Reformation Sunday and Founders Day

Dear Friends,

October 2017 is the 500th anniversary of the Reformation- a big event not just for Germany, but for Europe, and indeed the world. In our services and sermons this month we will look at some of the distinctive beliefs of the Reformation; if you would like to know more, I would highly recommend the book The Unquenchable Flame by my old friend Michael Reeves, available from the church book stall.

But why are these long ago events relevant for us today? The answer is in the word: Reformation, or re-formation. There were many good things and good people in the medieval church. But as a whole, it had become bent and twisted out of shape. So men like Luther and Calvin and Cranmer saw the need to “re-form” it, or re-shape it, so the church would be what God wanted it to be. The hammer that they used to do that was the Bible, the words of God. It was often a painful and bruising process, but it was a necessary one, and a good and right one. Re-formation is something all churches, including Christ Church, still need today. The Reformers rightly saw that this process of re-shaping would never come to an end until Christ returned. Our hearts have a tendency to wander away from God, and re-make the church in our image. So the Reformers said that a Reformed church would always need to be reformed continuously by the word of God. This is what Christ Church should be: a church that is always going back to God’s word, and allowing it to shape us into the image of Christ.

Yours in Christ,

Stephen Walton

Note: Followed by a shared lunch. Baked potatoes. Please bring a contribution. Contact David Gatenby (01525 7458355) if you can bring something or help.