St George

We had an interesting meeting on Saturday 10th April when Beryl arranged tastings of various foods, such as cheese, chocolate and baked beans, where we had to identify which brands each of the group of three same items were. Some people were more successful that others, not that their taste buds were better, just that they were better at guessing!

Following on from last month's issue, our meeting on the 17th March was well attended to hear our Team Vicar, Rev Mike Shepherd. After his short talk, he invited questions from the audience on any subject. It was a very well thought-out evening and we particularly enjoyed Mike's answers to the questions.

The March Meeting was "Reflections on Holy Week" led by Peter Barker. We sang the five parts of The Story of the Cross by the late Rev Edward Munro. Peter read and spoke between each section. This was a very moving preparation prior to the Easter Services. Peter brought a wooden cross which he had made 50 years ago for a Scout Camp in Ireland, also some posters which reflected upon the Crucifixion.

On Saturday 17th April, the Men’s Group went to see Blackpool play Nottingham Forest and everyone enjoyed the visit, it is amazing how long it was since people had seen a live match. We will not mention the score as certain Notts Forest supporters were rather disappointed!

Dear Friends

I have the privilege of visiting one of our local state primary schools on a regular basis. On a recent visit to our 60 Year 6 pupils (10-11 yr olds) I held an open question session about the Christian faith. The questions were many and varied. One young man asked “If I wanted to have a faith for myself, why should I choose the Christian faith?”. It’s a question that maybe we all need to address from time to time. Why are we Christians and how do we commend the faith to others? Graham Tomlin, in his controversial book, Provocative Church notes that people no longer say to us, “I wish I had your faith”. He contends that many folk don’t wish they had our faith – in fact they feel sorry for us! Why should this be? Tomlin goes on to suggest that the reason for this is that Christians are no different from those outside the Church – our lifestyles are exactly the same. Only when Christians begin to live attractive lives, he contends, will others be attracted to the faith. Indeed it is said of Mahatma Ghandi that he would not become a Christian because Christians did not follow the way of Jesus.