Delving into Deepening Faith

I signed up to the Deepening Faith course knowing that I wanted to do it but without applying a huge amount of thought about what it would involve or what would be expected of me. Despite going to church for some time I haven’t done the Alpha course yet and therefore when I settled down for the first session I confess to a twinge of doubt as to whether my faith was deep enough for such a shared biblical exploration and interrogation.

Fortunately, my concerns proved to be largely unfounded. What followed was an interesting, thought provoking nine week course exploring God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, our church and the role we can play. Charles’s expertly prepared worksheets guided us through passages of the bible, accompanied by searching questions to stimulate group discussion.

As a mum of two young children with a busy job, it’s not often that I get the time to really stop and think about God and Jesus in any depth, so this was a rare opportunity to do just that. I wasn’t always able to contribute the same level detail of some of my more ‘learned’ group members but that was fine too. In fact, on occasions, I found some of the perspective and insights shared by the group really helpful in making sense of some of the bible where I’d previously lacked clarity. I also found it really inspiring listening to how fulfilled some people feel by having God in their lives. Not in a ‘happy clappy’ kind of way but a quiet, contentment that grounds and guides each and every day. I sincerely hope that one day I may be able to speak with such complete unwavering conviction too.

The course also gave me the opportunity to meet some lovely new people. As a family, we tend to go to the 10am service at St Mary’s, so our paths rarely cross with those who go to St John’s or to services at different times. Within the group we had a spectrum of ages and backgrounds, which made it both interesting and insightful. What struck me was that your faith is such a personal thing, where views and interpretations can differ. To some degree we’re all on a journey and there isn’t always an answer to everything – something I actually found quite reassuring.

My husband also did the course with a different group. While this meant I had to resist the temptation to interrogate him for answers it also made for some interesting discussions. It’s fair to say, conversations in our house tend to relate to children, work and humdrum family stuff, so parking this in favour of spiritual chat about our thoughts of the sessions was in itself a revelation!

The course has been good for both of us. Not only has it allowed us to make new friends, increasing our sense of community and church spirit, it’s also given us a renewed sense of purpose and a desire to delve deeper into the Christian faith.

I’m glad to say my journey of Christian enlightment will continue as our group plans to reconvene regularly both socially and religiously. Where this road will take me I’m not sure, but I’m enjoying the ride!