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About Keizertimes. (Salem, Or.) 1979-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 28, 2020)
FEBRUARY 28, 2020, KEIZERTIMES, PAGE A3 KeizerCommunity KEIZERTIMES.COM Keizer Christian’s roots in city grow deep By LAUREN MURPHY Of the Keizertimes Keizer Christian Church congregants believe in what Rev. Erik Free called the “core elements of Christianity.” They include tenets such as: Jesus as the Son of God, who came to save the world, God as divine creator of the world, a mission to spread the Gospel and the practice of baptism and holy communism. “Even amongst our church- es you won’t fi nd the same answer to any given question,” Free said. Free has been the pastor of Keizer Christian Church for three years. The only requirement to becoming a member is a pro- fession of faith – there is no statement to sign. Keizer Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) is a Prot- estant denomination of Chris- tianity. The denomination came into being through the Stone-Campbell movement, a Christian movement in the ear- ly 19th Century that wanted to unify all the churches and model them af- ter the church in the New Testament. The name, Stone-Campbell, came from the lead- The seven square miles of Keizer ers of two separate are home to more than a dozen groups that had sim- churches of various religious ilar ideologies about affi liations. Matters of Faith is how the church a series aiming to explain what was supposed to makes these places of worship look. Barton Stone different and unique. lead a group called, “Christians,” based in Kentucky. In western Pennsylvania and Vir- common Christian belief,” ginia, Thomas and Alexander Free said. The church has no set be- Campbell were starting a group liefs on theologically debated called, “Disciples of Christ.” topics that are not considered They believed that creeds (formal statements of Christian core elements. Despite the dif- belief) kept the church separat- ference in opinions on certain ed and, as a result, Keizer Chris- topics, Free said the church is tian Church has no doctrinal “committed to being church together,” and it welcomes and statement. “We avoid strict adherence encourages questions. “We are an outward fo- to historical doctrinal state- cused worshiping community ments as a requirement for membership, asking only for – our time together on Sunday agreement to a general state- mornings is meant to fi ll us, ment of faith meant to refl ect equip us, and inspire us to serve God by serving God’s people, the people of our community, each day of the week,” Free said. They operate under the Disciples of Christ denomi- nation, but do not answer to a higher denominational power. Free said individual churches are responsible for themselves. He added Disciples of Christ are closely tied with the United Church of Christ. “All churches are self-de- scribed as welcoming,” he said, but he still describes Keizer Christian Church that way. KEIZERTIMES/Eric A. Howald Keizer Christian Church, a Protestant denomination, has its foundation in the Stone-Campbell Movement of the early 19th Century. “We expect people to come as you are.” Free said there are a mix of worshippers in the con- g re g a t i o n , “some peo- ple wear a sports coat, some people wear jeans and some people wear Rev. Erik Free their favor- ite sports sweatshirt,” he said. “I tend to preach in a suit and I get teased for it,” he added. Though the congregation is older, the music is a mix of traditional hymns and contem- porary worship and a choir is a staple of the church. “There’s something for ev- erybody so nobody is happy all the time,” he said, smiling. Keizer Christian Church has a long history in Keizer. They were planted here by Salem First Christian Church and were originally located on the plot that became Albertsons. After selling the land to Al- bertsons they moved the orig- inal building to Wheatland Road, where the church is now. They split the building in half and added the sanctuary in the middle. The congregation is one of the funding churches of the Keizer Community Food Bank and the Keizer Community Dinner. They host a “Fun in the Field” event in the summers which is a local event for the neighbors. “It is a neighborhood, carni- val-type event with activity and game booths and food that we offer free to the community,” he said. Keizer Christian Church is located at 6945 Wheatland Rd N. They meet weekly on Sun- day’s from 10 to 11:30 a.m.; af- ter the service there is a time of fellowship. 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