FAITH IN THE COMMUNITY: A vicar and a sceptic in conversation

I recently visited a lifelong friend for a time of spiritual retreat. My friend dislikes the label ‘atheist’, yet he seems certain there is no God.

Despite this, he opened his home for several days, allowing me to read, reflect, and pray to a God he doesn’t believe in. A decade ago, he drove eight hours to attend my ordination as a priest in the Church of England and sat through four hours of worship.

His support spoke more to me of love for our neighbour than many a sermon I have heard.

To say we have different perspectives on life is an understatement. There is a gaping continent between our beliefs. Yet we are brothers who show deep love for one another.

We don’t say: “you have your truth, I have mine”, which would be intellectually dishonest. Instead, there is a simple desire to remain friends despite our differences. We don’t need to agree. We simply hold space for each other.

In a world so often ravaged by our inability to ‘walk in difference’, perhaps there is something to be learned from the vicar and the sceptic?

One of our joint favourite authors, and another atheist, the late Douglas Adams may have summed it up. In The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, he said the end of the world happened “nearly 2,000 years after one man had been nailed to a tree for saying how great it would be to be nice to people for a change.”

Of course, that ‘man’ was Jesus, and that ‘moment’ was the crucifixion and resurrection, which we celebrate at Easter. Jesus certainly said more than “be nice,” but his love was often directed toward those who disagreed with him. He was nailed to that cross precisely because he challenged the religious establishment.

If you’ve ever thought, “I couldn’t possibly read the Bible because I’m not sure I believe,” or “I could never go to a church because I don’t agree with everything they say,” I invite you to reflect again. This Easter, here in Bedhampton and across our area, churches of many different traditions will gather to remember what Jesus did.

At Bedhampton we’ll be holding two very different services on Sunday, April 5th. At 9am, there’s a traditional Easter Communion at St Thomas Church, At 10.30am, our ‘Messy Easter’ is full of craft, song, and joyful noise, perfect for families at St Nicholas Church.

Both will include people who disagree, yet choose to walk together in their differences. Wherever you find yourself on the spectrum from sceptic to believer, come along and help us to walk together in honest difference.

ST THOMAS CHURCH, Bidbury Lane, Bedhampton, PO9 3JG

ST NICHOLAS CHURCH, Belmont Grove, Bedhampton, PO9 3PU

www.bedhampton.church