Portmore United Church - ABOUT-US -- DOCTRINE

ACKnowledgements

The Doctrine of the United Church is now accessible via the net. Some elements were scanned from the Original document "THE CHURCH " developed by the the team of the Education for Ministry and Mission Committee [EMM]. I would also like to mention special thanks to Miss Wynsome Hyatt for her contribution in repurposing some aspects of the document for the internet. You can get a copy of "THE CHURCH" at the United Church Office 18 Carlton Cresent, Kingston.

The Education for Ministry and Mission Committee would like to acknowledge the work of the following contributors and editors:
- Rev. Gladstone Donaids
- Rev. Dr. 'William Reinhold - Mrs. Jennifer Siriue - Rev. Ashley Smith
- Rev. Norbert Stephens - Rev. H. Earle Thames - Rev. Randolph Turner

as well as those who contributed to the original book published in I 977-Rey. John Dunlop, Rev. William Ellwood (deceased), Rev. Pearce Jones, Rev. Godfrey

Meghoo, Rev. Stanford Webley, Rev. Dr. Adlyn White.

Special appreciation is also expressed to the production team from the Communication and Research Unit and to the Constitution and Doctrine Committee (I 999 - 2001).

The term 'Baptism' is derived from
the Greek word 'Baptizein' and
covers a wide area of meaning. In
classical literature and in the New
Testament it is used to signify 'to
sink, to immerse, to wash, to
cleanse'. -- more

There are thirty-nine books in the
Old Testament, and they are
grouped under four divisions: The
Pentateuch or five books of Moses,
The Historical Books, The Poetical
Books, The Prophets, including
Major Prophets;

For those of us who confess Jesus
Christ as Lord and Saviour, the
answer to the question, what is
the Church? is of utmost
importance.

Spiritual disciplines enable us to
develop characteristics and
patterns that eventually lead to
growth in our spiritual lives and in
our maturity.

A breif history of theUnited Church
and the timeline supporting the
union of Congregational,
Presbyterian and Disciples of Christ.

The Logo of the United Church in
Jamaica and the Cayman Islands
evolved out of the three logos of
the antecedent denominations. The
elements of the logo represents the
symbols which are of significance
to the doctrine and beliefs of the
respective antecedent enomination.

"We believe that a Church which
remained the same in form as the
original primitive Church throughout
the changes of nearly two
thousand years, would be a static
entity incapable of influencing for
the good the life of the world. "

'Sacrament' is used in the Latin
version of the Bible as the
equivalent of a Greek word
'musterion', translated 'mystery' in
the English Bible.

In the face of all the various
interpretations of the work of
Christ, the Church must continue to
emphasize that we cannot save
ourselves from servitude to those
things that are preventing us from
following our true destiny.

Everyone commits sin sometimes.
There is no one in the world who
does not sin in something. Sin is
quite often not willful - not
deliberate, but the result of a slip
when we are off our guard.


	The worldwide family of the church is divided into three major traditions; these are known as Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Protestant.

In the final analysis, what we think
about God helps to determine how
we pray, how we view what is
happening in the world and how we
think concerning matters such as
suffering, evil and death.