Jesus only lived on earth for just over thirty years, but Christians believe that God has left them with various gifts to grow in their faith and obedience to God’s will. Jesus Himself promised another helper, who He called ‘the Holy Spirit’ to be God’s continuing presence and power with His followers. They also believe that God has left a unique written revelation of His character and purpose in the Bible and can speak to us particularly through its pages. Therefore, both the Holy Spirit and the Bible have a central place in our journey with God. In addition, God never intends us to struggle on our own as Christians, but to be linked up with the church, that fellowship of all those who have responded to His call through time and history and which still is expressed in many visible communities of faith today.
Sometimes the number of different churches and the ways they disagree can put us off wanting to be part of them. It certainly shows that Christians are not people who have it all sorted, know all the answers or live perfect lives. However through the years, time and again Christian influence has been an active source of good in the world, motivated by the love and grace of God that Christians have come to experience. St. Mary's and Emmanuel belongs to that part of the church known as the Church of England, but works actively with many other churches and indeed contains people from other traditions within the fellowship.