lla Interiors <strong>Parish</strong> ad April 23.qxp_Layout 1 28/03/<strong>2023</strong> 08:37 Page 3 24 <strong>The</strong> <strong>Parish</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong> - <strong>May</strong> <strong>2023</strong> Please mention <strong>The</strong> <strong>Parish</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong> when responding to this advertisement INTERIORS Interior Design Practice Celebrating our tenth anniversary of transforming houses into beautiful, expressive spaces that feel like home. We appreciate all our clients’ support. Thank you. Please call us for an informal chat about your project. Liberty Beaumont & Fletcher . Charlotte James . Colefax & Fowler . Houlès . Tilly’s Lewis & Wood . Nina Campbell . Osborne & Little . Peter Reed Porta Romano . William Yeoward . Le Lievre . Sampson & Son . Cologne & Cotton SIMPLY STUNNING, SIMPLY SABELLA Sonning-On-Thames T: 0118 944 9629 Alderley Edge T: 01625 359 055 E: enquiries@sabellainteriors.com W: www.sabellainteriors.com
feature — 3 Why go? By Deidre Morris, editor of the St John’s <strong>Parish</strong> Church, Wakefield, parish magazine In 1967 I was working in an office in Liverpool, my first job after university. A chance remark led to a colleague looking at me in disbelief. ‘Do you mean you go to church?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘What, every week?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘I didn’t know you were a Catholic!' <strong>The</strong> only reason he could understand for anyone going to church every week was because your church required you to — Liverpool had many Roman Catholics. That I went because I chose to go was quite beyond his comprehension. ‘I can be a Christian without going to church!’ is a phrase some people use, and they are quite right. Being a Christian is to be a follower of Christ, believing in him and trying to live accordingly. You do not need to go to church to read your Bible, pray, read spiritual books, listen to, and perhaps join in, sacred music or songs or discuss your faith. SO WHY DO WE GO? To do what Jesus asked us to do and behave as the first of his followers did in Luke 22:19: And he took bread, gave thanks, and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, 'This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.' And according to Acts 2:42 /46–47: <strong>The</strong>y devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Every day they continued to meet together … <strong>The</strong>y broke bread… and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God. BUT WHY DO I GO? I go to worship the God I believe in, and to do so alongside other people. I can be a Christian without going to church. But by joining with others who also believe, my faith is expressed more fully, particularly in the sacraments and in singing. My spiritual knowledge is increased by listening to the Bible and sermons, by discussions, or just by hearing of other people’s experiences of God at work in their lives. I grow in my understanding of what being a Christian can be when I find my St Andrew's Church on Palm Sunday skills, knowledge, or insights can be of use to others, or that we just value each other’s company and conversation as we seek to follow Christ. I appreciate how generous other people can be to me when I need help in some way, and they offer it freely. By going to church, and joining in, I become part of a Christian community seeking to follow Christ in this place, at this time. It is sometimes more challenging, but also much more fulfilling, than being a ‘lone’ Christian. WHY GO ON GOING? I have gone to church — except for illness or similar cause — every Sunday for nearly 60 years since Jesus came into my life. Some people might say, ‘How boring! It’s just a habit!’ It is not boring, because every Sunday is different, and each act of worship is a unique experience. I will not pretend they are all wonderful, because they are not. Sometimes I am tired, or not feeling well, or just plain out of sorts with life, so what I bring to the service is much less than I might. Sometimes it is not me but what else is happening — an incompetent organist, a difficult sound system, being too cold, noisy distractions, or finding the seats very uncomfortable. When I was accompanied by children it was not always easy! But just as family life has its good days and its bad ones, so worship can be amazing, awful, magnificent, or mundane. As I have grown in my faith, going to church has become more, not less, important. I am more aware of how much I owe to God, and how he is with me each and every day, in both the very small things of life as well <strong>The</strong> <strong>Parish</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong> - <strong>May</strong> <strong>2023</strong> 25 Indy Biddulph as the big ones. I can look back on my life and see how influential he has been, even when I was unaware of it. Going to wor(th)ship every week is one way to acknowledge his worth to me. Every day I take time to care for myself physically — brushing my teeth, keeping clean, taking exercise etc for two hours a week, in addition to daily prayer etc, to worship God with other Christians is a vital part of caring for my spiritual health. AN ONLOOKER Being deprived of weekly worship during lockdown was a great loss. It was not practical to follow the ‘streamed’ services, but the TV services during lockdown were some consolation, particularly those from cathedrals I am familiar with. But they are a poor substitute for the real thing. I felt more of an onlooker than a participant. Being unable to receive communion for so long was a great loss. Since worship has resumed it has been good to share in communal worship, and to sing hymns again, and take communion. Just to be with fellow Christians is good, but it’s also painful to miss those who have died or are unable to come to church due to health issues. Many of the things that mean a lot to me are not yet possible: receiving wine from the cup; passing the peace physically; having a water-focussed prayer station; prayers for healing; congregational participation in intercessions, communion, etc. However, I am truly grateful for all the blessings of being able to worship again in church every week and to give that regular time to a God who has been so generous to me in so many ways.
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