- God’s purpose for Living Waters is for us to be a renewed and renewing Christian community reflecting God’s love, grace, mercy, justice and peace in all the world.
Statement of Lutheran Identity
As a Lutheran congregation, we participate in the mission and ministry of the wider Church through our membership in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the New Jersey Synod of that body.
As Lutherans, we confess faith in the Triune God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We accept and acknowledge theology and teachings that include the belief that our faith is rooted in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Through grace God brings us to faith, and by that faith alone we are saved. That faith is then expressed in our daily lives as we demonstrate our love of God through active love for others.
Lutheran worship centers around the Word of God, read and proclaimed, and the Sacraments, Baptism and Holy Communion. Our weekly worship includes a collective prayer of confession and absolution, reading and preaching of God’s Word, public profession of our faith using the Apostles’ or Nicene Creed, prayer and the Lord’s Supper. An emphasis on liturgy and music invites active participation of all who gather.
The Lutheran tradition includes an emphasis on lifelong learning for all as they grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
At Living Waters Lutheran Church, we welcome all who seek to know the saving love of God in the crucified and risen Christ.
Statement of Welcoming
Living Waters Lutheran Church is committed to being a radically loving and welcoming community of faith. We recognize that the world can be an unloving place of alienation and brokenness, and we believe Christ calls us to serve as ministers of reconciliation and wholeness in it. We are comforted by the Gospel, challenged and transformed by its radical life-changing love, and empowered to be agents of healing within society and the church.
We affirm with the apostle Paul that in Christ “there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female” (Galatians 3:28). We acknowledge that the spirit of this affirmation extends to anyone who is living with the realities of discrimination, treated as less-than or otherwise marginalized. Christ has made us one.
We believe all people are created in God’s image. We therefore celebrate the dignity and diversity of the human community, and are committed to work for justice inside and outside this congregation. We welcome, include, and affirm people of every race, color, culture, age, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, faith story, economic situation, physical and mental ability, educational level, work history, political affiliation, citizenship status, criminal record, or any other such human invention. All are welcome within the worship life of this congregation, including access to the sacraments of Baptism and Holy Communion, and all are welcome and encouraged to join in our congregational life, community, and ministry.
We commit ourselves to stand by all our brothers, sisters, and siblings, in solidarity to advocate for equity for every beloved child of God and to be partners in the work of anti-racism, social and economic justice.
Be it resolved therefore, this 5th day of December, 2023, that the Congregational Council of Living Waters Lutheran Church, Ringoes, NJ, in prayerful assembly, adopts this updated Affirmation of Welcome by affixing hereto the signature of its Pastor and each member of its Council, and the Seal of the Church.
Members of the Congregation Council will act as coordinators of the following ministry areas:
Communications: Develop and maintain a network of communications, internal and external, using a variety of media: the internal used to inform members of events and decisions on a regular basis via weekly emails, social media posts, phone chains, etc.; the external used to increase awareness of Living Waters in the community via internet web presence, brochures, phonebook and newspaper advertising, as well as press releases highlighting events of particular significance.
Property: Oversee plans for development, use and maintenance of temporary and permanent facilities and property, including the parsonage, incorporating principles of good stewardship and mindful of our Purpose Statement.
Stewardship: Develop and oversee strategies for congregational evangelism and outreach in order to attract new members. Develop and oversee programs and procedures designed to strengthen and expand our faith. Develop and oversee strategies and programs which promote faithful stewardship and financial stability and independence.
Congregational Life: Develop and oversee strategies and programs which actively promote, facilitate and encourage involvement and inclusion of all congregational members in the worship, education, service, fellowship, stewardship and decision-making activities of the congregation.
Service: Develop and oversee strategies and programs which provide opportunities for service to those in need in the community and congregation, and encourage congregational members to participate in advocacy activities toward the furtherance of justice and peace for the sake of the Gospel.
Worship & Music: Develop and oversee the planning of worship services to provide opportunities for participation, education and growth in faith both personally and corporately. Examples include planning diverse worship and music formats, working with the pastor and church musicians, scheduling open seasonal planning meetings, and communicating with other ministry areas.
Christian Education: Works closely with other committees. Develops and oversees strategies and programs which provide opportunities for members of the congregation to grow in faith, personally and corporately, through educational programs. Examples include Sunday school, adult forum, Bible studies, Confirmation class, and outside educational opportunities.
Note: To ascertain team leaders and council details, CLICK HERE
The above Statement of Lutheran Identity was revised and then adopted by the congregation on June 27, 2004.
Note: Mission Statement replaced by the Statement of Purpose on December 6, 2009.
Note: Original Affirmation of Welcome 2001 replaced with Statement of Welcoming, May 5, 2020. Revised statement adopted December 5, 2023.
Congregational Constitution adopted January 21, 2024 - amended pursuant to revisions adopted at the 2022 Churchwide Assembly, August 2022
