We are an evangelical Anglican church
plant in the heart of the Long Furlong community in the north
of Abingdon, Oxfordshire.
A Church plant is usually created when
one Church has so many members it has no room to grow any
bigger. This happened to our parent
church, Christ Church in Northcourt Road, which
is about ten minutes' walk from where Christ Church on Long
Furlong meets.
So about ten years ago we started up
Christ Church on Long Furlong with a small number of existing
Church members who live nearby. It was a chance to introduce
something that more closely reflected the needs and concerns
of the immediate community.
In our case we took a decision to break
with the tradition that normally results in a Church plant
becoming completely independent. Although we have our own
distinct 'feel' and way of worship, all of us on both sites
are constantly working to maintain a state of interdependence
between us. This means we share resources, combine activities,
and move freely between the two sites. This has resulted in
a large, active and diverse community that is visibly more
than the sum of its parts.
Christ Church on Long Furlong has well
over 100 members coming regularly, and nearly half of them
are under eighteen. This means we exist to live, teach and
share God's Word in a practical way, recognising how important
families and young people are. We are led by our Associate
Vicar who is supported by a group of licensed Lay Ministers,
all of whom work very closely with the Team Vicar at Christ
Church in Northcourt Road.
Our approach can be summarised in this
simple phrase:
"Seeking right relationships:
with God, with our neighbours, our families, and ourselves."
We believe that we were made by God
to exist in a loving and serving relationship with him and
each other, as described by Jesus in Matthew's Gospel: "Love
the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength;
and love your neighbour as yourself." We can see countless
pressures in today's society working to undermine those relationships,
and at Christ Church on Long Furlong we are working even harder
to counter those pressures and understand, establish and maintain
"right relationships".
Please drop in and see us. There's no
obligation, just an open and friendly welcome. We look forward
to meeting you.
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