21 April 2026

When you think about origins, we begin with the person of Christ and the community of faithful people who became the first Christian Church. They are the ones who ‘devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers’. (Acts 2;42)

These are the things which distinguish the church from other human institutions. The first is the teaching of the apostles handed down through the generations. Without teaching, we become indistinguishable from the rest of the world. We morph into secular society.

Our ministry is built upon friendship, modelled on the person of Christ. It is measured by immeasurable grace and shaped by the injunction to forget self and follow Christ in kneeling down and washing feet, turning the other cheek, making peace with those whom we have offended and hurt.

Like the prophet and his dramatic pictures of the hewn rock and the stone quarry, the desert and its transformation into a garden like Eden, the earth wearing out like a garment and the salvation of God enduring beyond the end of the world as we know it, Jesus paints pictures too.

The most imaginative of all is the drama of his death and resurrection beautifully reimagined in a meal where bread is broken and wine shared, re-presenting his broken body and shed blood. The Holy Communion is a constant reminder of the distinctive character of our faith and its promises.

And prayer. This is the fourth characteristic of the Christian Church. The importance of prayer cannot be underestimated because it is the place where we nourish our relationship with God. Without prayer, there is no intimacy with God, no opportunity to hear him speak.

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