God's Time turns One

When I tell people outside the parish that part of my ministry is to coordinate a Whatsapp group for prayer and spirituality, I'm often greeted with a mixture of confusion and surprise. "What do people talk about?" "How does that even work?"

The answer, I have discovered over the past year, is that it actually works remarkably well - and we talk about all sorts of things. Yes there are prayers and requests for prayers, reflecting the changing seasons of the church year and people's individual needs. But in the past month or so there have also been really interesting discussions about the nature of forgiveness, the Lord's Prayer and the Feast of the Holy Innocents, as well as book recommendations ranging from Archbishop Michael Ramsey to Call the Midwife.  

It may all sound a bit random, but I do sense God here. To put it simply, we are doing what those outside the church expect Christians to do, but which often doesn't seem to be the case: we talk about God and about what he's doing in our lives. Sometimes this can be uncomfortable (or seemingly random), but a deepening spirituality is rooted in learning to listen better to God's voice wherever it presents itself. 

God's Time now has nearly 40 members and, if you haven't signed up, you're very welcome to join. In the coming period I'm hoping to expand the activity of the group with a School for Prayer to help those exploring faith to encounter the practices of prayer and a blog where people can share their own theological reflections. If you have other ideas about ways we can help you grow in prayer, I'd also love to hear them.