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MISSION AND VISION STATEMENT
"At St Peter’s we are called to love God
These ideas are summed up by the Archbishop of York,
John Sentamu:
“The challenge we face as the Church of England is
to use the sacred trust enshrined in law for the common good of all the
people of
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St
Peter’s: space
Church properties can be defined as buildings and open spaces in which
sacred space can be shared with others for secular purposes, in the
belief that all things are holy and open to God’s presence.
Buildings such as St Peter’s are themselves a physical expression
of the church’s engagement with our community
– this is how our building was
conceived at the time of its construction – and the open access to our
church and churchyard reflects the open relationships which we try to
nurture and sustain within the community.
St Peter’s is, rightly, in constant use in a wide variety of
ways both for worship, for meeting together and sharing, and to host,
support and nourish community and church life. This open relationship is
central to our mission and ministry.
St Peter’s:
worship,
music, teaching and faith
To
work at the discovery of who God
is, what God is doing, and what God asks of us, is one of the most
important and enriching things that we can engage in as Christians. The
architecture of St Peter’s speaks of the transcendence of God. The
effort we put into our beautiful liturgy and Eucharistically centred
worship speaks of the mysteries of our faith and carries us beyond
ourselves in prayer and worship. The priority that we give to music in
worship, and the space we offer to the ‘performing arts’ (either in
concerts or such events as pantomime or schools art exhibition), speaks
of a celebration of life in which there is no separation between the
sacred and the secular. The
Anglican Communion’s
Five Marks of Mission are as
follows: To proclaim the Good News
of the Kingdom. To teach, baptise and nurture new believers. To respond
to human need by loving service. To seek to transform unjust structures
of society. To strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain
and renew the life of the earth. The opportunities that we have for
teaching the faith and seeking to encourage our church family to live
out these values are also a vital aspect of what St Peter’s is about,
with good preaching, Lent and Confirmation courses, Sunday School, Youth
clubs and First Communion classes. These opportunities must be seen as
an essential part of our church life, and need to continue to be
strengthened.
Welcome, fun, hospitality and friendship are hallmarks of our church,
and are signs of the Gospel values that we share of openness, acceptance
and courtesy. Our weekday ‘church welcomers’ and our Sunday welcome team
(sidesmen, churchwardens, ministry team, individuals) are a reflection
of our desire to be an open, warm and friendly place for all. Our
commitment to pastoral care – through the clergy, pastoral care team,
wedding, bereavement and baptism follow-up – is high on the list of our
priorities. Prayer and healing ministry (a gospel imperative) are
offered privately on most Sundays and through visiting of the housebound
or ill.
There are many who come to St Peter’s, either on a Sunday or during the
week, who simply need to enter, to walk around, to look, to sit down, to
be still. Some come to find that ‘private space that we all inhabit’ in
their search of God, and so seek for a place where ‘nothing’ is
happening, so that they can just ‘be’. This
is eloquently put in words written by John Habgood, a former archbishop
of
“To
this place anyone may come in faith or unfaith. Here, through liturgy,
through art, through music, through architecture, the eternal truths of
God are offered to all those who have eyes to see and ears to hear and
spirits to respond. Here in this place saints and sinners have jostled
and jostle still. Here God can touch us, and heal us and tran sform us,
as he has touched, healed and transformed countless people before us. 4”
With
the church open all week, always heated and lit, St Peter’s seeks to
offer just such a space, together with a place to pray, where candles
are lit to symbolise the light of Christ in our hearts. This is a vital
part of our ministry to the people of Coggeshall, as well as to members
of our own church family, who can come to the church in all of life’s
changes, sadnesses and celebrations.
St Peter’s:
future
generations
Jesus ‘put a child in the midst of his followers5’: this is a reminder that one of the
Church’s primary aims must be for the nurture of children and their
spiritual development: ‘that they should come to worship, know and love
God in Word and sacrament and through personal prayer in pilgrimage with
other Christians, in ways suitable to their age, culture and stage of
faith6’.
It is a delight that St Peter’s now admits children to Communion, as
full inclusion at the altar has enhanced their sense of truly belonging
to the church family. In addition, St Peter’s was instrumental in
establishing the Coggeshall Prentice Youthwork Trust, and our support for this (and
of Hannah Cooper’s work with children and youth), together with the
energy given by our clergy and laity in forging and maintaining strong
links with St Peter’s Church of England Primary School, is a sign of our
commitment to children and to nurturing the next generation of people
who will carry the lamp of faith into the future. St Peter’s: a MISSION STATEMENT
Our mission
statement, which seeks to encapsulate all these aspects of our church’s
life of faith, mission and ministry, is as follows:
At St Peter’s we are called to love God
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