Faith and SPIRITUALITY
Being at home in the Church
The Church and the faith which it shares help us both to make sense of our spirituality and our place within the world’s reality, and to flourish in a way which is faithful to Jesus Christ. Through him we are put right with God.
Many of us have a sense of being spiritual beings, as well as being physical, emotional, psychological, and social. Often, we are not sure how to make sense of our spiritual dimension. We can also quest for a more adequate understanding of why we exist at all and why things are as they are. Frustratingly, there can appear to be many confusing and competing narratives.
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At Ripon Cathedral we have many opportunities to help you discover more about the Christian faith, and to seek to develop and flourish in it, if you wish. As a starting point, we have shared below some of our thoughts on this.
We wish you well if you are seeking to discover God’s love and purpose for your life, or if you are hoping to grow in the faith you have known.
our saviour
Jesus Christ
We believe that Jesus Christ was God’s Son, sent to restore a fractured unity between God and the creation he loved into being. This included helping God’s perfect reign of justice and peace, God’s kingdom, to become more of a reality in the world which had fallen away from God. By dying on the cross and rising again, Jesus Christ showed that one day earth and heaven will be fully united. All people can be saved from the destructive consequences of sin and death. One day, we will all be able to enjoy life in its fullness and, as the Lord’s Prayer has us pray, God’s kingdom will come, and his will be done on earth as in heaven.
the gift of the
Church
In the meantime, Jesus gives the world the precious gift of his Church, the company of those who seek to follow him and help the world to become more like heaven. This worldwide, growing community, almost half the world’s population, can also help us to recognise where God and his kingdom already exist in the down-to-earth world of our daily experience.
the gift of
Baptism
We become members of the Church through baptism (by being Christened), when we are cleansed of those forces which try to diminish our lives, and when we receive the Holy Spirit which Jesus poured out on his disciples after his resurrection. Baptism is regularly made available to people through the ministry of Ripon Cathedral.
being nourished by
Word & Sacrament
We are enabled to grow in faith throughout our lives with the help of spiritual nourishment.
God’s word guides us, coming to us through the Bible (the Church’s authorised scriptures) and the Church’s teaching. This is helped by the work of the Holy Spirit.
Like Baptism, Holy Communion is a sacrament – an outward visible sign through which God gives us a gift which cannot be taken away. In Holy Communion, we receive the bread and wine which sacramentally feed us with the body and blood of Christ – his gift to us at his Last Supper.
growing in
Faith
Growing in faith isn’t a simple, straightforward progression. Often, we can feel uncertain or doubtful, even distant from God and his love – throughout the history of the Church, spiritual giants and saints (holy people) have spoken about these experiences. Trusting in God’s faithfulness to us, however, helps us to remain faithful to him, being true to our calling to serve him in our daily lives.
The Christian journey is one that can give purpose and meaning to our lives together with a firm sense of being put right with God through Christ’s death and resurrection. This is a journey which also offers us the opportunity to help others and ourselves experience heaven in this world, while hoping for it in the next.