God
Christians believe in the one God, who made, loves, and
cares for all that exists - a God of love, who delights in justice, and is
rich in mercy and compassion.
People
Human beings are made in the image of God, created to
relate with God. But the relationship between God and us is not what it
ought to be - it has been marred by personal and social evil (sin).
Jesus Christ was sent from God to set us back on the right
track and restore our relationship with God. In Jesus we see what God is
like and what we can be like. In the birth, life, death and resurrection
of Jesus (i.e., his being raised from the dead by God), God has acted for
us to overcome all that alienates and separates us from God, from each
other and the rest of creation.
Life
Jesus Christ is alive today. We know him through the Bible
and through the Holy Spirit, who brings us to new birth as the children of
God, our heavenly father.
Jesus said, "I am the way and the truth
and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
(John
14:6 NIV Bible)
Jesus gives us
freedom to admit our own vulnerability, and to live with purpose in a
frustrating world. Jesus is the foundation on which we build lives of
integrity and justice, practising God's love in care and compassion for
all.
The Holy Spirit, God's enabling presence, helps us to live
the life of faith in God, and binds us together for ever as one body in
Christ. This 'body' we call the Church, the varied community of people who
belong to God. We enter this life in the Spirit by being joined to Christ,
and so being admitted to the Church, through baptism.
Baptism means being washed with water, as a dramatic way of
a person dying with Jesus, and being raised to new life through the Holy
Spirit, as the child of God. Our old way of living is left behind, and we
commit ourselves to live for God - we are 'baptised into the name of the
Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit'. Anglicans welcome to baptism people
of any age with the intention that they will live the Christian life.
The Church is the community of people who belong to Christ
of every time and place. We gather regularly as God's people to pray, to
learn and reflect, especially from the Bible, and to share our lives
together.
In a Symbolic meal called Holy Communion, or Eucharist -
which means thanksgiving - or the Lord's Supper, we proclaim the death of
Jesus and we are fed with his life as we receive bread and wine signifying
the body and blood of Christ. We are strengthened to love God and our
neighbours, to care for others, and to work for social justice, so making
Christ known to others.
What Next?
For more
information, a good place to start may be a Christian web site such as
........
....... or you can
join us here, or visit a church near you.
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