Pilgrimage

Not all pilgrimages involve walking - Jose explains how being a member of a faith-based book group has been a kind of pilgrimage.

Walking with God

Last year four members of the Faith Development Group took up an invitation to join reading groups based at the vicarage of St Christopher’s in Pott Shrigley. These groups numbered about ten people each who met together to talk  about a book that we read together week by week. We started with “Sensible Shoes”, the first in a quartet by Sharon Garlough Brown who’s a pastor and also a great story-teller.

We all have experienced the shared support and wisdom of our reading groups, and marvelled at the sincere friendships that emerged so very quickly. Now, this January we are all lined up to embark on the third novel.

Below, Jose tries to explain her recommendation.

It’s not often that we are given the opportunity of talking with others about things that really matter to us. Safe, quiet places where we can speak frankly, listen carefully and learn alongside other empathetic people are hard to locate.

I find it really difficult working out alone what exactly it means to live a Christian life in a secular Twenty-First Century world.  Translating into my everyday life what I understand my Church teaches is not something I do confidently.

Because my faith to me, discovering this opportunity to share explicitly about my faith has been a Godsend. It cost nothing but my time and its rewards have been enormous.

The reading together is not a literary exercise, academic or theoretical at all. We followed a story together, chapter by chapter.The overarching plot is essentially about four disparate characters who together embarked on a course of personal discovery– for a range of reasons and with varying degrees of enthusiasm.

A leader helped us explore our reactions to each chapter. Characters, events, problems were all too recognisable from our own everyday lives. So, the book led us inevitably to consider ourselves and our beliefs. Contributions were never obligatory; privacy and silence were respected, always. No-one tried to anyone else. Soon, simple sharing in trust and respect, encouraged and comforted, even inspired. Discussions were honest, meaningful and always confidential. We said “God” out loud.

Prayer together consolidated friendship and group solidarity. I’d leave meetings re-energised, sometimes moved and humbled. A mere reading-group acted as the anchor of my spiritual week, to compliment my church-going. It was like a booster without the pain!

The book additionally offers considerable guidance, including concrete examples of ways to pray- much of which is based in Ignatian spirituality. In spite of my fears, I never felt coerced into a One True Way or tambourine-waving. This is not unorthodox, contra-Church or wacky stuff, so Fear Not! For me, these Christian book-groups have been a gift and a privilege; I’m plunging into Book 3 now, still practising walking with God without tripping over quite over so much.

If you are interested in finding out more about the several groups starting on different days and times of the week contact Helen Bassirat at helenbassirat@hotmail.com