Core Values
Č’apac Sk^:n^lahá:wi is a symbol of the Ark of the Covenant into which we are all called to Sabbath (rest) in our loving Creator’s calling, chosen way, and faithful provision. The Ark of the Covenant was a box placed inside the Most Holy Place of the original sanctuary built on earth over 3500 years ago. It was a copy of the Heavenly Sanctuary designed by Creator for His followers to build. Inside the Ark of the Covenant were three items: the ten commandments, which represents His calling on our lives; a budded rod, which represent His chosen way for our lives, and a bowl of one day’s portion of manna for one person, which represents His faithful provision in our life. These three items teach us about living in forever unity with Creator in the Ark of His Peace, as His called, chosen, and faithful. These teachings are our core values:
1. Resting in Creator’s Calling is trusting the Ten Commandments, the stone foundation of Creator’s Kingdom of Love, as the only way to effective living. It is accepting them as His promises for our life in forever unity with Him. It involves understanding His loving intentions in all that He established for us in His Word. It is embodying His love like Jesus Christ did, living self-sacrificially for the well-being of everyone within our reach. It includes critically examining our investment in socially constructed institutions and systems of security that do not consider the generational and relational impact on all creation and are contradictory to Creator’s established institutions.
2. Resting in Creator’s Chosen Way is trusting the role our Creator has modelled for us, embodied in the life of Jesus Christ, to fulfil a chosen purpose for every human life in His kingdom of love. It involves looking to His purpose for our lives and surrendering our will to Him because we trust His love. It is investing all of who we are in building His kingdom of love, not our earthly kingdoms that perpetuate systems of wealth and poverty. It includes decolonizing our human identity as fragmented individuals and instead understanding our interconnectedness with all created life and being repairers of the breach where life has been harmed.
3. Resting in Creator’s Faithful Provision is trusting that our Creator has faithfully provided sufficiently for all humanity, both spiritually and materially, which inspires us to extend the generosity to others. It involves having a faithfully receiving and responding heart so that His provision can flow through us, sharing His truth, His grace, and His earthly treasure. It includes decolonizing our efforts for self-preservation and instead restoring collective sufficiency found in community collaboration.