I wonder what your reply might be if I asked if you believed in God?

Most people associate that kind of question with another: “Do you believe in religion?” And because there might be negative views about religion, then negative views about God very often follow.

There are all sorts of ways of ‘believing in God’. God could be a ‘being’ or an energy for good, “Good Orderly Direction”, or an ideal experienced through imagination with music, art and poetry.

Perhaps the best starting point might be to not try and believe in God, but to recognise that all of us have, deep down within ourselves, a yearning for a sense of belonging and purpose, and a yearning to be loved and to love in return. Religion is simply a way of organising a search for these meaningful ways of being in the world.

When I was grappling with the idea of God, I first found faith in God in the life of a group of people, a loving community who cared about me, knew my name and wanted me to be part of their fellowship, just as I was. I didn’t need to pass a test or have any particular beliefs, I just had to accept and receive the welcome, hospitality and the hand of friendship that was extended to me.

It was from that place of belonging, I came to believe in the existence of God through friendships and love, and that changed my perspective on the world and my place in it.

Funnily enough, the church wasn’t the first place where I began to sense the existence of God, but it was the place where I ended up when I wanted to explore and know some more. A church building was where I was led to on that journey but it was the church, the people, that brought that essence of God’s love to life for me through their own brand of hospitality, welcome and friendship.

Church is not simply a place to go to reinforce certainties – and grapple with doubts - about God, it is also a place to share in the experience of exploring ways of trying to be a community of friends walking the journey of life for better or for worse in an uncertain world, and doing what they can to nourish each other and to serve those around them.

As with many churches, St Peter’s Church, Wrecclesham and its family are always there for anyone and everyone who might be on such a journey of exploration. Why don’t you ‘come and see’ for yourself and we can make the journey together, and have some fun and fellowship along the way.