Monthly Message (February 2009) - Exploring Faith

Dear Friends,

.... do you have trouble getting it right ?

The pressure to have the right answer is often the great weight that keeps people of faith silent! How often have you shied away from a discussion or debate because you are not sure whether your thoughts fit in, make sense, are acceptable or give away your doubts?

In a Church it often seems that everyone else has faith more sorted out than you ... and it’s easier, safer, to keep your questions hidden away.

But the good news is ..... that we are ALL on a journey through this life that will constantly throw up questions, struggles and doubts as we try to hold together and make sense of Christian faith. ALL of us are learners, explorers and questioners .... and none of us have all the right answers! And more, in terms of faith, if we try to hide the questions and doubts we have ... if we cling only to the answers we’ve always known and assumed that everyone knows ... then we end up with a faith that is too small for the big wide challenges of living. A faith un-explored ... can let us down when we need it most.

So .... how do we grow as Christian disciples? How do we explore the challenges and hopes God holds out to us? How do we delve into the Bible in a way that encourages our spiritual journey? How do we ask our questions and learn that often the asking of questions is more important than the giving of the right answer! There is room for God where people find space and courage to open up their questions. And curiously, it is in sharing the things we don’t quite know, that we start to move on, to grow ... especially in faith.

A Church should be about helping people to grow in faith ... to ask the questions and share the journey that the ever mysterious God invites us to. At Trinity-Henleaze URC we are not so good at doing this – and making space to grow in faith is a challenge to us. But a challenge, by its very nature, is meant to be taken up!

A recent Church meeting agreed that we should encourage new ways of getting together to share our questions and explore the faith. When asked ‘what would help you ... ‘ the meeting suggested that House Groups would be a good idea. House Groups, when people get together with some faith based questions to start a discussion, have proved to be a great source of inspiration, growth and friendship for many Christians. I hope that we will find the same. So over the next few weeks I’ll be asking you to think about joining a House Group ... or maybe even offering to host one in your home. I hope that this is a challenge that you’ll take up.

Meanwhile, soon it will be the season of Lent. This year you are invited to ‘take up’ (rather than ‘give up’) for Lent ... an invitation to a series of Lent Suppers with friends in our Church. You’ll find information later in this newsletter. I hope to see you there.

Yours,

Tracey.