All Saints Values
The Statement of Values of All Saints Parish Church,
Kings Heath, Birmingham
“The Kingdom of God is like a grain of mustard seed which someone took and sowed in the garden. It grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air made nests in its branches” – Luke 13:19
The Roots…
The source of our life
All Saints Church is a local community of the world-wide Anglican Communion, a part of the Body of Christ on earth. We exist because of the love of God shown to us in Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of love, justice, grace and peace he proclaimed. We are growing and developing in faith, sustained by the Holy Spirit.
The Trunk…
The worshipping community
We recognise that worship and mission go hand in hand; if the worshipping community is a community of justice, grace and peace and it cannot help but be open to all.
We worship together as companions, drawn from all ages and backgrounds, on a journey of faith. We meet to celebrate the Eucharist; we also creatively use other forms of worship, expressing our faith in inclusive language. Our worship draws on rich Anglican heritage with flexibility and openness. So rooted, we explore the riches of art, music and other cultures. Through preaching and a variety of opportunities to learn, we study the Bible, address current concerns, and in discussion and prayer encourage one another to live out our faith in our everyday lives.
Clergy and lay people share the task of leadership, acknowledging the equal ministry of women and men. We recognise that the work and service of Christ belongs to everyone. We aim to be welcoming to all. Children and young people, older people and refugees bring particular richness to our life together.
We seek to support one another, helping each person to realise their gifts and caring especially for the sick, the house-bound and those in distress. We expect a healthy church to reflect the diversity of the neighbourhood it serves.
We aim to meet the costs of maintaining church buildings and clergy for the sake of God’s mission in Kings Heath and beyond.
The Branches…
Relating locally and globally
Our prominent buildings on the High Street and the work of our Community Development Project are a sign of our joy in expressing the love of God for everyone, made known in Jesus Christ. We seek to serve the local community, especially any who are vulnerable, directly through groups we sponsor and indirectly by supporting and praying for other caring groups and agencies.
Relationships
We aspire to the compassion of Jesus by affirming Christian love and recognising the fragility of human relationships. Rejoicing in human diversity we uphold the gift of life long faithfulness in marriage; we also celebrate God’s grace in new beginnings, including the marriage of people who have experienced divorce; we celebrate God’s blessing of all life-giving faithful relationships, be they among heterosexual, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, non-binary or other people. As a Church of England Parish Church, we take seriously our calling to offer the opportunity for all who wish to celebrate their most precious relationship to seek God’s blessing in Church.
We challenge abuse in all relationships and strive to create a church community where safeguarding the vulnerable is in the heart of our character.
Resources
We try to use our time, money and abilities responsibly so as to care for the earth and her climate, to relieve suffering, to confront injustice and to help others, both locally and globally, in equitable relationships of mutual trust and learning.
Daily life
We live as Christians in our daily life of work, home and leisure, as we commend the Gospel, help to build a more just society and look for the face of God in all people.
God in others
In our search for truth we are in relationship with Christians of other denominations, with people of other faiths and with all neighbours of good will. We see God’s Spirit at work in all creation, especially in human creativity in arts and sciences, through which our humanity is deepened, enlarged, fed and challenged. We expect to learn about God from anyone whom we meet, especially through our differences.
The future
Conscious of changing patterns of life around us, we ask God to keep us alert and to lead us into new expressions of worship, ministry and service.
Re-visited version of Jan 2022.