In the Interregnum August 2023

Whilst St Andrew's Church is in interregnum, this page will see a variety of authors from St Andrew's Church and the Diocese
This month we hear from the Rev John Kinchin-Smith, member of the ministry team at St Andrew's

Why go to Church?

When I committed my life to Jesus Christ at the age of 25, the ‘Church’ and ‘prayer’ were two of the most wonderful discoveries I made. While that may say something about where I was personally coming from, it was also the discovery that God was intensely real, that prayer was the deepest and most personal expression of a relationship with him and that he had given me a loving family of those who belong to Jesus Christ in every country of the world, the strength and love of whose ties were those of God himself
 
St Peter wrote to the churches of Asia Minor: “You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, that you may declare the wonderful deeds of him who called you out of darkness into his marvellous light”. Christians attend church on Sunday primarily to worship God. As the 17th century Westminster Confession puts it: “The chief end of man is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever”. But to be a Christian in the Bible means not only to be in a loving and life-giving relationship with Jesus Christ, but also to be part of a new community, to be in a personal commitment both to Christ and to other believers. Indeed, the Bible does not know of the solitary Christian
 
A Church Council meeting spent some time reflecting on why many people, who might call themselves ‘Christians’, seldom come to church. Different churches provide a variety of styles of worship every week, hoping to provide something that will appeal to all tastes. Regular worshipping congregations are delighted that many come on special occasions such as for baptisms, weddings, and funerals, and for festivals such as Easter, Remembrance and Christmas. But it seems that most people see regular Sunday worship as either irrelevant to their lives, or as something unnecessary to live a morally good life
 
God, however, seeks to draw us into fellowship and community with himself and also with his people. This is not just for the sake of those who belong. But, as St Peter writes, the Church exists to bring the healing love of God to his broken and suffering world. Christians may be no better than others, but they are certainly better than they would otherwise be without the grace and strength that God gives in Christ. And they find that grace and strength through their personal relationship and commitment to Jesus Christ and to other believers
  
People come to church for all kinds of reasons. But every church would always hope that visitors and occasional worshippers will find a warm, loving welcome; and that they too will come to know the joy of belonging to Christ and also of belonging to that wonderful Christian family through whom God continues to bring healing and wholeness to individuals and to the world

 
courtesy of St Andrew's Church in the Gorleston Community Magazine

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