CW77: Always room for one more

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The robin landed on the table and looked around. It helped itself to some bread from the plate before flying off, then returned for more, almost oblivious to the young people sat watching. Gathered in the outdoor chapel, the group were invited to reflect on all they had heard and experienced during the weekend away, and what this meant as they returned home. Given the option to go forward to eat bread and drink juice, soon around twenty young people crowded round the small table, to eat and drink remembering Him. Together, they brought their enthusiasm, energy, tiredness, hopes and fears, and in that moment we caught a glimpse of the Kingdom of God.

CW77: Alzheimer’s Disease: a personal journey

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There is little worse than someone telling you that they know what it’s like to be in your shoes, when you know they have no idea at all. On the other hand, finding someone who genuinely understands is like discovering lost treasure. This is how I have felt on the journey I have taken since my wife started to show signs that she was no longer coping mentally. We have no children and no other relatives live nearby. I felt on my own, and my GP, though sympathetic, was unable to offer any support at that stage.

CW77: Churches Linking Lives in rural communities

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The Campaign to End Loneliness reports that ‘rural areas have a unique set of circumstances that can exacerbate the social isolation of older residents, leading to poor health, loss of independence and lower quality of life. Linking Lives UK is a Christian charity founded in 2012 which works across the UK to address issues of isolation and loneliness among older people through regular home visits.

CW77: Easter Journey in Langwathby

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For the fourth year running, groups of Year 5 children from eight primary schools in the Eden Valley in Cumbria, plus their teachers and parent chauffeurs, made a unique Easter Journey through Langwathby Methodist Church. Gazebos transformed the church into a sequence of locations beginning on the dusty road into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. The children were immersed in the events of a week in which Jesus Christ encountered acclaim and opposition, friendship and hostility.

CW77: Farming isolation: a personal perspective

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Susan Atkinson, a farmer in Leicestershire, reflects on her first-hand experience of farming isolation.

Our farm is situated between three villages. When I first met my husband in the 1970s all three villages still contained working farms; now there is only one farm left, plus a couple of ‘retired’ farmers who still keep a few animals.

CW77: From loneliness to friendship

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I recently ran a project to commemorate the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation and Martin Luther’s 95 Theses. Together with friends from the ecumenical Mission Theology Advisory Group we produced 95 Missional Theses. One of our new ‘theses’ reads:

‘We believe in a Church where the lonely can find friends’.

When this statement was posted on social media, it immediately provoked an avalanche of comment and discussion, especially from those clergy and lay people following us from rural situations. Loneliness has been called ‘the last taboo’ and it seemed that posting a statement about loneliness made the unsayable possible.

CW77: Making a difference in Denby Dale

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The Denby Dale Centre (DDC), a Fresh Expressions success story, is nestled next to the Yorkshire Sculpture Park. Although the Centre is most closely linked to the Clayton West and Denby Dale Methodist Church Circuit, it works closely with churches of all denominations in the area and has been running a series of projects to reduce loneliness and improving quality of life for the last twelve years.

CW77: Messy and rural: Messy Church in rural communities

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CW77: Messy Ramblings: stories from rural Messy Churches

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CW77: Roaming disabled driver visits 650 Gloucestershire churches for Ride+Stride

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On Saturday 9 September, Sarah Hargreave, a 73-year-old disabled driver from the Greenway Benefice near Cheltenham, completed a mission to visit all the churches in Gloucestershire. She combined a research project with a fundraising effort for the Gloucestershire Historic Churches Trust (GHCT).