A Covenant for Mission on the Isle of Man
Together Making Christ Visible…
The love of God for humanity, expressed both in the old covenant and in the new covenant in Christ, recalls Christians to the dynamic relationship of grace and mercy in which God holds the world.
Within that covenanted relationship, as churches that confess their faith in one God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and conscious of the special relationship with one another that we enjoy:
- Together we give thanks for all we have in common;
- Together we rejoice in our diversity;
- Together we repent the sin of perpetuating our divisions;
- Together we make known our understanding of the obedience to which we are called.
The love of God for humanity, expressed both in the old covenant and in the new covenant in Christ, recalls Christians to the dynamic relationship of grace and mercy in which God holds the world.
Within that covenanted relationship, as churches that confess their faith in one God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and conscious of the special relationship with one another that we enjoy:
- Together we give thanks for all we have in common;
- Together we rejoice in our diversity;
- Together we repent the sin of perpetuating our divisions;
- Together we make known our understanding of the obedience to which we are called.
Making Jesus Christ known
- We recognise in one another the same faith in Jesus Christ revealed in the Holy Scriptures,
which the creeds of the ancient Church and other historic confessions seek to safeguard.
We recognise in one another the same desire to hold this faith and proclaim the gospel in all its fullness. - We intend so to act, speak and serve together in obedience to our Lord that the gospel of Jesus might be made known to others through the witness of our words, our lives and our faithfulness to Christ.
Serving human need
- We recognise in one another a shared awareness of God’s call to serve his gracious purpose
for all humanity, with particular responsibility for this island and its people. - We intend to work together for the freedom to flourish for all humanity, for justice and peace,
for the healing of creation, and for the spiritual well-being of all.
Members of one body.
- We recognise one another as members of the Church of Jesus Christ, sharing in the unity of the Holy Spirit and committed to work for the coming of his Kingdom.
- We intend by the help of the Spirit to overcome those divisions which impede God’s mission, obscure the gospel, and impair our witness. We intend to manifest our unity in Christ, that the world may believe.
Exercising God’s gifts
- We recognise in one another the same call to every believer to share in the service of
the church to the world, just as Christ lived among us as a servant. - We intend to seek those forms of common life which will enable all Christians to use the gifts bestowed on them in the service of God. We commit ourselves to developing some patterns of training and formation to equip the body of Christ for ministry.
Stronger Together
- We recognise in our congregational lives and patterns of worship, marks of love, joy, peace and holiness which are among the fruits of the Spirit.
- We intend to listen to one another and to appreciate the life and treasures of our various traditions, in order that the riches entrusted to us in separation may build up the whole Church of Christ.
In faithfulness to the Word of God we believe that God will guide his Church into ways of truth and peace, correcting and healing, strengthening and renewing according to the mind of Christ. We approach the future with openness to the Holy Spirit. We therefore urge the people of all our churches to love one another in the Holy Spirit as God loves the world, and to take every opportunity to grow together in Christ through common prayer and worship, mutual listening, understanding and love, that we may be renewed together for mission.
Accordingly we are committed to this solemn Covenant before God and with one another, to work and pray in common obedience to our Lord Jesus Christ, that by the power of the Holy Spirit we may serve together in mission for the coming of the Kingdom and to the glory of God the Father.
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