Theological Understanding
Gateway Parish is an evangelical Anglican church, anchored in the infallibility of Scripture, the historic creeds and the Book of Common Prayer. We’re committed to sharing the gospel. We prioritize faithful preaching, baptism, holy communion, and prayer. We have a passion for mission and discipleship. We seek to cultivate vibrant worship, rich community, and compassionate outreach, inviting all people to encounter the transforming love of Jesus. We uphold God’s creation of humankind as male and female in his image; and the unchangeable standard of Christian marriage between one man and one woman as the proper place for sexual intimacy and the basis of the family.
Membership
There are different ways to belong to Gateway Parish.
Most important of all ‘memberships’ is that you belong to Christ. Peter said ‘Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins’ (Acts 2) And Paul writes ‘Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.’ Are you a member of Christ? Are you baptised in his name and by his Spirit? That’s the most important membership! Of the invisible, universal church.
Secondly, you might come along regularly and want to make this parish your spiritual home. This kind of membership is supported mainly by our Sunday gatherings but also by a WhatsApp group and the regular emailed newsletters. Hopefully this kind of membership will mean taking Holy Communion, praying for and caring for your church family, submitting to its leadership, giving towards its existence and mission, meeting with others during the week to grow spiritually, and in time volunteering for ministries like those on the Sunday serving roster and at Bush Bro’s Op Shop etc.
A step deeper into membership is to become what’s called a ‘Voting Parishioner’ and this is the main focus of this info you’re reading. This is a required first step towards any kind of formal position like voting at the Annual Meeting (AMP), leading a parish Bible study, preaching as a Licensed Lay Minister (LLM), or becoming a parish councillor. No church is perfect, and becoming a Voting Parishioner can seem strange- especially for people from non- Anglican church backgrounds!
Anglicans who move to our parish can simply sign the declaration and become Voting Parishioners. But even full members of other Christian traditions or denominations can’t do this. They need to be Received into Communicant Membership by Bishop Ian… a very short service as part of a normal Sunday. There are only two questions for which you respond ‘I do’ to the Bishop:
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Do you stand by the Christian confession and commitment made at your baptism?
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Do you desire to be admitted into communicant membership of the Anglican Church of Australia and accept her doctrine and order?
That seems fair enough. Finally, those baptised as infants in other traditions but not having been confirmed in it, not having some kind of adult ‘recognition’ of your mature faith… would need to be confirmed by Bishop Ian. This is a service of acknowledging your adult, personal trust in the promises made at your baptism.
It’s always encouraging to see the number of Voting Parishioners grow- it’s one thing we report on to the diocese each year, and for this parish to be sustainable in the long term we need to grow our number of Voting Parishioners. It gives us more people to spread the load of formal leadership. So, it could be an act of love and humility to make this a priority!
But still, more important is that we are a community of forgiven sinners, ‘drinking’ only one source of living water, that is the Holy Spirit poured out by God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Leadership and Governance:
Leadership here is structured hierarchically yet collaboratively. At the local level, the ‘Priest in Charge’ (Paul), oversees the day-to-day affairs of the parish together with wardens (Angela, Michael & Sharon) and parish councillors (Wardens plus Helen, Caroline and Marie). Unlike some denominations where churches are quite autonomous, Anglican churches are part of a diocese and under the authority of a bishop. Bunbury Diocese goes up to Mandurah and down to Ravensthorpe. Bishop Ian provides pastoral oversight and guidance within the diocese and his authority is both pastoral and administrative. His Archdeacon (Geoff) takes on a lot of the admin. While local Anglican congregations have some freedoms, major decisions and guidelines do come from higher up in the hierarchy. The Anglican Church uses a synod system which involves clergy and laypeople together in decision-making. So while bishops have significant authority, many important decisions are made collectively. These decisions can cover everything from liturgical changes to how the church engages with social issues and apparently, unfortunately for conservatives, theology. Bunbury Synod meets in October each year.
Liturgy and Worship
You’ll notice a unique aspect of our worship called "common prayer." This involves the congregation joining together in spoken prayers, creeds, and confessions- literally speaking together our shared faith. Unlike the Roman Catholic liturgy, where much of the service was conducted in Latin by the clergy, with limited participation from the congregation, the original Book of Common Prayer (BCP) invited everyone to actively engage. BCP is the foundational text of the Anglican Church, first published in 1549 during the English Reformation under Archbishop Thomas Cranmer. While it may feel a bit odd to participate in these collective recitations, it can be a beautiful way for us to unite, and affirm the priesthood and ministry of all believers- not just the clergy. We join our voices with countless others who have spoken these same words throughout history and we acknowledge there was a Christian church long before we came along.
What about robes? Anglicans wear white robes basically because it’s been that way for hundreds of years. The Alb originated in the early centuries of Christianity as a simple, white Roman tunic worn by clergy and other ministers during worship. Over time, it became a standard vestment, particularly in the Western Church. Some benefits are that its simple whiteness symbolizes the holiness of every Christian; it can remove the distraction of the ministers’ clothing choice; and it can bring some uniformity to services of worship. They are no longer worn in quite a few places. The decision is really a diocesan one.