Who We Are
At Great Bay Anglican we are:
Christ and Gospel-Centered.
We worship Christ and continually celebrate his life, death and resurrection as Good News for the world, and for each and every one of our lives. Jesus is Lord, and through him God is reconciling the world to himself and making all things new.
Sacramental.
God creates the world good and humans as embodied creatures to worship him. We are made to lift up the material world to God in thanksgiving. His Grace meets us in the stuff of life: water, bread, wine, and fellowship. Baptism and Communion are tangible signs that point us to invisible graces through the Holy Spirit. Practically, this means our lives are marked by rhythms the church year. Our worship is rooted in ancient patterns, and we celebrate beauty and art as natural expressions of worship.
Scripture Loving.
We believe the Old and New Testaments are one unified, God-Breathed story that leads us to Christ - in whom the fullness of God’s character is revealed. But this isn’t just a story, but our story - the primary place where the Holy Spirit meets us and binds us together with one another and with God’s people throughout time and space. Therefore, the Bible is authoritative for our life and practice, forever inviting us to wrestle with God. When we find the Bible difficult, we don’t just give up on it. We lean into it, we hold onto it, and don’t let go until God blesses us through it.
Defined by Love (agape).
The whole of the law and prophets can be boiled down to the Great Commandment: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourselves. Jesus, on the night before his crucifixion, washed his disciples’ feet and said, “This command I give to you, Love one another.” If we have all the right theology and programs and community outreach but have not loved one another, we are lost (1 Cor 13). We can love because he first loved us and gave his life for our own. This love goes beyond simple kindness. Real love that we see in Jesus pursues the ultimate good of the other, even at our own expense.
Hopeful.
In Hebrew, the word Hope comes from the word cord or rope pulled tight. The tension of the line is Hope. In the New Testament, Hope is described as the anchor of the soul. Imagine a rope, fastened to an anchor, down deep in the water, secured to something you can’t quite see but holds you anyways. That is Hope. However, our culture seems to drift, unanchored by anything. With Jesus as Lord, we have a firm anchor, even when we can’t see or understand the waves around us. We offer that Hope as a gift to an unsteady world.
Joyful.
The Good News of what God has done in Jesus is just that: Good News! It means that our lives have ultimate meaning and Hope. The Gospel means that we are singularly and powerfully loved. When we come near to that reality and let it sink into our bones, the natural response is awe, and the church calls that awe Joy. It is as if the one we secretly have loved confesses their own love to us. The Christian life exhibits that Joy, even when the storms of life come. The truthfulness of our Gospel should be visible by the light of our Joy.
Thankful.
Gratitude and thanksgiving are central to our lives and worship. It forms the foundation of our prayer and the pattern of our corporate celebration. Thanksgiving directs our lives upward and outward toward God and the world - receiving everything we have and are as gifts, even when they are difficult to bear. This commitment to thanksgiving creates fertile soil where our mutual life and joy grow.
Generous.
A community rooted and grounded in love, anchored in Hope, illumined by Joy, and practicing hospitality can’t help but be generous. That certainly means giving out of our material means, but far beyond that, generosity expands into our whole lives. We should be generous community members, generous friends, and generous with those with whom we disagree.
Hospitable.
We are committed to opening our lives to one another and our community. It is no accident that the Lord establishes a table and meal as the central act of worship. Gathering together is at the heart of what it means to belong to Jesus. Practically, this means lots of delicious food, open living rooms, and lively conversation.