Our Vision

Our vision is of a Benefice, which cherishes and nourishes its members. We believe that God loves all of His children and that all people are made in his image. Consequently there are no distinctions between who is or is not a member of the Church. We believe in a broad and central Anglican theology and spirituality, drawing on what is good in all traditions, where all Christians may feel at home.

In our ministry and mission we will endeavour to show ways in which we fulfil the Five Marks of Mission of the Anglican Communion:

• To proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom
• To teach, baptize and nurture new believers
• To respond to human need by loving service
• To seek to transform unjust structures of society
• To strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the life of the earth

Our primary purpose is to worship God in word and deed. We seek to deepen our spirituality and awareness of God's will and purpose, individually and corporately. This will include regularly reviewing our services. As a Benefice of seven parishes we celebrate both our unity and our diversity. We seek to extend appropriate pastoral care to all, and to have particular regard to what more we can do with and for the young and the elderly.

We consider it to be essential to be relevant and accessible to the communities in which we are set and which we serve.

We acknowledge our stewardship of the good things, which God has provided from his bounty. We recognise our responsibilities to Him and to each other to regularly review that stewardship, and also to seek to encourage the communities to be responsible for their Parish Churches, as we pledge to seek ways to make the Church buildings more suitable and practical for their users, particularly for the primary use of worship.

We joyfully acknowledge the ministry of all the baptised to shine as a light in God's world. We, therefore, aim to encourage, equip and enable each Church member to fulfil their Christian discipleship according to the gifts and skills that God has given them.

We acknowledge our responsibilities as Christians in the 21st century, as we acknowledge the privilege and joy of knowing God and belonging to his Church, and the fellowship, which we enjoy in the Bansfield Benefice.