Sharing faith

Dear Friends

I’d like to introduce you to a friend of mine called Sue. I met her many years ago - over 30 - when I decided to attend a ‘re-confirmation’ class. I’d been away from church for a number of years and felt it would be good to start again with (what I saw as) a refresher course. Sue was part of the same group. Well, for a while. Until she took issue with something that was said and walked out.

That, as I learned later, was quintessential Sue. Thinking and caring deeply about everything, fiercely debating every detail and with a tendency to volatility.

I went to find her at the end of the class and we became friends from there. In fact, she and I became founders of a faith group at my North London church that lasted for a very long time.

We tried a variety of formats over the years but they were always held in her very welcoming family home. We started with a group led by the vicar and when that had run its course we decided to continue and ‘go it alone’. Some time later we instituted a fellowship group where Sue prepared a meal for everyone at the start of the session. Then, when that was not always possible, we dropped back to simple study and prayer.

The core group that lasted until our lives took us in different directions comprised about 5 or 6 of us (although it did increase significantly when dinner was on offer!) We would meet one evening a week, share personal news, pray, then choose a passage of scripture and read and discuss it together. We ended up knowing each other well. I am deeply grateful for those times. They helped us all to grow in faith and created a bond between us.

Sue sadly died a few years back. She had moved to Scotland by then and I went to see her when she had little time left. As you’d expect with Sue, my trip wasn’t entirely straightforward. It was an early morning flight and, in the pitch black of the night going to the car, I managed to trip over a wall and fall face down in the flower bed. Then the satnav took us the wrong way so we thought we’d missed the flight. But explaining the predicament at check-in, the airline crew told us to “just run”. So we did. And we made it. I think Sue would have had a hell of a row with God if we hadn’t!

You may be wondering why I’m telling you all this. It’s because we are hoping to set up faith groups and I wanted to give you a flavour of what they can be like. Of course some of us will already have been part of something similar for Lent or Advent. We anticipate they may be a little like that, probably less frequent and with changing themes or topics that we can choose together.

Ideally they will be held in someone’s home, and can be day time or evening. There already is a budding group that will meet at the vicarage, but we are hoping that there will be at least one or two more. All details of time and day, venue, size of group and group members are still to be worked out, depending on your response, so if you are interested in being involved please talk to any of the ministry team or email me at vicki@eqtwo.com.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Blessings

Vicki