Newcomers and faith

Possibly some of the women are talking more about their faith in their daily lives. I say this because over the last couple of months they have brought 3 different people to worship on Sundays, one of whom is attending regularly.

By a fascinating set of circumstances, one of these is a woman we prayed for regularly during 2009-10 when she was seriously ill, and the other 2 are neighbours of a family who are also beginning to attend Sunday worship.

It seems ironic that work aimed at developing Church beyond the walls of Sunday and the institutional structures may be resulting in fresh interest in approaching God through traditional worship.

Although the women have invited at least 2 people to join them on Thursdays this has not yet been productive. I guess this is a good thing as the women are going to be at the ecumenical Lent course for the next month so our more normal meetings are suspended. I am also minded that the period of transformation we seem to be in on Thursdays may be at a stage which requires stable membership. My decision to attempt to work with this group and support transformation probably requires the women to feel secure in a new identity before they will successfully offer hospitality to new members.

© Dave Walker

Blanket Knitting

The yarn has arrived and everyone has chosen their thread (with a few extra for any newcomers). One of the women took responsibility for casting on, and the knitting has begun.

Everyone was very excited and already we have all taken a turn. I think it is the most riotous gathering we've had yet. Apart from the initial excitement we have been playing 'musical chairs.... its much easier to knit the blanket if you are sitting alone on the sofa so we took it in turns to occupy the best seat in the room.

We now have about 8 rows completed, but it will be a while before we do any more. Church leaders have organised the ecumenical Lent Study to fit with our meeting times and the women have decided to join with them for the next 5 weeks. I feel a little sad but am interested to see what happens.

Testimony Effect

The testimony was great!

I'm not speaking particularly about the impact of the story... I'm talking mostly about the impact of the telling on all the members of the group. The woman who told her faith story is so full of the experience, and the sense she had of God's presence - which all the other members of the group who were present could see. She told her story again today to the woman who missed the service, and everyone was able to re-live the event.

She was asked lots of extra questions, both about her story, and about what it was like to stand up in front of people. She talked of how it felt (she had found it a very good experience) and was telling everyone else to have a go. Even the most timid member of the group was starting to think about it by the end of the conversation. One recounted a part of her own story which linked in to the conversation.

I thought back to 2 1/2 years ago when I lead a series of interactive services on the 'Time to Talk of God' report. At that time not one of them was able to tell anything of their story to each other... the most personal thing they said was about enjoying going to Easter People some years previously.

I wonder if their will be opportunities for the women to develop this during the Lent course, as we will not be meeting until after Easter.

Telling Faith Stories

Out of the talk of testimonies God is growing something.

Some half formed reflections, leading to some half formed thoughts, led to a conversation.... the outcome is a member of the group will tell parts of her faith story at a pancake party cafe worship.

The woman has never told much of her story to anyone, and she asked to meet and talk about it.

We sat over several cuppas and, with encouragement, this amazing story of meeting with God and being changed emerged. The Holy Spirit was palpable as she told of a mystical meeting with Jesus, but the most powerful part of the story was her realisation, for the first time, that over the following 50 years she has been shaped by the Spirit within her. We held each other as the awesome power of God's transforming grace was revealled to us.

I left the question: 'How has our conversation today changed things?' but I sense I already see some of the answer. She went off to 'normal' life aglow with God's light shining out from within her.

I believe both of us have been changed by the encounter, and I suspect that this sub-plot will have a significant impact on the longer term story of our group.

Journeying by Grace

Logo of Grace, Ealing

By God's grace we seem to be moving on with our journey. Perhaps one day I will cease to be surprised when this happens. I haven't really seen the process happen, but we are now engaged in a corporate act of blessing - we have started the process of making a blanket. The conversation wasn't: 'shall we make a blanket for someone?' it was: 'who shall we make a blanket for?' Much is veiled.

This acts as a reminder to me - Jesus asks us to follow him, not to understand everything, or to make life happen.We live by grace, and our actions are both the result of grace, and the means of grace. This group of women within which each of us are both being held, and holding others is, and is becoming, a place of grace.

It looks like the language of 'blessing' may be the way of describing this within the group's culture - and I am hopeful it will be valid language in the wider community of which the group is part. No doubt this will become clearer as time passes.