Key Values & Beliefs
Being part of the Anglican tradition means that we are part of a great 'communion of saints' that spans across space and time. This spiritual community maintains a diversity of practices and beliefs, but ultimately it is our love for Jesus Christ that binds us together. We've highlighted a few ideas that are of particular importance to us at St. George's.
Unity in Diversity
Members of our parish do not all hold the same beliefs. Many affirm what we call 'liberal' or 'progressive' views. Others find meaning in more traditional understandings of Christianity. Many of us are at work 'deconstructing' our faith - reconsidering our understandings of theological ideas we were raised with. And some would not even identify explicitly as Christian! This means that we welcome difference in beliefs and practices.
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We also strive to be as inclusive as possible: affirming the dignity of every human life. We are thus particularly concerned about engaging important social matters and we do our best to welcome those of every race, background, gender identity, sexual orientation, and social location. We have both young and old in our worship and love the contributions all of our members make to our worshipping community.
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Following Christ through Baptism
The Anglican tradition requires us to make certain promises at our baptism. We promise to continue to pray and to attend church. We will proclaim Christ not just by what we say, but by how we live our lives. Through baptism, God calls us to bring the heavenly kingdom here on earth. We do not focus only on our personal salvation, but believe Jesus' message was about bringing God's kingdom of justice and peace to earth.
We also promise to respect the dignity of all people. That means to love them as much as we love ourselves, and to strive for equity for all. The National Anglican Church has reservations over the issue of same sex marriage. However, the Anglican Diocese of Niagara, of which we are part, is clear in its commitment to full equality to all in this regard.
Our final Baptismal promise is to safeguard the integrity of God’s Creation. We commit to take responsible action to repair the effects of humanity’s disregard for the Earth, its climate and its biodiversity.
A Progressive Theology
As mentioned, many at St. George’s espouse a “progressive (or liberal) theology” within the Anglican tradition. By this, we mean that we see ourselves as God’s people, created in the divine likeness by a loving Creator. The Bible is the work of many divinely-inspired authors. However, their perspectives were limited by their own times and cultures. Besides the words of the Bible itself, we should also consider the ancient traditions of the Church, and use our own intellects to make sense of Scripture and our place in the world.
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Our theology is broadly compatible with that of the organization Progressive Christianity. We accept the life and teachings of Jesus Christ as a doorway to greater awareness of the sacred in our lives. However, we accept that other faith traditions can offer insights into sacred wisdom. Our progressive theology inspires the goal of developing our parish as a loving community of disciples of Jesus Christ. Our Anglican tradition shapes the style of our Sunday worship.
Joyful Worship
Coming to church on Sundays should be a joy, not a duty. We believe we are lovingly made in the image of our Creator and we delight in celebrating God's presence through worship. Like the followers of St. Francis of Assisi, we stress the goodness and joy of the natural world. While we hold a time for 'confession' in our liturgy expressing the ways we can fall short of reflecting the image of Christ (which some call 'sin'), our emphasis is always on the goodness and grace of God.
We celebrate our physicality as part of our sacredness, which mirrors the coming into the world of Jesus Christ as Son of God. Thus, our worship is a sensory experience: we use our bodies and voices in song (with actions) and prayer, we detect the mysterious scent of candles lit, we behold the beautiful ornamental in a gorgeous worship space, we taste the wine that's been blessed,
