What We Believe

We are a community of Christians who believe Jesus Christ is the Lord and Saviour, and through him alone we find fellowship with the Father. We believe the Bible, though written by flawed people of faith, was inspired by the Holy Spirit. Through its pages we discover God’s love for his creation, and find the way of salvation. We take scripture seriously, and it holds a central place in our faith and our services. We believe in the Holy Spirit, who was poured out for all people on the day of Pentecost and is available to all believers today. We believe God speaks to us through the Holy Spirit, and in our services we look to him as he ministers to us, and we minister to one another through His power and grace.

Who we are

We are a church at the heart of the community, with a heart for community. We come from all walks of life, young and old, single and married, those with children and those with none. We want to be a church community which blesses those around us, irrespective of belief. We want St Saviour’s to be what it is: the local parish’s church, offering a welcoming, safe place for all people, whatever their background.

As a church, we have some key values that best describe us. These are: prayer, friendship, and unity not uniformity.

Prayer – We believe prayer is essential to any relationship with God. Through prayer, we commune with our loving God, both for ourselves and the world around us. We believe in the power of prayer to bring change into our lives and the lives of others. We live out the value of prayer with regular prayer meetings (called ‘Just Pray’), with occasional 24 hours of prayer, and with weekly prayer and communion service on Thursday mornings. We have also established a praying community, the Young Franciscans, who live on the church site and follow a daily rhythm of prayer. Find out more about this community on the Young Franciscans website.

Friendship – We believe friendship is key to church life. It is great to be friendly on a Sunday, but we look to go further and strike up genuine friendships among our congregation. Jesus not only led and taught his disciples, but called them friends. Friendship calls for investment from everyone involved, and we live this out by having regular meals together as a church. Once a month, we hold a bring and share brunch, and we also head to the pub together regularly after our second service. Some members of the church have been friends for 30 years, and some for only a few weeks, and we are always looking for more friends to join us. While there are many reasons why you might step into a church for the first time, it’s making friends that brings you back to the same church again and again.

Unity and not uniformity – We believe everyone is loved by God, no matter how much faith they have, or which expression of worship they follow. As a congregation, we have many expressions of faith, and hold varying positions on a range of theological issues, and yet we worship together and work out our salvation together with fear and trembling. We believe the body of Christ is diverse, and this is a strength, not a weakness.

Our vision

Our vision is to see our parish changed for the better, by praying, befriending and worshiping in a spirit of unity. We want to see people impacted by the love of God and set free from anything that oppresses them, helping us all to step into the fullness of life that is found in God alone.

Photo of Bible by Aaron Burden on Unsplash