And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. (1 Cor 13:13)

In 1976, the Church of the Saviour divided into smaller communities in order to be more faithful to God's call to do justice and love mercy. The Eighth Day Faith Community, one of the first sister communities formed, takes its name from the title of Elizabeth O'Connor's book, The Eighth Day of Creation. Our name reminds us of our story: after God created the world in seven days, we humans became co-creators with God for the continuing creation of God's dream. In our church services, smaller group meetings, friendships and relationships, we affirm that we are united in God's love and grace. We offer our gifts, strengths, and weaknesses to the community and pledge to open our hearts to what others bring. We accept the responsibility to build, sustain, celebrate, and challenge our community to do God's will in the world.

Our Personal Call...

The concept of an individual or corporate call has been central to the Church of the Saviour and to Eighth Day since their respective inceptions.  We are confident that God calls each of us to mission.  A significant part of our faith journey is discerning that call (often not easy at all) and implementing (never easy) it.  The fundamental marks of call are:

  • The mission is that meeting place between your joy and the pain of the world.  The call to the mission just will not let go.
  • The called person has some specific gifts that they can offer to the mission.
  • The mission brings them great joy.
  • The mission is, in human terms, impossible.
  • The mission is corporate: at least one other person is also called.

Our Call as 8th Day Faith Community...

And as a community, Christ calls us, the Eighth Day Faith Community, to be his body in the world and to respond to his overwhelming love for us by:

  • Making a radical commitment to building a caring and just society and joining concretely with the oppressed in their struggles;
  • Speaking the truth in love and listening to our brothers and sisters as we support one another in following Christ;
  • Contemplating our relationship to God, our lifestyle, and the community of faith;
  • Providing a community that welcomes children and families and seeks to nurture children in our city; and
  • Joyfully participating in life as it is given and celebrating our belonging to the whole of creation and to God.

Membership and Ministry of the Laity



Inward Journey

Outward Journey

In the commitment statement, all members agree to:

- Endeavor to follow Jesus in paths of peace, forgiveness, healing, justice, and mercy
- Accept God's call as the highest priority
- Commit to engage in the spiritual disciplines and practices that are expected of membership
- Affirm that the practice of spiritual discipline is necessary to deepen both spiritual growth and engagement with the world.

In the commitment statement, all members agree to: 

Build, sustain, celebrate, and challenge 8th Day to do God's will in the world and to respond to Christ's call to stand with 'the least of these' by committing resources of time, money, and energy to help build a world of inclusiveness, love, and equity.

 

Read the full membership commitment here: https://8th-day.org/basic-info/membership