Our church is open to visitors. I am planning a little display to explain to casual visitors what a church is. I would like something which makes some sense to the Chinese students who visit with virtually no knowledge of the Christian faith without being patronising. The idea at present is to have an A4 sheet (landscape) in the middle, flanked by two A4 sheets (landscape) on either side. This would fill one of two available panels. The other might give information about what to do if you would like to find out more about this, that or the other. The first draft has a key word for each sheet of A4. The central panel's is "church" because it is the starting point for the explanation.
The central panel: Church, from Greek kyriake "the Lord's" means "belonging to the Lord" and can refer to either a people or a building.
Upper left: Jesus of Nazareth lived in Roman occupied Israel some 2000 years ago. Both Christian writers and ancient non-Christian historians agree that Jesus was a teacher who performed healings and that he was crucified by the Roman authorities under Pontius Pilate. What happened next is the stuff of controversy. The reports that Jesus was raised from the dead were widely known, accepted by some and rejected by others. Those who have come to accept that Jesus is alive in a new body believe that he was thereby vindicated by God and made Lord over all. The affirmation that Jesus is Lord is the basic confession of Christian faith. The resurrection of Jesus happened on what was then counted as the first day of the week, a Sunday. This is why Christians, whenever possible, meet together on Sundays.
Upper right: Christ, from the Greek meaning "Anointed" (Hebrew: Messiah) refers to the king whom God promised to rule in God's kingdom of justice and peace. Christians (those who have pledged loyalty to this king and put their trust in him) believe that Jesus ushered in this kingdom not through military conquest or clever political machinations but by living a perfect life showing forth God's love, declaring God's truth and accepting the consequences of human wrongdoing in suffering and death. His death on the cross made the cross an important sign of Christians, reflected not least in the architecture of church buildings.
Lower left: A building which specifically belongs to the Lord Jesus Christ is called a church. It is the place where his people assemble together to worship, celebrating the wonderful things God has done and making themselves available afresh to his service. Important elements are listening to God's Word (the Bible) and sharing bread and wine in a symbolic meal whose pattern was given to us by Jesus and through which he has promised to meet us. The meal is known as the Eucharist (Greek for thanksgiving), Holy Communion, the Lord's Supper and the Mass (from the final words of the rite by which we are sent out into the world).
Lower right: The people who belong to the Lord Jesus Christ are called the church. Their allegiance to Christ is first marked in baptism, a water rite by which people are identified with Christ in his death and resurrection, acknowledging that Jesus died the death we deserve and gives us eternal life as a free gift. Those who belong to Christ, the Lord, also belong to each other as brothers and sisters. Christians affirm that they now belong together as members of one body by regularly meeting up to praise God and to encourage one another to live as those who belong to the Lord Jesus Christ.
Any suggestions for modifications or a completely different way of doing things are welcome - email Rector on the stmarymh.co.uk address.
