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Is God at work?

Duncan Howie describes how a new course launched by the Church of England in February was a huge success at St John the Baptist Church, Bodicote.

 

THAT was the big question we explored in the course. Many of us attend church on Sundays yet find it increasingly difficult to see God in our lives during the rest of the week.

We decided a series of co-ordinated Lent services and small home groups might help us to tackle the topic. We organised our ‘God at Work’ Lent course loosely around the structure of the book of the same title by merchant banker and committed Christian Ken Costa.

We explored ‘Work matters’, ‘Ambition and Life choices’, ‘Tough decisions’, ‘Stress and work-life balance’ and ‘Failure, hope and disappointment.’ We used support material based on Costa’s book published by Alpha International during our home group sessions. We realised it was important to ensure that the course was as inclusive as possible. We have people in all stages of life, in all sorts of occupations in addition to retirees, unemployed people and older teenagers and students.

During the Lent services our vicar, the Revd Ben Phillips, interviewed congregation members on ‘God at Work’. This reinforced the fact that there is a vast variety of occupations that our church family pursue. The course revealed the differing thoughts we have on how God guides us at work and how the Church could support us more in our daily occupations.

I had never attended a home group before, but this did not stop me from running a small group. Participants included a teaching assistant, an industrial food chemist, a school secretary, a retired hospital biochemist and a curate, and a molecular biologist (me).
I think that the course provided a microscopic view of difficult aspects of day to day work and how to make sense of these situations within a Christian framework. The most rewarding part was how it brought us together to discuss these topics in a Christian context.
I think it has brought us closer together as a church and made it easier to think of ourselves as Christians in the often religion-hostile workday world. Is God at work? Sure He is. We just have to work to see him there.