Barnabas Anglican Church exists to see, savor, and show forth the love of God in Jesus Christ so that the people of Lansing and all nations may find life in him. We commit to doing this by:
1. Welcoming one another openly and actively, cultivating humility and hospitality.
2. Serving the needs of our immediate and greater communities in love.
3. Preserving and proclaiming the Truth of God’s Word f
rom all of Scripture in keeping with the Great Tradition.
4. Intentionally centering our lives, worship, and relationships on Jesus Christ as adopted children of God.
5. Relying on the Holy Spirit in ordered and sacramental lives of prayer.
6. Prioritizing people over programs and putting God and others first in obedience to the Two Great Commandments.
7. Participating with all faithful churches in our area and with the Church around the world in advancing the kingdom of God and the Great Commission. Beliefs
Our belief is in the Catholic Christian Faith of the fathers, confessors, and martyrs. We have received “the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3) through the English patrimony, including the struggles of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries of reformation that yielded a tradition of English Bible translation, hymnody, and a vernacular language of prayer to mark almost any occasion of life, from birth, to Baptism, to marriage, death, and burial. This spiritual heritage has been passed down and disbursed globally in the Anglican Way of discipleship, Biblical scholarship, pastoral care, and mission. More recently, it has experienced renewal in North America in the early 21st century as an extension of an international movement among the majority of Anglicans worldwide called the Global Anglican Futures Conference (GAFCON). Our beliefs are summarized in the three catholic creeds (Apostles’, Nicene, and Athanasian), the Jerusalem Declaration of GAFCON (2008), and the classical Anglican formularies, locally adapted: the Book of Common Prayer (1662), the Ordinal (1549), and the Thirty-nine Articles of Religion (1571).
“Moreover, in the Catholic Church itself, all possible care must be taken, that we hold that faith which has been believed everywhere, always, by all.” – St. circa 445.
“One canon reduced to writing by God himself, two testaments, three creeds, four general councils, five centuries, and the series of Fathers in that period – the centuries that is, before Constantine, and two after, determine the boundary of our faith.” – Bp. Lancelot Andrewes, 1555-1626. Doctrinal emphases include:
A Trinitarian theology, piety, and practice
The two-natures of Christ and the centrality of his person and work
Salvation by grace, through faith, in Christ alone
The canonical Scriptures as the final Rule of Faith interpreted in consensus with the catholic Creeds, ecumenical councils, and early church fathers
The necessity of the Holy Spirit’s work through the Word
The sacramental nature of the Church and of all Creation
Why “St. Barnabas”? Barnabas was commissioned as a missionary by the church at Antioch where “the disciples were first called ‘Christians’”. The name Barnabas means “son of encouragement”. We believe that Lansing—to say nothing of our world at large—needs encouragement from redeemed people who see its value in God’s eyes. As the “son of encouragement,” Barnabas was the first to welcome the newly converted Saul and recommend him to the brothers when others would not. Barnabas would go on to disciple John Mark when Paul considered him disqualified from the mission field. Afterward, Paul acknowledged John Mark as “profitable to me for the ministry” (2 Ti. 4:11). Barnabas believed in people and invested in them. Because of his famine-relief efforts for Judea, Barnabas is also remembered for his ministry to the poor. His characteristic compassion and hospitality (welcome and love of the stranger) are fitting gospel missives to a city of many nations. These charitable qualities are summed up in the Collect for his feast day (June 11):
Grant, O God, that we may follow the example of your faithful servant Barnabas, who, seeking not his own renown but the well-being of your Church, gave generously of his life and substance for the relief of the poor, and went forth courageously in mission for the spread of the Gospel; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. (BCP 2019)
Affiliation
We are an extension work of the Diocese of Mid-America, Reformed Episcopal Church, in the Anglican Church in North America. Our Bishop is the Most Rev. Ray R. Sutton. You can learn more about our convictions and connections at recus.org and anglicanchurch.net
