Who We Are

We are a Christian Church - with a Lutheran lens (ELCA - Evangelical Lutheran Church in America), in beautiful Rancho Cucamonga. Our congregation is made up of people from various walks of life and stages of development. We value young children, senior citizens, and everyone in between. Wherever you have come from or experienced, you are most welcome here.

Some of Our Beliefs and Priorities

	God made you and each person exactly as God meant to. No one is a mistake, all are equal, and all are deeply loved by our Creator God. All have inherent worth placed there by God and not able to be destroyed.
	Jesus is God-made-flesh, the embodied Word of God, to heal and free all that needed - and still needs - healing and freedom. Two thousand years ago, he accomplished his mission through love. That is what Jesus still does today.
	Jesus told us to love God with all we've got, love our neighbors, and love ourselves (Matthew 22:37, Luke 10:27). These three commands take up all of our time and energy. It is not our job to judge, fix, convert, or save others. All of that is the work of the Holy Spirit. Our job as humans is to love.
	We will mess up, make mistakes, get selfish, and need forgiveness. The Law does not and cannot save us. As Martin Luther reminded us, the Law convicts us and points us to our need for the Cross.
	We are saved by Christ's work on the Cross, and therefore we are covered in grace. God chose you before you ever chose God.
	Covered in grace, asked to love, healed and free, we get every new sunrise to start over and love better. Our eternal life is a done deal - as Christ has healed any sense of separation from God. Free from worry, we can then live each day loving God by listening to God, loving our neighbors by serving them, and loving our selves by caring, nurturing, and accepting the self.
	The Bible is God's inspired word, given to us as the window through which we see and encounter this loving God. We do not worship the Bible as an idol, and we do not believe it should ever be used to harm or shame people. We do read the Bible, often, and take it very seriously. All sermons are based on biblical truth.
	The sacraments of Communion and Baptism are offered by Christ to all people. They are not gifts of the denomination, congregation, or clergy. God's table and God's baptismal font are offered to all and ALL are welcome to them.
	All activities we ever do at Cross and Crown are open to all members, friends, and strangers. We love meeting new people. No need to be just like anyone else - just be yourself.
	Many of us are questioners. This means you never need to accept anything because anyone else says to. Cross and Crown is a safe place to explore, wonder, doubt, wrestle, and deepen in matters of faith and life. We are in a lifelong journey of exploration and development and we value we get to do this together, as a loving community.