What We Believe
Better Together
​At Sts. Clare & Francis, we believe we are better together. Regardless of your gender, sexual orientation, relational identity, or any other status that has been used to divide people, you are welcome at our communion table.
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Our embrace of all people is part of the Catholic tradition, as is our way of talking about God. We believe that God, although utterly beyond us, is also never separate from us. We feel called to see God in everyone, everywhere, equally. We use words like “the Catholic mystical tradition,” “unitive theology,” and “non-dualism” to describe this belief in oneness and we turn often to the writings of Thomas Merton, Sts. Francis and Clare of Assisi, Howard Thurman, Diana Butler Bass, Richard Rohr, and Cynthia Bergeault, to name a few.
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We are discovering that the belief in our essential oneness with God and each other is emerging in other denominations and religions as well—it is a movement to rebalance transcendence with the nearness of God. We rejoice at the opportunity to be part of this re-awakening.
We have much to learn and unlearn. If this way of talking about God interests you, come join the conversation.
Our Heritage
Sts. Clare & Francis is a parish of the Ecumenical Catholic Communion, an independent catholic movement rooted in the Old Catholic tradition. You can learn more about the ECC here.
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We share the Affirmations of Faith of the ECC, including that "all the baptized, irrespective of gender identity, marital status or sexual orientation and relationship, are welcome to join in celebrating the Sacraments; that the ministerial priesthood in the ECC is open to all the baptized, regardless of gender identity, sexual orientation and relationship, or marital status; and that in moral and ethical decision-making the ECC supports the primacy of an individual’s conscience."
Our Documents
Our Constitution & Bylaws, Safe Church Policy, and other relevant documents can be found here.