From the Parish Priest

Now that Fêtes and Festivals are behind us, we need to turn our attention to other areas of our ministry at St. George's Church.

Are there things that we, as the people called to this Church, could do better to show the love of Jesus?

Are people being welcomed here?

Are they being put off by our attitude?

Are we ignoring those who come for help?

Are we using every opportunity and every method given to us to preach the Gospel and demonstrate our faith?

Over the last few months, your Pastoral Committee has been tackling a couple of issues where we think St. George's could do better. The two areas are Baptism visiting and post funeral visits.

Imagine, if you will, a stretch of beautiful sandy beach. You're walking alone on the water's edge. To your right are lots of people - some are playing with balls whilst others are sleeping in the sun. Some are digging in the sand and others are changing ready to go in the water.

Then on the other side, to your left, is the water. Again there are lots of people - some swimming, some sitting on boats, some throwing frisbees at each other, and some hopping around trying to pluck up courage to dive in.

In between these two sets of scenes, you walk, and occasionally you get sucked in to what people around you are doing.

You don't have a choice about this. A ball lands at your feet and sprays sand on your leg. A child runs into the water in front of you and you have to stop walking. The frisbee falls next to you and splashes you with water.

At each moment, each step you take, you're given a choice. Do you walk on and ignore those around you or do you join in - pick up the ball, smile at the child, throw back the frisbee?

People come into St. George's Church for a whole host of reasons, but I want to concentrate on just two now. People come for Baptisms on Sunday mornings, and they come for funerals, normally through the week.

All those people - many hundreds through the year - have a choice just as you did when walking on the sand. They can ignore what's going on in the Church or they can decide to join in.

This is where you, as the resident congregation, come in. In the same way that the sand and the water touched you, when people have contact with St. George's, our hope is that they will be touched by the Church and want to explore their faith further.

This then, is the plan. We want to establish two small groups of people who will help do the "splashing", the "touching", and will then be the human face, the contact between us, the Church, and those who come for baptisms or funerals.

The two groups are these.

First a team of visitors who will go to baptism families before the service. They will go not to teach about Baptism, not to explain the service, not to challenge the family on their faith. The visitors will go to meet the family, to talk about the practicalities of coming to St. George's - where the toilets are, what the baby should wear, what photos can be taken, how to get a wheelchair in and so on.

It's all simple, common sense stuff, but it's also what worries families who are coming here for the first time.

Our plan is that the visitor will then welcome the family here on the day of the Baptism and be the main focus of contact.

If you can do that, if that's your ministry for Christ, I expect you'd be asked to take on a family once or twice a year.

That's all.

Now to the second group.

Very often after funerals - whether they're in Church or at the Crematorium, the bereaved get all kinds of support for the first few weeks. Neighbours and family are good at this, but where it all falls down is a month or so later.

Life has moved on for those neighbours and family, but for the bereaved the task of coming to terms with a changed life-style is becoming a reality.

This is where we can help. How good it will be if one of you felt able to drop in and offer the Church as a means of help.

It would be a single visit, not a long term commitment, but it may show up the real needs - either as a Church we can take those on or we can pass the needs to the right service.

Again - that's all.

Fêtes and Festivals are behind us now and we need to move on and move forward with our ministry to this town.

Can you help? Are you willing to visit a baptism family? Do you think you can do a post-funeral visit?

If you feel able to respond, please get in touch with me, or have a word with the Pastoral Committee Chairman, Dick Handy.

Of course we'll offer training, but as I said earlier, it's mainly common sense.

Please think and pray about our Church's ministry to Waterlooville, and more especially, consider what you can do to further this ministry.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if everyone who was splashed by the ball dropping in the water, picked it up and joined in!

Fr Mike Sheffield.