John's Notes - Clapham Village Newsletter, February 2022
“You are precious in my sight, and honoured, and I love you,” says God to you and me, and all created beings (in Isaiah 43.4).
In human society our understandings of identity, sexuality, relationships and marriage are always shifting; and in our own society these understandings have radically altered over recent decades. For some, the Church has been frustratingly slow to respond in kind to a more open, inclusive approach to these issues; for others the Church’s very slowness is a blessing, for it offers the rarity of time to enable us to more fully, deeply consider the issues and our response, in heart and mind and in practice, to the challenges of different perspectives, to create space for mutual flourishing.
The church has been debating these questions for a long time; the focus and terms of the discussion shifting over time between gender equality, sexuality and marriage. The underlying question for Christians remains the same: how do these questions fit within the bigger picture of the good news of Jesus Christ - or what he himself termed ‘The Kingdom of God’, the way of God at work in the world.
In discussions which can too easily become polarising between extreme points of view, in more recent times a focus has been on creating a culture in which people can hold very different points of view whilst dialoguing together supportively, affirming each other’s created uniqueness. And so the emphasis in Living in Love and Faith is to ask us to face all these challenges hopefully and to consider, what does it mean to live in love and faith together as a Church?
The late Archbishop Desmond Tutu once said, “We are made for goodness. We are made for love. We are made for friendliness. We are made for togetherness. We are made for all of the beautiful things that you and I know. We are made to tell the world that there are no outsiders. All are welcome: black, white, red, yellow, rich, poor, educated, not educated, male, female, gay, straight, all, all, all. We all belong to this family, this human family, God's family.” The Christian way of life (in common with many other religious practices) is rooted in the uncompromising pursuit of unconditional love for each and all.
Living in Love and Faith is the title of a series of meetings in Lent, run by the churches of the Bowland and Ewecross Deanery (ie all the Anglican parishes from Ingleton and Bentham via Slaidburn to Gargrave and Kirkby Malham), in which those taking part will each bring their own life story - experiences, perspectives, joys and concerns - into an affirming, supportive discussion; an open conversation without fear of censure or criticism.
Those who have taken part in Living in Love and Faith courses elsewhere speak of the good experience of listening well to, at times ‘disagreeing well’ with, and being well-listened-to by people quite different to themselves, and many good lessons learned from interactions they might never otherwise have if stuck in their own social ‘bubble’.
The Living in Love and Faith meetings will take place between 7.30-9.00pm in person at Settle Parish Church on Tuesday evenings March 1, 8, 15, 22, 29, and April 5, or on Zoom if preferred… and you are very welcome to join. Find out more at bit.ly/livinglovefaith or from Revd John Davies at [email protected], 01524 805928.
The excellent, in-depth Living in Love and Faith book is accompanied by a range of free digital resources including films, podcasts and an online library, together with Living in Love and Faith: The Course, and a Pastoral Principles course booklet, which together will form the basis of our course sessions. Each are published by Church House Publishing: https://www.chpublishing.co.uk/features/living-in-love-and-faith, 01603 785925.
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