Essentials
A 5-week course leading to membership at Christ Church Oakhurst, exploring the beliefs and practices most central to our faith.
Essentials focuses on basic Christian doctrine and practice from an Anglican perspective. Following the church’s great tradition of catechesis, participants will receive systematic instruction in the Holy Scriptures, The Creeds, The Lord’s Prayer, and the Ten Commandments.
- Essentials is open to anyone who seeks to reaffirm their discipleship and especially those who are new to Christ Church.
- Those wishing to receive Baptism, Confirmation, and Reception into the Anglican Communion, including parents who wish to baptize their children, must become Christ Church members.
The 5-Week Essentials Class
- The Story of God: How we are formed by story
- Biblical Witness and Sacraments: How Christ meets us tangibly in Grace
- History: How God’s story has been preserved and carried across centuries.
- Liturgy: How we weekly rehearse God’s story in worship.
- Life in the Church: How we serve, grow, and participate in Christ’s mission locally.
Quick Definitions
Baptism – Holy Baptism is a sacramental washing with water in the name of the Holy Trinity. Through Baptism, we receive the promise and forgiveness of sins, are made members of the Body of Christ, united with Jesus in his death and resurrection, given new life by the Holy Spirit, and adopted as God’s children.
Confirmation – Confirmation is the laying on of hands by a bishop with prayer for strengthening by the Holy Spirit. It is a public and mature affirmation of the faith and a kind of ordination of laypersons into the Church’s vocation of discipleship and mission. For those baptized as infants, Confirmation provides an opportunity to personally affirm the faith into which they were baptized.
Reception – Reception is the laying on of hands by an Anglican bishop on a person who has already been baptized and confirmed in another Christian tradition. Because we do not reconfirm those who have already been confirmed, Reception recognizes their existing Christian commitment and welcomes them into the Anglican Communion.
Reaffirmation – Reaffirmation is the laying on of hands by an Anglican bishop with prayer for a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon a baptized and confirmed Christian who desires to recommit their life to Christian discipleship after a period away from the Church. Like Confirmation and Reception, Reaffirmation is an opportunity to publicly renew one’s commitment to Christ and his Church. Reaffirmation is encouraged for Christians every five years.
Membership – Membership at Christ Church is open to baptized Christians who have completed the membership class, affirmed the Member Commitment, and publicly identified themselves with this local church. Membership is more than having one’s name on a roster; it is a public commitment to belong to a particular Christian community and to share in its worship, life, and mission. To become a member is to say, “Jesus Christ is my Lord. These are my people. This is where I grow, serve, and worship.”