“Dear All Saints and St Marys In the New Year we are going to run the Living in Love and Faith Course that the Church of England has recommended to all parishes. It is a 5 week course which looks at Christian faith in regards to sexuality, marriage, relationships and identity. We are at this stage asking people in the congregations to give us an idea of their desire to join a group and to give us an indication of what time and in what manner (face to face or online) that they would like to engage with these important aspects of life which we need to reflect on. There are sheets at the back of St Marys and All Saints to sign up to, or if you feel more comfortable then please ask Revd Lizzie about the process and how to sign up. The groups are deliberately small in number (5 to 6) people each, and it might be that several groups meet at the same time and place but then split into smaller groups for the parts of the course which require discussion. The key is that a safe environment is created to enable people to be both honest and vulnerable. It may be that you have already decided what you think and feel about these issues, or that you are not interested in them. It may be that you are unsure of what they might entail or how they will be used. If so then please talk with Revd Diane, Revd Janey or Revd Lizzie as we have all had different experiences of the process so far and would be happy to share anything that might help you discern if you want to join in with a group. If you think that “this is not really for me” then I urge you to especially join. I suspect that many of us will know people, or have family who are grappling with relationships, sexuality, marriage and identity and they might ask us questions about that and the “church”. This is an opportunity to expand our own knowledge and thinking and feeling by listening carefully to 10
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