The cross at the front of our worship space was cut from a choice 10-foot log of yellow cedar, given according to Stó:lõ custom to skilled carver Don Froese, a gift by a Stó:lõ man on the untimely death of the man’s son.
When Don was asked whether he might consider crafting a cross for our congregation, he pointed to the log and said, “This is the cross. It is in that log and remains only for me to bring it out.”
The two beams of the cross are fastened by four bolts hidden by wooden dowels and signifying the four directions. The dark binding is cedar bark rope.
The cross is finished with olive oil and lovingly anointed with other oils and fragrances from around the world, including Canada, the United States, China, Slovenia, Nepal, Switzerland, France, Somalia, Tunisia, India, and Israel. Even as the Gospel of Jesus has gone around the world, in our use of these oils the world has come to the cross.
What We Believe
At Valley CrossWay Church, we accept the Bible as the inspired and authoritative Word of God. Scripture therefore plays an essential role in shaping our worship, our faith, and our everyday living.
We believe that God uniquely revealed himself to humanity in the person of his Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh, and our only perfect example for godly living.
Rather than define all our doctrine in a single extended confession, we at Valley CrossWay Church articulate many of our beliefs through our liturgies. We affirm our faith together primarily through the reading of Scripture and through declaring the Apostles’ Creed.
This oldest and simplest creed of the Christian church is a declaration of the basic beliefs that unite Christians around the world and across the centuries. It crosses denominational boundaries and focuses on the essential elements of the faith that believers have shared since the earliest days of the Christian church.
The Apostles’ Creed
We believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
We believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit
and born of the virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended to the dead.
The third day he rose again from the dead.
He ascended to heaven
and is seated at the right hand
of God, the Father almighty.
From there he will come to judge
the living and the dead.
We believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy universal church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting.
Amen.