St Mary's Weldam  
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 The Anglican Chaplaincy of Twente is a member of the East Netherlands Group of Chaplaincies in the Diocese of Europe (Click on the logo to access the website of the Diocese of Europe)

 
 
About Us

 

What do Anglicans believe ?

  1. That Jesus Christ was and is the son of God;
  2. That He not only told us, but showed us in His life and death that God is the God of love, and that we must love Him with all our heart, mind and strength and that we should love our neighbours as much as we love ourselves;
  3. That we should take Jesus as our example, and try to live a life in which we give more than we struggle to get. That though we are all sinful and imperfect human beings, we can, if we believe what Jesus said be forgiven and that we must also forgive those who offend us;
  4. That this life is not all, but that we can hope for a life after death in which, when all our sins have been purged away, we shall be united with God;
  5. And that in all this we shall be inspired and strengthened by God's Holy Spirit;
  6. In addtion the Church believes that those who are to be members of the Church should be baptized with water in the Name of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, as a sign that they die to self and raised to a new life in God;
  7. The Church also believes that it must faithfully follow Jesus' command to celebrate the Holy Communion (also called the Eucharist, Mass or Lord's Supper) in which Christians are united with Him by sharing the bread - symbolising the body - and the wine - symbolising the Blood - in remembrance of Him.

 

The Anglican Church

Anglicans find their help and strength in a Church which is based on the Bible, clear in its tradition, identity and practice. All these gives its members responsible freedom to question and explore the truths of Christianity in the light of their own faith and reason. The Anglican Church is a product of long historical development - It is both Catholic and Protestant, traditional and reformed. Its central belief is God as shown to us in the Person and teaching of Jesus Christ. Its worship has been most carefully maintained in the traditions of the Church from its earliest days, as has the ministry of its bishops and priests.It is a Church which has been shaped by history, and the story starts long before the Reformation and the break with Rome in the sixteenth century. From much earlier times there was conflict between those who believed that the individual conscience was most important and those who relied upon the authority of the Church and believed that it had all the answers.The conflict sharpened at the Reformation when those who thought that Christians should learn the faith by reading the Bible for themselves found militant allies in the Protestants who were rallying round Luther and Calvin. But there were also many people who wanted tot keep the old Catholic ways, having their faith taught them by the priest, and making the sacraments of the Church central to their lives. The English tradition tried both ways, and settles for a compromise under Queen Elizabeth I - a Church taht would always be Catholic in its traditions, practice, and the ordination of the clergy, but firmly rooted in the Bible, and held together by its worship as laid down in the Book of Common Prayer. This tradition grew to include the majority of people in England.In the course of time the Anglican Church spread to most parts of the world. In spite of its English origins it has adapted very well to other cultures. The family of Anglican Churches in the Anglican Communion is indeed world-wide, and there are now more black Anglicans than there are white.The Anglican Church has become the spiritual home for many sorts of people with different views about some aspects of Christian teaching and practice. This seems right to Anglicans - even if it is sometimes a little uncomfortable. The Anglican view is that adult Christians should actually have to work at discovering in their daily lives what being a Christian really means. It sees the Church more as a gymnasium for training athletes than a rest home for those who want everyting done for them. Quite a lot of people find this hard. They would rather be told quite clearly what to think and how to live, and they see this Anglican freedom to question and think and search constantly for the truth as a form of weakness. Anglicans think it is strength.

 
 
 
 

 

 
 
  
 

 

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