Dear Friends........

Over the August bank holiday weekend, I went with my family to the Greenbelt Festival.  Greenbelt is a gathering of arts, faith, and justice; the kind of place where you can move from a Bible study to a ceilidh, to a comedy show to a conversation with an old friend, all in the space of an afternoon.

One session I attended this year was led by members of the Iona Community and was titled Could you slide the marmalade down this way? 

They spoke about community life around shared tables, and their tradition of sharing

breakfast with one another when they gather.  They meet when they can,

but most of the time Iona community members live their everyday lives

elsewhere, staying connected through prayer, commitment, and friendship.

We are a gathered church community usually able to see one another much

more often than members of the Iona community, and we too have chosen

to live in community with one another.  One of the Iona speakers shared

that community grows as we come to know one another over time, and just

as importantly, as we come to feel known.  This moment reminded me of

church because I am so often inspired by the depth of the friendships that

sustain us, the conversations over coffee, a lift home, a message or a prayer.

Our Christian faith reminds us that God is not distant but is with us — Emmanuel.

Jesus’ ministry was full of meals and conversations, friendship and argument,

celebration and tears.  Our friendships can be places where we meet God, in the

ups and downs of life, with and through the people who accompany us, through

and in community.

So here we can keep sharing our faith through making room for one another

and caring for one another. And perhaps, in these things we do together, we are

sliding the marmalade down the table too.

With every blessing,

Siobhán

Minister of the North Downs Surrey Pastorate

Taken from the October edition of The Record