‘This church is a place where we support one another …..

Sarah Eynstone

…..in our Christian discipleship and where Christian friendship can flourish.’

As you enter our church you may have noticed the new posters positioned at its entrance. These provide information about services and staff as well as information about how we live out our Christian vocation through the various groups and activities that go on here. On the poster entitled Who are we and what do we do?’ we try to explain what sort of community we are to people who are new to the church or just visiting. Inevitably there is something aspirational about what is written on this poster. In a sense we are not only saying who we are but also who we are seeking to become. In one of these sections it is written This church is a place where we support one another in our Christian discipleship and where Christian friendship can flourish.’

Many of you have commented to the clergy that being at Hampstead Parish Church can feel rather solitary at times; that there aren’t enough opportunities for people to get to know one another. Those who are new to the church can find this a particular difficulty. So there may be mixed feelings about this being a place where we support one another and where Christian friendship can flourish. You may be able to identify very strongly with this statement, or you may find it hard to see this as an accurate description of your experience within this church.

The Christian journey is one that we travel together, learning from one another, supporting one another and in this way growing ourselves. Of course we’ll sometimes rub each other up the wrong way and we may even passionately disagree at times but it is through the discomforting and sometimes painful aspects of living together that we grow as well. Key to our growth then is having opportunities to meet together, not only in our worship of God but socially and in offering one another hospitality as well.

For the past year the pastoral committee has been looking at ways to create opportunities for informal gatherings and to deepen people’s sense of belonging. We have held a party for newcomers which received very positive feedback and we aim to make this a regular feature of our community life. Many of you will also know about the pilot study we have been running whereby different groups have been set up each comprising about 20 people. Each group has a co-ordinator whose job it is to organise the initial gathering and to ensure a momentum is kept up so that the group continues to meet quarterly and have a life of its own. We have now had a chance to get feedback from participants and see how we can move ahead with this project. A very big thank you to all who have been involved at this initial stage.

The groups were very positively welcomed by the majority of people who were invited to participate and there was a very real sense that meeting informally, without an agenda’ of any sort other than an opportunity to get to know a few people a bit better has a lot of potential.

Given this desire for groups of this kind we would like to create 12 groups during the first quarter of 2009 so that everyone who wishes to become a member of a pastoral group in our congregation may do so. There will be sign up sheets at the back of church over the next few weeks (and opportunities to sign up on-line for those who wish) which we invite you to add your name to if you would like to participate in our church community in this way. It has been hard for group co-ordinators to find appropriate times when everyone in their group could meet so you are invited to sign up for groups on the basis of times that are suitable for you. For those of you who are already in a group you may stay in the one you are in or join a group which meets at a time that is more convenient if you wish.

Our aim must be to make Hampstead Parish Church a place where people feel at home and where we support one another through the chances and changes of this life. We hope these pastoral groups will provide a springboard’ for deeper relationships through which we may testify to the love of God.
Mother Sarah