New to faith?
There is no single right way in. Two places to begin for anyone wondering whether Christian faith is for them, or returning after a long absence.
Wherever you are starting from, please begin with two things.
Is there a single right way in?
No. Faith is a journey, and people set off from many places. Some come through questions, wanting to know whether the historical claims hold up. Others come through silence, beauty, choral music or stillness in an old building. Others through ritual and the rhythm of the church year. Others through community, finding they belong before they believe. Others through service. Others carrying doubts they had thought ruled the question out, only to find the doubts welcome too.
None of these is a wrong door. Most people, on reflection, find they have walked more than one path at once.
What does the Minster make of all this?
We have heard preached more than once that the building is a sign, not the thing. The grandeur of the place can suggest that Christian faith is mostly an institutional affair, kept by professionals, organised in committees, conducted in centuries of accumulated language. Some of that is true. But the centre of weight is elsewhere. As Saint Paul wrote to a younger and less impressive church: do you not know that you are God’s temple? The building serves the people, not the other way around.
A useful question to keep returning to, lifted from a recent Evensong sermon: do we know what we are, and if so, what are we building with it?
Section 5 of 26 in the Companion
Discovering more
On the Minster website
Books to explore further
- Simply ChristianA warm, intelligent case for the Christian faith — often called a Mere Christianity for our own day. (A favourite in the Minster’s Lent library.)
- Being Christian: Baptism, Bible, Eucharist, PrayerA short, profound introduction to the four things that shape a Christian life, by a former Archbishop of Canterbury.
- Mere ChristianityThe much-loved, plain-spoken explanation of the faith common to all Christians.
Book links open Waterstones; many titles are also at the Minster shop or your local bookshop.
Other websites
- The Church of England: “What we believe”
- TryPraying — a gentle seven-day guide to prayer
- Alpha — a relaxed way to explore the basics of faith
Offered as helpful starting points. These sites are not the Minster’s own, and may not reflect its views or tradition.