Dear Parishioner,
Small Faith-sharing Groups started in the parish as a result of a diocesan initiative many years ago called At Your Word Lord. Twice a year, for five to six weeks, before Advent and during Lent, small groups of about eight parishioners would meet in people’s houses and were encouraged to talk about their faith, guided by a booklet provided by the diocese. The meetings have a simple format, starting with prayer and perhaps some sacred music, then there is a passage from the bible which is read aloud and people are invited to comment on the reading. This is followed by a commentary/interpretation from the writer of the booklet which often relates the reading to our current lives. Again members of the group are invited to express how they feel about this commentary but it is not compulsory, members can just listen to others. There are sometimes recommended action points and the meeting finishes with a prayer. Usually there is a theme running through the booklet for the length of the season, for example the life of Mary or the importance of the Sacraments. Sadly numbers have dwindled but there are still four groups in this parish who meet and we would like to invite more people to participate.
If you would like to join a group or are prepared to host or lead a group please send an email to the parish office for the attention of Carrie who is trying to coordinate the groups. Currently three of the groups meet on a Wednesday evening in person, one group meets online on a Sunday evening and we are hoping to start a new group on a Friday morning in the parish centre at 11.30am. The meeting normally lasts around 60-90 minutes.
This Lent the theme for the faith sharing groups is Encountering the Spirit and it will look at the five Sunday Gospels of Lent and draw on the themes from the Synodal Pathway – recognizing and seeing the Spirit at work in ourselves & others; listening; and journeying with Christ. Do please consider becoming a member of a faith-sharing group – it is so interesting to listen to how the bible readings affect others and could really make a difference to how you view and live your own life as a Christian
God bless,
