The START! Course
I have decided to say sorry to God, yes to Jesus and hello to the Church. These are three decisions that join - as Father, Son and Holy Spirit - into the baptism decision which flowered from Reverends Dave Bell’s and Mike Morris’s START discovering Christianity group.
It is a decision that had grown from a seed but the seedling was in need of nurturing towards faith. The start group was important for us; we had begun growing towards the light but needed affirmation that this was a more substantial reality waiting with infinite love. We can see why this work is rewarding for Dave and Mike. Existing churchgoers are likely to have already christened their children and those outside either eschew church or seek it only to sanctify weddings and funerals. The Start course is for those who have decided to seek the God who gave away the free will to do so.
“Ask, and you will receive; seek, and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”
Baptism has always been an important decision but today, amidst the prevailing opinions of modern scientific thinking and atheism, it is perhaps more difficult. Many presuppose that people are born into religion and hence those who have been led to faith provide a voice for the objectivity of the elevation of the human spirit to God.
“It is this elevation of the thinking spirit to that which is itself the highest thought, to God, that we thus wish to consider… This elevation is, moreover, essentially rooted in the nature of our spirit. It is necessary to it, and it is this necessity that we have before us in this elevation.” (Hegel, Lectures on the Proofs of the Existence of God. Ox-ford University Press, 2007)
Matthew Evans

From Voices March 2012

As is tradition, most of us will have enjoyed pancakes on Shrove Tuesday.
It is a day that is commonly celebrated ,but the significance of this event is often unknown.
With Lent being a time of abstinence, Shrove Tuesday is the last
chance to indulge yourself. Pancakes are eaten on this day
because they contain ingredients which were traditionally
forbidden during Lent. According to the official gospels of Matthew, Mark
and Luke, Jesus spent 40 days fasting in the desert before the beginning of
his public ministry, during which he endured temptation by Satan.

Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of this 40-day period of prayer and fasting,
and derives its name from the practice of placing ashes on the foreheads of
followers as a sign of mourning and repentance to God.
The evening Ash Wednesday service at St. Giles was led
by Rev Mike Morris. There was an atmosphere of quiet
reflection, meditation and prayer, and the gentle candlelight
and shadows in the quiet of the day helped bring a
real sense of peace and depth. Responses were sung gently,
ash crosses were marked on people’s foreheads and
communion was shared. It was a lovely opportunity to gather, as individuals
and as pilgrims together from across the churches; the start of another journey
as we travel towards Easter.  The truth of God’s Word and His faithfulness,
reminds us of the promise of spring……..

Nicki Bond