A note from the Vicar, 
Dear Friends,
In recent weeks, I have had a number of conversations with various people,all of which could be summed up by the question “how much do I need to believe before I can come to church?” What people have often said to me is something like this - “I'm not sure I can believe everything that the Christian Church believes, and so I don't think I should come to church. Wouldn't it be hypocritical of me, if I did?”
Whilst I am always impressed by people's honesty and integrity, for me such comments are slightly missing the point. If you come to church on a Sunday, that doesn't mean that you're signing up to absolutely everything that the Church believes. Many come who still find themselves baffled by parts of the Christian faith, or who have serious questions and doubts. And yet, it is often the person with the biggest questions who finds that coming to church is something they get great benefit from. Worshipping God is not something that requires us to lay aside our ability to question or to doubt. It is perfectly OK to worship God and still carry those questions in your mind. It is also OK to come and attend church even if you don't think you believe at all, but just want to “dip your toe in the water”.
Coming to have faith in God is not just a matter of the intellect. Most people don't make up their minds to believe in God in isolation from involvement with their local worshipping community. Instead, what often happens is that people get drawn slowly into the awareness of God's presence and love. They respond to this divine love by tentatively engaging in the worship of the church. Often, it is only after someone has already begun to know God's love for themselves, that they start to find answers to some of their questions.
The key thing about coming to church services is not how much you know; and it is not how much you believe; what really matters in the end is how open you are to explore the possibility of God's existence and His love. Is there a chance – just a chance – that the Christian faith may have something in it which helps you to experience God's love? If so, come and try us out sometime. You may be pleasantly surprised by what you find.
Best wishes
David Chillman
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What it means to be a Christian.
Christian life is lived in relationship with God through Jesus Christ, and in common with other Christians in the church seeking to deepen that relationship and to follow the way that Jesus taught.
For Christians God is understood and known as Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
…Father… God is love, caring for creation and for every human being as God's beloved child.
…Son… God is as he has revealed himself to be in the historical person of Jesus Christ. Jesus' life, death and resurrection holds the key to knowing and loving God, and to making sense of life, before and after death.
…and Holy Spirit… God is alive, loving and active today, inspiring faith, justice and truth, sustaining the life of the world, giving spiritual gifts to the church and bearing his spiritual fruit in the world - changed lives and a transformed society.
Additional one off services can be found through our Worship Menu
Welcome.
Welcome to the website of St Anne's Church. We hope you will find what you are looking for in these pages. But if you would like to know more please contact us or come along to one of our services or events.
There is a lot happening in the church at the moment: for a start we have a new Friday morning drop in for coffee running, we are about to launch the Friends of St Anne's to keep those who care for the church but are not regular attendees more aware of what is happening and we are embarking on this year's Lent courses .
O gracious and Holy Father;
give us wisdom to perceive you,
diligence to seek you,
patience to wait for you,
eyes to behold you,
a heart to meditate upon you,
and a life to proclaim you,
through the power of the Spirit
of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Benedict of Nursia (c.550)
