This is a development of the introduction given in ‘About Us’
For us as Anglicans, faith and worship go hand-in-hand. We are a communion of churches, rather than a purely confessional church. Consequently we are not only bound together by our confession of Faith, but also by worshipping in communion with the rest of the church.
In our worship and our communal life together, the Holy Spirit reveals God in Christ to us, often beyond words. As Jesus said: ‘But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you’. (John 14:26)
Our understanding of the faith , the truth of the gospel, is nurtured in our spiritual communion. Our confessions or statements of faith define the foundations of our faith but do not necessarily limit us in its meaning.
Within the Anglican communion, we are a parish that is growing in a direction that is not necessarily consistent with the whole church but is consistent with some .
At the moment we are exploring ‘ what is necessary for salvation’. In this exploration, we are revisiting the question expressed in traditional terms ‘ what is the fate of the unrighteous ? ’
It is it is the Rector’s belief, that people can be saved after death and in fact many are and that if there is eternal damnation it is only going to be at the second coming of Christ. Although there is some scriptural foundation to support this, if Jesus teaching on the Road to Emmaus provides us with the foundations for how Christians should approach Scriptures, then in the light of his death and resurrection, even the possibility of eternal damnation being the fate of the unrighteous at the second coming might not be true.
`Oh, how foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared! Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into his glory?” Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures’. (Luke 24: 25-27)
Christ died for the sins of the whole world and in so doing reveals God’s unconditional love for his creation .
Obviously, this teaching is not universally accepted by the church . It is important that we to discuss this together and seek God’s mind. This parish is undertaking this journey.
If the traditional teaching about the’fate of the unrighteous ‘ does not represent God’s truth then the sooner we correct it the better . It might not be faithlessness that is causing people to abandon the church but rather an unconscious if not conscious rejection of a brutal teaching attributed to God who is love.