House Groups

	The Word of God is the food and drink of Christians. House Groups attempt to make this sustenance readily available using their homes as a venue for other parishioners to share their understanding of the scriptures and to grow in faith. There are ten groups operating in the parish with membership ranging in numbers from eight to twelve. They are located in each of the villages and in other places where there is a concentration of regular worshippers. They meet weekly or fortnightly in school term time, usually in the evening, and one group meets during the day at the Abbey.

Each meeting lasts between an hour and a quarter and an hour and a half. Each group has a leader who offers hospitality, often with a glass of wine to begin the evening, followed by a discussion of the Gospel reading for the following Sunday. This is the heart of the meeting and could take up forty minutes of the meeting. Finally, the group decides on some common Christian action arising out of the reading, and then the evening ends with prayer. No one need contribute more than they want to, and all are welcome. When groups are thriving, they will grow beyond twelve members and then they will divide into two groups. To join a group please contact David Paterson Tel. no. 01444 819330 How to be a Better House Group Member • Decide to be committed to your group • Attend as regularly as possible • Let your leaders know in advance if you cannot attend a particular meeting • Share the responsibility for what goes on in the group • Do some preparatory work in advance • Don’t leave everything to the leaders • Be an enthusiastic volunteer - be positive not critical • Respect confidences - don’t gossip • See yourself as having a responsibility to make the house group work • Pray for one another • Offer practical support to one another