Our beliefs

We are a Christian Church, part of the Church of England and Anglican Communion. We welcome all people to our services: already Christian, enquiring or seeking. The best way to experience Christianity is to meet and meet up with other Christians, and to worship, pray, learn and work together.

It is possible to define some common beliefs.

God loves you

First of all, God loves you. Our God is the one true God, creator and redeemer of the whole universe and of each and every one of us. “Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so” as the traditional saying goes. We have a God who would like a personal relationship with us, as individuals and as a congregation or a body of Christians worldwide. We have a God who does not intrude or force us to worship him, but longs for us to accept his love into our hearts and lives and pass it on to others.

What is a Christian?

As Christians, we believe in God, Creator of all that is, and that we as humans are created in His image and likeness and designed to seek Him. God is all-powerful and all-knowing, yet God is also the fount of all goodness, all truth, all beauty and all love. God loves each one of us with a love that is infinite and personal.

As Christians we endeavour to follow our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, who is the only Son of God the Father. Jesus came to earth to live among us, experienced death by crucifixion and then was raised to life again. He went to be with his Father in Heaven and promised us the aid of the Holy Spirit if we followed him. So we believe in one God who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and in Jesus Christ as the means of our salvation, who is fully divine and fully human.

We believe in Jesus as “the way, the truth and the life” and we gather together to break bread and drink wine in memory of him, as he told us to do at the Last Supper.

As God is infinite and we are finite and created, we cannot hope fully to understand God in this life. Following Jesus and worshipping God are centred on love, and we gain “information” about God in a context of prayer, worship and Bible study. Jesus also told us that the greatest commandment is “to love God above all else, and our neighbour as ourselves.”

What is an Anglican?

The Anglican church developed from the church in England in the sixteenth century and has now spread throughout the world. The Anglican Communion is an association of independent Anglican churches.

What does the Church of England believe?

Throughout its history the Church of England gradually grew into its role as a church that is both Reformed and Catholic. It seeks to be a middle road along which many people with the same core creedal* beliefs can worship in different styles. The Church of England believes that the Bible contains all knowledge necessary for our salvation. Within these essentials we have a great deal of freedom of worship and thought.

We have ecumenical links with many other churches.

There are several formulas for the key beliefs, and the Apostles’ Creed is a good start:

I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again;
he ascended into heaven,
he is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and he will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting.
Amen.

You may also wish to pray the prayer that Jesus taught his disciples, as it includes all the essentials of daily prayer:

Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come;
thy will be done;
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation;
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
the power and the glory,
for ever and ever.
Amen.



For a complete statement of our beliefs, read the Church of England statement of faith.