We believe that when Jesus sat down in Nazareth and said that he had come to bring good news to the poor and to set the oppressed free that he intended his church to do the same, not as an afterthought but at the heart of our being. The poor are to be blessed first.
We believe in Mary’s song – that God raises up the humble and scatters the proud. Jesus set a child as the example to his disciple. We need to be humble enough to listen to those whom the world discounts and not to be distracted by the voices loud with money or privilege.
We believe in Mustard Seeds – that God plants what he will where he will and that we have the task of seeing what he is doing and helping it to grow, especially in places of poverty. We are called to enable and encourage people in their local places to help shape places of hospitality to which all are welcome
We believe in Yeast that multiplies and grows from within, transforming the dough and bringing it to life. We want to be able to identify places where we can invest in starting a process of new growth where the expectation is that the yeast will bud and grow, bud and grow, creating new communities of faith over time.
We believe in Fig Trees – and faithful passionate gardeners! – who aren’t bearing fruit today but with care and patience could be fruitful tomorrow. We want to give a second chance to places which have been impoverished to see what God can do – but we are also ready to cut down the Fig Tree which is not fruitful.
We believe that Jesus chose all sorts of people for all sorts of tasks: Peter the headstrong, Thomas the seeker after truth, Andrew who brings his brother to see the Christ; Mary who sits and listens, Martha who serves through action; Zaccheus who invites Jesus to his home with joy and Simon the Pharisee who invites Jesus out of pride; and Judas who betrays Jesus and is forgiven. We see and wonder at the rich diversity of talents and gifts and want to be like Jesus, shaping this glorious mess of humanity into a people who follow and serve – those given titles like ‘Disciple’ and ‘Apostle’ (or Vicar), and those he simply calls ‘friend’.
We believe that Jesus ‘sent home’ as many people as he drew into the community set apart to walk with him. The early church grew because local people took responsibility or growing their own churches in their place, with only a few sent out to take the Gospel to new places. We want to see more local churches grow up, led by local people for local communities.
We believe that Jesus loved and grieved over the Temple building, drawn to the sacred space and yet frustrated, even angered, by its inadequacy.
We believe that place matters, that Jesus sought out quiet spaces to pray, that he enjoyed the hospitality of homes, and saw and appreciated the beauty of the world around him. We want to create safe spaces where people can come together as community, can be still and find peace, and can enjoy the beauty of the built and the natural environment.
We believe that where our treasure is, there our heart will be too. We are called to use our money and other resources sensibly and well for the sake of the Kingdom and we understand that people will be able to see where our heart really is by how we spend the money and other resources we have.
We believe that God will provide that which we need for his mission in this place and that, like the lilies of the field, we should not be anxious about money. We know we have to balance our income and outgoings as a diocese but we don’t want to act so quickly, out of anxiety, that we do harm to people or communities.
We believe that we cannot serve God and wealth. We will not protect our wealth at the expense of the growth of God’s kingdom
We believe that the created world is the Father’s gift to the Son and we are to treat it as a sacred gift. As the Church, we are called to lead the way in combating climate change in this country and as an example to the global church – this is a Gospel imperative, striving for justice for those most at risk in the face of increasing global temperatures. By living simply and humbly, we believe we can make a difference in the climate emergency.
Dorothea 