The children have grown. They have stepped up into new classes in their ‘next
size shoes.’ September is a great time for a fresh start. But, what about you?
How time flies. Where did the year go? After
booking in the football practice, the dance classes, the swimming lessons, the birthday
parties, I wonder what time is left? Are you going to make a fresh start? What are you going to do for yourself? Yes, it is easy to
throw that question away. But don’t
forget, you too have an opportunity to try something
new. What will it be? Where will you go?
Consider getting involved in your local parish church
A crazy idea? Well maybe not. There are
lots of good reasons to give it a try but I will list only three.
1. It will develop your social
network
Come along to meet positive people who will encourage &
support you. There is a lot of negative energy out there in ‘facebook land’ and
even at the school gate. It may surprise you that people at church face the same struggles,
but they try to handle it in a positive way.
They know they are not perfect. But, they want to learn and grow in a
safe and supportive community which anyone can join. Afterall, where else in society do
you meet a group of people - from all ages and stages of life - committed to caring for one
another? What better place to make new friends than with a group of people who believe that God is love.
Research shows that frequent church attenders are the happiest:
“People who attend religious services weekly or more are happier (43% very
happy) than those who attend monthly or less (31%); or seldom or never (26%).
This correlation between happiness and frequency of church attendance has been
a consistent finding in the General Social Surveys taken over the years.” - http://pewresearch.org/pubs/?
2. You can find a sense of purpose
The Independent
on Sunday publishes its annual Happy List, naming 100 outstanding people whose volunteering, caring,
fund-raising, mentoring, charity founding, or selflessness makes Britain a more
contented, better-adjusted, supportive, and happier place.
Volunteering is a brilliant idea. Not only will it
make Chatteris a better place to live, but you will find out more about yourself. Volunteering will help you grow in confidence
and gain a clearer sense of significance and purpose. But where do you start?
Many do not realise that behind the scenes, members of the
local parish church put in thousands of hours of voluntary service for the
town each year. Why not get involved? We are always looking for help in the
areas of childrens’ work & care for the elderly. This year we are also
exploring ways to help the most needy in our town by setting up a food bank. If you are interested in helping,
either with people or in practical ways, please do get in touch by email. We
would love you to come alongside and join us. You may find that the person you help the most is
yourself.
3. It is a chance to learn something new
"It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the
most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to
change.” - Charles Darwin
Come along to church and learn
something unexpected. Lifelong learning makes us adaptable to change and helps
us cope with the uncertainties of life. It stretches our imaginations, widens
our potential, and broadens our horizons.
Besides, learning is fun!
As a community we support learning in a variety of ways for a
variety of learning styles. You may be interested in join a small group or mucking in with the all age activities at the 5:00 service. Or
perhaps you would like to sign up for a course.
If I was to recommend a course, The Alpha Course is the best place to start. It begins with a
meal the Bricstan Hall and then continues for ten weeks, full of interesting
talks with lots of opportunity to discuss your doubts. It is a brilliant
introduction to the Christian faith. Here is a link for more information http://www.chatteris.org/joining-in/alpha-course Here is what one woman said after
finishing the course in Chatteris:
“Alpha forced me to confront my outdated ideas about Jesus and Christianity. It allowed me time to explore my faith without any pressure to conform to a particular denomination. I soon realised that it was about a relationship, not about a religion.” (Kate Britten)
Check our the courses we offer:- The ALPHA COURSE
- The MARRIAGE COURSE
- GROWING LEADERS
- The PARENTING COURSE (hoping to start this next year)
A personal invitation
I have listed three good reasons for giving church a try.
There are many more. Hopefully you will come
along to something this Autumn. I realise that it can be a bit daunting to take
that first step. But that is ok. The invitation still stands. If you live in
Chatteris, James and I would love to meet you. But it’s not only us, there are
lots of others who look forward to meeting you too.
