Why bother?
“The best way to see if a coat fits a man is not to measure both of them, but to try it on."
GK Chesterton, on Christian faith, in The Return of Angels.
People try on "the coat" of Christian faith for a wide variety of reasons, for example:
- Fascination with the person of Jesus and the desire to explore the meaning for us of his life, teaching, death, and resurrection.
- Attraction to the beauty of the music, liturgy, poetry, art, and architecture created for the worship of God.
- The sense that there must be more to existence than mere physical "stuff", limited by time and space, without purpose, meaning, or value.
- The virtue of community - people of goodwill working together in a common cause.
Open to everyone
Newcomers are always welcome at any Anglican church and Glapthorn is no exception. There are no membership fees and you don't have to fill in any forms. Anyone can attend any Anglican service and see what happens.
Finding out more
You will find online resources and books on the "Finding out more" and "Websites" pages of this folder.
Any of our ministers would be pleased to talk to you.
Becoming a full member of the Church of England
There are two ceremonies relevant to becoming a full member of the church: baptism and confirmation. Originally, baptism involved full immersion in water (as Jesus was baptised in the Jordan by John the Baptist); these days, in the Anglican Church it involves a ceremonial sprinkling of water on the head, and special prayers. Some people are baptised as babies. This is an indication that the parents have decided to bring up their child as a Christian. In this case, people can be confirmed when they are old enough to make their own decision to be part of the church.
You can take part in most of the activities of the church without going through either of these ceremonies, and there are no rules about how soon, or how late, you should make a formal commitment.
What can the church do for you?
The church can answer the human need for something greater than ourselves in which to believe, and which gives our lives a sense of meaning, purpose, and value. The accumulated wisdom of centuries is that this is best done in the context of community - the essence of what it means to be a "church". The church at its best is the community of people seeking to live Jesus' way and, by this, coming closer to God. It's best to go to church to be a Christian.