I attend a large local maintained school in the South West of England. I am studying for my A levels at the moment and one of these is Religious Studies. In due course I want to continue studying Philosophy and Theology, and hopefully this will be at Oriel College, Oxford. The church in the south west is reasonably strong and the church leaders in my town of Helston have a prominent position in the town. We have an ordained female priest at our church, St. Michael's, as well as a male clergyman who leads the team.

Me with the Revd. Dorothy	We also have churchwardens like John who look after the smooth running of the service

As a young Christian in the Church of England, I believe in the same things that most Christians do: that God created the world, that he sent his son Jesus to give us the chance of salvation, and that it is our job to keep God's Commandments by showing love and respect to everybody. This is reflected in our belief in the Holy Trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Each of these shows a different aspect of God, and each represents a different aspect of being a Christian. We respect and worship the Father as our creator, we are grateful for the salvation found in Jesus Christ, and through the Holy Spirit we are inspired to act as true Christians all the time. The Anglican Church is very broad with lots of different opinions, but so long as each of us accepts these basic beliefs we are welcome to worship in the community of Christ.

We have a good sized congregation of older and younger Christians. The young ones go out during the main part of the service unless it is an All-Age service where they are included.

As an Anglican, I am encouraged to attend Holy Communion every Sunday. In this hour-long service, we sing hymns, listen to readings from the Bible and finally we may take Communion.

Singing hymns is a traditional part of the Anglican service	A reading from the Bible - servers hold the Bible and Betty, a lay reader, reads

To make sure that everyone feels a part of the service, we have different servers (who help the ministers) every week, and we all have the opportunity to read from the Bible and say the prayers. It is the Vicar, though, who leads the service by asking us to affirm our faith together every Sunday, and who helps us to understand the Bible by reading us a sermon he has written. In the Church of England, the Vicar can be a man or a woman.

Leading the service

The main part of the service, however, focuses on taking Communion. This is based on the Last Supper recorded in the Gospels, when Jesus taught us to eat bread and drink wine in respect of his sacrifice. For modern Christians, it not only shows our thankfulness for Jesus Christ but also our unity as a Church. In the Anglican Church, you have to be confirmed before you are able to take Communion. Being confirmed means that you accept the promises made for you when you were baptized - to love God and obey his commandments. Normally you are confirmed as a teenager, but there isn't a set age - you can decide when you are ready. I haven't been confirmed yet, so every Sunday while the other people at Church take Communion, I receive a blessing from one of the ministers. That way it feels that no-one is left out - though soon I hope to become confirmed so that I may take Communion too.

Wine is served from a silver chalice, the bread or wafers from a silver paten
Members of the congregation receive Communion	I receive a blessing as I am not yet confirmed

At our Church, we have set up a group called Young Anglicans, which meets every fortnight. It is for the people in the Church who are too old for Sunday School, but who still want their faith to be more youth-orientated. During the week, we will sometimes go out to a local beach or club to simply enjoy ourselves, but at other times we will stay in to learn about what it means to be a Christian in the modern world.

One way we do this is through Youth Emmaus - a course for younger Christians that explores the challenges and rewards of faith.

The service begins and finishes with a procession

Being a Christian, then, never stops. But, as Anglicans, we have a lot of freedom to make our own decisions about how we live our lives - as long as we are thoughtful about it. There are all sorts of different beliefs and ways of life, and this freedom allows young Anglicans to make up their own minds about what they believe and what they don't. (This is one of the reasons I haven't been confirmed yet.) The fact that there are no set answers means that making moral decisions or judgements can seem difficult - even impossible - but as a Christian I try to accept this as a part of the real world, and can be reassured that through prayer and contemplation I am trying my best to do the right thing. In other traditions people feel their faith is made stronger by having immovable beliefs that they can always fall back on, but for me, in a world full of challenges, I find it better to look for my own answers.