First Person is a celebration of 100 years of people attending worship at St Andrew’s, Linton Road.
The book contains over 50 stories exploring the lives and faith of real people, all members of the congregation. The ‘first person’ of the title is primarily Jesus Christ, but it suggests also those who tell their own personal stories in relation to him.
This is a valuable achievement. It is an opportunity to share in other people’s stories and gain insight and comfort from their experience of faith. It is also a hymn of praise to God, a thank-you to him for the many, varied ways he meets people in their everyday lives. And it is a true witness, that speaks of the authentic experience of ordinary, flawed, wounded and struggling human beings.
Typical of the range of experiences in the book are: a couple whose ministry and direction in life had to be abandoned because of the illness of their baby; a woman battling depression, at risk of losing all that is precious to her, who by the grace of God manages to hold on; and a moment of painful honesty between an adult man and his elderly father, leading to a transformed family life and a living faith.
An important aspect which comes through the stories is the role of the church community at St Andrew’s – accepting, affirming, supporting in practical ways, loving, and discipling. The book leaves one with the sense that here is a community of real people with their own responses to situations. There is something very moving in their openness to speak of themselves the way they do.
Perhaps more than ever in this generation, the witness of the church is in the lives of its congregations – the people who collectively worship the same Creator and Redeemer, and whose individual lives reflect a genuine ongoing relationship with him. First Person is a book which may well inspire other church communities to discover the stories within their own congregations, and to celebrate God’s continuing presence in their lives.
Eve Lockett is Licensed Lay Minister for Cumnor Parish
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First Person |
