For us, the good news that we share is centered around the life and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth, a man admired and loved by people around the world, even by many who are not Christian. And it is not hard to see why! He was unique in the way he showed great compassion and care for all who came to see him. Jesus did incredible good for people who were suffering or despair. But more than just being a great humanitarian and healer,  he taught about God's great vision of healing for a suffering and broken world. He pointed to God's great kingdom of mercy, love and justice for all, and especially for those who were poor or outcast. He invited people into a new way of life marked by wholeness and joy, by the possibility of a new start, the forgiveness of our sins and failings and the working for God's vision for a broken world. But we also believe that he was much more than this. We believe that he embodied God for us, that when people saw and talked to Jesus, they saw the incarnate God in their midst. In Jesus, they saw God's love for the world, his sorrow at the pain and injustices of the world, and in the cross, death and resurrection of Jesus, the lengths that God would go to bring healing and peace to the world. In Jesus, we believe that the world is reconciled with God, and that by relationship with Jesus we too are reconciled with God.

​

Anglicans believe in these same central truths that Christians have always believed. We are a Gospel people who believe that God is a God of love who wants to bring grace and healing to us as individuals and as the entire world. The word that sums this up is Shalom, which is the Hebrew word for peace. It means more than just an absence of hostility, but rather is an exciting vision for the possibility of human flourishing and wholeness.

Anglicans don’t have any unique beliefs that set them apart from other kinds of churches. Our central beliefs are the same as those of all Christians. What makes Anglicans unique is their particular history and heritage as well as an attempt to understand God’s story by balancing the use of the Bible, the best insights of human reason and the wisdom and experiences of our predecessors in the Christian faith.

The central truths of our faith include:
·        Creation: that out of love God created the world in all its beauty and diversity;
·        Trinity: that we believe in and worship only one God; however, because God is love, we believe that there is a complexity within the simplicity, that there is relationship within the Divine. We believe that God is revealed to us as Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

·        Sin: that humanity needs help from above because of our innate propensity to do harm to ourselves and the things of God;
·        Old Testament: that God works through history, even calling a particular people to try and bring blessing to the world;
·        Incarnation: that God came amongst us in a profound and stunning way in Jesus;
·        Kingdom of God: that Jesus proclaimed and enacted the coming of the good and benevolent reign of God to begin the healing and restoration of all things;
·        Crucifixion: that he took all of the suffering and sin of the world on himself in his death on a cross;
·        Resurrection: that death was not the end of the story for Jesus, but that three days after his death he walked out of his tomb that began the process of God’s great healing;
·        Church: that Jesus formed a community of people who so transformed by the power of God’s love that they would live as lights to the world and proclaim God’s message of grace and hope;
·        Scripture: that God’s people, inspired by the acts and gifts of God, recorded the history of God’s people in the Old Testament and the stories of Jesus and the encouragement of the early churches in the New Testament.
·        Grace, Salvation: that people can come into relationship with God no matter what their background is, what they have done or where they have been. Because of Jesus’ actions, all who want to enter the kingdom of God are welcome, where they will experience the forgiveness of their sins, the meaning of their lives as children of God, learn how to grow and mature in faith, and experience the joy of holiness and wholeness. And this relationship will move into eternity;
·        Judgement: that we yearn for the day when there will be justice: no more war, violence, hatred, racism, genocide, famine and hostility. That is not our day, but we work and serve the world in the light of Jesus’ vision for what the world can be.

Anglicans also believe that belief is not enough, but that belief has to become actions in the world. As such the Anglican Church of Canada has affirmed what we call the five marks of mission to describe certain ways in which our beliefs flow into actions:
1) To proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom
2) To teach, baptise and nurture new believers
3) To respond to human need by loving service
4)To seek to transform unjust structures of society, to challenge violence of every kind and to pursue peace and reconciliation
5) To strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the life of the earth



Representatives from the worldwide Anglican Communion have fleshed these thoughts out further in a statement called, "The Anglican Way: Signposts on a Common Journey" (click to access).

If you have any questions about the above, I'd love to chat!



Rev. Steve London, Rector





Link: Visiting us​