From the Parish Priest

When did you last speak to a someone at Church?

I'm constantly amazed that as regular members of St. George's congregation we don't seem to know each other very well. When a person is mentioned in the prayers or in conversation, the most common response I get is "well I know the name but I can't put a face to it". That seems very sad to me, especially when some of the names belong to people who have been worshipping at St. George's for many years. Parish breakfasts, summer fetes and coach trips all go a long way to break down barriers and help to make people feel part of our worshipping family, but there's more we can do. If you see someone in Church who you don't know, or whose name you've forgotten, pluck up the courage to ask them and introduce yourself to them - even if it is the fifth time! Don't forget that they probably can't remember you either.

Sunday mornings are very good for catching up with friends or giving out endless rotas, but what about that person who spends the week alone and comes to Church partly to meet with and talk to other people? They may not be "a friend" and they may not feature on a rota, but they may be desperate to talk and be made to feel welcome. Life can be very lonely. Please look out for the person sitting alone in Church or standing alone in the hall afterwards and make a point of spending a few minutes with them.

St. George's Church has earned a reputation for being friendly and welcoming to new people and to visitors. The hard thing for us to do is to keep that friendship and welcome going on the third, fourth or fifth week. This is an important part of ministry, and it's a ministry that doesn't belong only to the Clergy or Churchwardens - it belongs to the whole congregation, the whole family of the Church.

Don't forget "! it's not someone else's job to welcome the stranger "! it's yours!

Fr. Mike

Parish Priest