What is Christianity?

We often think Christianity is a 'Religion', full of rituals and rules, but actually it's a Relationship. A relationship with God who we encounter in the person of Jesus. It's also a relationship with one another, for to be a Christian it to be a member of a community of people who have Jesus in their lives, that's simply what the word 'Church' means. It's always about people rather than buildings. Sometimes it can all seem very complicated but really its simple. It's just having a relationship with Jesus who knows us better than we know ourselves.

Why does it matter to me?

Knowing Jesus isn't just a passive thing though, like knowing Julius Caesar or Queen Elizabeth the First. For we believe that Jesus is alive and with us all the time. That's how we can have a relationship with him. But more than this Jesus did something amazing. He died for us. In his death he took away all the bad and broken things in the world and fixed them by coming back to live.

It might sound a bit mad, but all of us have bad and broken things in our life and the modern world has lots of ideas of how to fix things, but as we know from experience, none of them really work.

The great joy of faith (the word we use to describe our relationship with Jesus) is that we are always free to begin again, to face the world afresh and we can do this any moment of any day for our whole life.

If you want to begin this journey you ask Jesus to say hello, or if you're unsure you could say the prayer Jesus himself gave us. And please contact me if you ever have questions!

Our Father, who art in heaven,

hallowed be thy name;

thy kingdom come;

thy will be done;

on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our trespasses,

as we forgive those who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation;

but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom,

the power, and the glory

for ever and ever.

Amen.