In 1884 Jesus plants a gospel seed in Pasadena and nourishes it with living waters The seed sprouts, and puts down a vertical taproot of love of God, our root in Christ, which gives us strength and is fed by the water of life The plant continues growing and puts out lateral roots of love of neighbor, our roots in Pasadena, which give us stability and are seen in our Core Value roots of community of faith, love, service, spirituality, and growth. Our heartwood, the dynamic center of our life together, is that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, our Lord and Savior. Integrally connected to and springing from that heartwood are our Bedrock Belief branches: God is always faithful and forgiving; the fullness of Life is found in a relationship with God; within the Church faith is nurtured, growth occurs, and lives are transformed; the Bible is God's word to us, giving us direction; in Baptism we die and rise to new life, and in weekly Communion we experience the risen Christ. Within those branches the birds of the air build their nests, and underneath the creatures of the forest find shelter and safety. Upon those branches are leaves for the healing of the nations, which in following the path of the Son receive the light of life. The blossoms spread in every place the fragrance of life, the aroma of Christ, which comes from knowing Jesus. God transformed a cross into a Tree of Life, which is our Motivating Vision. Upon this Tree of Life are twelve different kinds of fruit: love; joy; peace; patience; compassion; goodness; faithfulness; humility; self-control; truthfulness; hope; justice. The first 9 fruits come from Galatians 5:22, the last 3 are the most-attested in other parts of Scripture. Other lesser fruits include eternal life; knowledge of God/wisdom; good work; praise to God; and finally discipleship, which is the sum of all fruits. These fruits mark our lives individually and as a church.