You are here
New church set up in Isle of Man outside jurisdiction of the Diocese of Sodor and Man
By Mel Wright
http://www.iomtoday.co.im/news/
12 May 2016
A new independent church for people of all backgrounds, that is anchored in traditional liturgical worship, has been launched in the island.
The pastor, Jules Gomes, who resigned as vicar at St Mary's in the Harbour, Castletown, earlier this year, will be commissioned on Sunday (May 15).
Former Lieutenant Governor Sir Laurence New leads a church management team of 10 people. The church has been granted affiliation by the Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches (FIEC), which has 560 churches under its umbrella. The church, called St Augustine's 'is fired with the vision of reaching people with the gospel,' said pastor Rev Gomes. 'Its purpose statement is "transforming minds".'
The name St Augustine (of Hippo) was chosen with care, explained Rev Gomes.
St Augustine is 'perhaps the greatest thinker in the Western spiritual and secular tradition of intellectual and philosophical thought the West has produced,' he said. 'We intend to be a church of the highest calibre in helping people to think about their faith critically and creatively.'
St Augustine is honoured in the Catholic and Protestant traditions said Rev Gomes.
Also, 'there is no church dedicated to St Augustine in the island. The name will be broad enough to include people from both Catholic and Protestant backgrounds while focused enough to stress the central doctrines of salvation and the authority of scripture. It will also send a message that we are not a "trendy" church and are anchored in traditional liturgical worship.'
St Augustine's has signed up to the 39 articles of faith (which define the doctrine of the Church of England).
The church first met on Easter Sunday and had a congregation of 75 adults and 20 children. The preacher was Rev'd Jonathan Fletcher, an Anglican preacher from London, an eminent international speaker.
In March, 45 people took part in a training day for the launch team, which was led by the Rev Andrew Paterson, missions director of the FIEC.
Rev Gomes explained why the team feels a new church is needed. 'We have seen a steep decline in membership in some mainline churches across the British Isles. There are other evangelical churches that do good work but may not necessarily appeal to people that have a more traditional worship approach. We have been led by the Holy Spirit to plant an evangelical church that is true to the Bible.'
St Augustine's church meets at 10.30am on Sundays at the Jim Crosbie Memorial band room, Derby Road, Douglas.
END
