Being made in God’s image we are created to live a life of relationship and called to claim the unity in our human diversity…. We confess that as human beings we have a propensity for taking the gift of diversity and turning it into a cause of disunity, antagonism and hatred…. We sin against God and each other…. We must struggle to reject or reform all those human actions and systems that destroy or deny the image of God in human beings or that tear down the structures of human community. On the other hand, we must seek to affirm all human impulses which build up true community…. As we wait for the fulfillment of God’s promise, we commit ourselves to work for fuller and deeper community in our own time and place. (pages 5-6, #21-29)

We should give our thanks to the authors of A Sacred Obligation and use it to keep ourselves and our churches on course, so that we do our part in moving toward the pennant, the healing of human violence and brokenness in this world.