VICAR'S LETTER
17
Sundon Road
Streatley
April, 2008
Editor's Note. Roger's letter this month focuses on a picture of people arriving at a railway station.
Dear
All
Consider the picture printed opposite. Ignore for the moment the numbered circles that I have superimposed upon it, and instead address the question printed above it. Take a moment out from reading this to work out which is you. This picture provides the starting point for a course called START which we are running in the Spring to introduce people to and develop their understanding of Christianity. It also provides the syllabus.
Session 1: What's brought you to the station? These are people just arriving at the station, just as course members have arrived for the course. Why have they come? For some it might be personal or social idealism. For some it might be a sense of something missing in their lives. For some it might be in search of direction for their lives. For some it might be the desire to resume a journey that they started long ago and now feel the desire to continue.
Session 2: Where do you think you are? And where do you hope to get to? A number of figures are seeking directions from a map, a timetable or a railway official. They may be seeking to discover where they are or they may be trying to decide where they are going to. This is not a terminus. The termini are the kingdom of self and the kingdom of God. It is possible to wish for entirely good reasons to travel in either direction. To travel on towards the kingdom of God is plainly a good thing, but if you feel you've been trying too hard - developed a hot house religion - then there can be sense in going back a station or two down the line and resuming the journey from there. This I guess to be the situation of the solitary lady in the further train.
Session 3: Paying the fare. The fare in this case is moving to put God and his will at the centre of your life. It's a chance to consider how this can be done - where do things like prayer and Bible reading fit in, how can they best be done? It's also a chance to consider what a fully God-centred life looks like. (No, it's not necessary to become a monk / nun.)
Session 4: What holds you back? Quite a few people seem to have paid the fare, but are then reluctant to get on the train. Sometimes it's just indolence, like the chap on the bench. Sometimes it's the feeling that life is too full already, like the chap whose rucksack prevents him getting through the door. You have the people who would rather read about it than actually doing it - the figure in the waiting room. You have the church nerd who becomes obsessed with the means rather than the end of the journey, reading deep significances into the width of the dog collar or the depth of the lace trimming on robes. Or - and I do not expect too many of these - you have those who have sought solace in banned substances like the lad on the platform edge. More seriously, many things can hold people back - there may be indifference, they may feel too busy, but they also may have genuine and entirely reasonable doubts. More sadly, they may just feel that they are not worthy to get on board.
Session 5: Your fellow passengers. A chance to look at the church and what it gets up to. (Existing church members are invited to take note of the cautionary tale in the bottom left-hand corner where a potential passenger has taken one look at his fellow passengers and can't get off fast enough.)
As you'll have gathered from the above, the START course is intended to be very informal. It is an 'exploring together' course rather than a 'sit up and listen' course. If you find yourself anywhere in the station, this course may be for you. It will be held in the Parish Centre, possibly over five Wednesday evenings, at 8.00 pm, starting on April 23. To join up - some have already signed - so you will not be alone - contact Roger at soonest on 882780.
All best wishes,
Roger