Our values represent where gariochchurch finds itself at this moment …
Walking with God is uncomfortable and messy at times. It puts us in places we would rather not be, with people we struggle with. It shines a light on parts of our lives we would rather keep hidden, it challenges who we think we are and sometimes rips us apart so that we can be reformed … Not one of us is perfect, not one of us has it ‘sorted’, all of us mess up and all of us see dimly … Community is a place where we can be open and honest together. We believe we are designed to be in community as God is community but God never said it would be easy, nor that everyone would make it easy for us.
The story we’re part of …
Almost throughout history, people have opposed each other and pursued their own interests over those of other people.
God chose the people of Israel to have a special responsibility to create a new community, which would be a blessing to all nations.
God rescued this nation from later oppression and gave them laws which reinforced how they should live in harmony with God, the world and the people in it.
Through much of the history of that nation, they, like all people, continued to do their own thing and ignore God and his laws.
God eventually sent his Son, Jesus, to be a model of what it is like to live as God intended. Jesus’ death and later rising from death are a means by which we can be rescued from our selfishness, and become part of a new community which is called to bless others.
After Jesus rose from death, God sent his Holy Spirit to help people follow Jesus, live at peace with God, and care for other people.
We believe that the church inherits this responsibility to be a community who both love God, and live to bless other people, and care for his creation. But, as with the people of Israel, we realise that we are often a very poor reflection of what we should be and do.
We follow and seek to encounter Jesus of Nazareth. We believe that Jesus showed us what it means to be truly human and through his life, teachings, death and resurrection we can find transformation. We seek to encounter Jesus individually and communally through the Holy Scriptures, sharing Communion together and contemplative practices. In a world of self-interest, we choose the way of Christ; to put the needs of others before our own.
We believe we need to be true community, honest and accountable to one another. Together we are on a journey with the living God, sharing our different language, narratives and encounters with God. We seek to build communal spiritual practices which allow us to encounter God in our every day lives. We want to be a creative community, open to the many ways we express our spirituality and find growth.
We believe that God is working to restore this broken world. As we follow the way of Jesus, we are called to join with God in this work and to help those who seek to reach for God. As such we hold that acts of peace, reconciliation, justice, hope and hospitality are signs of a God whose mission is to restore. We want to be communities looking out for the needs of each other as well as our local and international neighbours. We seek to look after the world that God created as good!
