During a recent visit to school, I was asked about my journey into faith, what made me a Christian?
For each of us who identify ourselves as a Christian, we can probably tell our own personal stories, our introduction to God as our Heavenly Father, the coming together of different families but becoming one under the banner of God’s love, the sharing of a fellowship meal when we remember the last supper that Jesus shared with his closest followers, and the love that is experienced through gentle words of encouragement or generous acts of service as one person provides help to another in practical ways such as a lift to the hospital, or a meal provided when times are difficult.
A phrase that I often hear from people who once attended church but no longer do is that ‘I don’t need to go to church to be a Christian’. Perhaps you don’t but we as a church are depleted because you are not with us. Church can sometimes be a really hard place to be, on the surface everyone looks like they know what they’re doing, they know the songs, they know when to stand up or sit down, I’d like to say all that comes with practice.
The value of church is that when we come alongside each other and get to know each other is that we realise that Church is not about ourselves and our particular wants and desires but is about coming together to seek God’s wisdom, courage and strength to face the challenges of everyday life.
We sing together to lift our voices in praise, we pray together sharing with God our concerns for the world, our neighbours and ourselves, we listen to passages from the Bible to learn together, and we encourage one another.
If you haven’t given Church a go for a while maybe it’s time to give it another go; you will be very welcome at any of the churches in Westbury or surrounding villages, with every blessing,
Caroline Husband
