world and experienced throughout human history, but particularly and uniquely in the incarnation of Jesus Christ, and it is not merely the ritual or intellectual acceptance of any particular creed, formula, dogma, or theology.
Above all we understand that the essence of God’s Law is: “‘Love God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
To find out more about The Sacramental Community Church “church planting” project follow this link.