FAITH IN THE COMMUNITY: Christian faith is like the air we breathe
by the Rev Paul Chamberlain, vicar, St Faith's Church, Lee-on-Solent
OVER Christmas, we did something new at St Faith’s in Lee-on-the-Solent: we decided to give away a load of copies of the New Testament (the second part of the Bible) and John’s Gospel (one of the accounts of Jesus’ life in the New Testament). We had over 100 copies – and they all went.
We made these books available because we’re aware that more and more people are wanting to find out about Christianity. Today, people are increasingly searching for meaning, and asking big questions: why am I here? Does my life have any purpose? Is there a God?
There’s also a growing realisation in the UK that many of the things we in the west really value have come from Christianity. Human rights, care for the poor, equality and freedom are not as obvious as we in the west think.
If we look across the world today, and into the past, we find many cultures that don’t believe in these things. We in the west think that human rights, for example, are really important. And we think that because we have been influenced by 2,000 years of Christianity - this is where the idea of human rights came from.
This is vital for us to realise. Even though many people in Britain today would not claim to be Christians, we have all been affected by Christianity more than we know. Christianity is the air we breathe, whether we realise it or not.
And many people are wanting to find out more. They’re interested in returning to the source – Jesus. That’s why we gave away those New Testaments and John’s Gospels, and that’s why they all went.
That’s also why we’re running the 321 Course, starting on Monday 19th January, at St Faith’s. 321 is an opportunity to “discover life according to Jesus” – a four-week long course which presents Jesus’ vision for life through interactive videos that help us better understand God, the world and ourselves.
The 321 Course is open to anyone who is interested to attend, and is entirely free. If you’d like to find out more, do visit the St Faith’s website www.stfaithslee.org.uk where you’ll find details here.
There you can watch the course trailer, and sign up to join us on Monday evenings. We’d love to welcome you to 321, and to introduce you to Jesus, the source of western values, and the air we breathe.
ST FAITH’S CHURCH, Victoria Square, Lee-on-the-Solent, PO13 9NF