Dear Friends,

 

The ‘Take a New Look’ group is taking a look at the DVD produced by our Bishop, Peter Price, called ‘Changing Lives.’ This tells the stories of ordinary people – people living in the Bath and Wells Diocese – who are discovering a new way to live, based on their Christian faith. During the series, they share their experiences of trust, leadership, forgiveness, sharing and suffering.

 

Last night, at our first session, we considered the issue of trust – not, perhaps, a natural instinct in today’s society, in which so often fear predominates: ‘You can’t be too careful!’, as we often hear. Many people look back nostalgically to the days when they could leave their front doors unlocked without having to worry; now, all new houses, it seems, are fitted with intruder alarms.

 

Our fears are often concerned with the unknown and unfamiliar, especially in the form of a group who can seem threatening to a lone individual. There may be areas in Nailsea, let alone Bristol, where one would hesitate to go alone at night, because they are frequented by seemingly threatening groups of young people. But the ‘Changing Lives’ DVD presented us with a clear example of trust overcoming fear when a woman priest in a parish in Somerset offered the use of the parish hall to a group of teen-age girls who had been hanging around, apparently up to no good, and earning themselves a reputation for anti-social behaviour. The transformation which came about through this open-hearted welcome was amazing – the girls are now doing all sorts of useful things in the local community, and feel valued and trusted. The female vicar, whose idea it had been to offer the parish room for this purpose, admitted to having had feelings of great trepidation about it, but in taking the risk she had shown that she was prepared to trust, even against the odds and in defiance of ‘common sense.’ Should we, I wondered, be able to show such trust when our new Cross Tree Centre is up and running?

 

Bishop Peter challenges the viewers of ‘Changing Lives’ to think about living ‘the Jesus Way’ – a way of life which is at odds with the prevailing culture around us. it takes real courage to do this, for when we take these risks we make ourselves vulnerable: we might be let down, something might go wrong, we may lose face. But what possibilities an act of trust might open up! Think, for example, of the memorable scene in Northern Ireland recently, when Ian Paisley and Martin McGuinness finally sat down together and agreed to share power.

 

Trust begins in small ways, invariably through personal contact, when one person takes a risk  and reaches out to make contact with another. As relationships are gradually built up, and suspicion gives way to familiarity, and trust grows. If each of us could make a real effort to be more trusting, it would be a step on the way to changing our lives, and also to making our local community a better place to be.

Have a go – and let the parish magazine know how you get on.

 

With love,

Rosey