Saint Michael's Parish Church            Thorpe-le-Soken
  • POPE FRANCIS
  • WORSHIP & SERVICES
  • UPCOMING EVENTS
  • SUNDAY SCHOOL AND ROLPH
  • NOTICES
  • PRAYER MATTERS
  • PARISH PROFILE
  • KNITTED BIBLE AT THORPE
  • SAFEGUARDING
  • CONTACTS
  • THE INTERREGNUM
  • LINKS
  • SEBASTIAN at HOLYWELL COMMUNITY
  • Visit St Michael's
  • How to find us
  • CHOIR
  • Children and Young People
  • The Christian Faith
  • Rolph Church of England Primary School
  • Christening (Holy Baptism), Confirmation; the Seven Sacraments
  • Christian Marriage
  • Christian Funerals
  • WALSINGHAM CELL
  • Photo Gallery
  • Groups, organisations, regular events.
  • Vicars
  • ANCIENT CARVED HEADS
  • HISTORY - The Soken - The Parish Church - The Bells
  • Notable former residents. More recent local history - 'Changes in a Rural Enlish Village' by the late Pearl Lonsdale

What it means to be a Christian

Being a Christian means living life in relationship with God through his Son Jesus Christ, in the power of the Holy Spirit, and in common with other Christians in the Church, seeking to deepen that relationship, and to follow the way that Jesus taught;  loving God and neighbour. In fact trying to model our lives and our actions on Christ's.
Membership of the Church is conferred in the Sacrament of Holy Baptism.
(The Church in this context does not refer to St Michael's but to the whole Universal Church.)

The Faith of the Christian Church is summarised in the Nicene Creed:

We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is, seen and unseen (visible and invisible).
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God,
begotten, not made, one one being (one substance) with the Father;
through him all things were made. 
For us (mankind) and for our salvation he came down from heaven,
was incarnate from the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary and was made man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried. 
On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures:
he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory to judge both the living and the dead,
and his kingdom will have no end.
We believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. 
We look for (forward to) the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come. Amen.

The word 'Creed' comes from the Latin 'credo'  - "I believe".
The creeds are the Church's statement of the revealed Christian Faith.
The Church has three versions of the Creed -
The Apostles Creed
(the earliest) used at Morning and Evening Prayer BCP and in the Rosary;     The Nicene (Niceno-Constantinopolitan) Creed
and The Athanasian Creed.
The Creed most commonly used in the Church's liturgy is the Nicene Creed. This Creed is the one normally used at the Eucharist (Mass) on Sundays and greater feast days
of the Christian Year.  The Athanasian Creed is used only on rare occasions.  All may be found in the Book of Common Prayer.
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