By Mrs Helen Kean, PCC Secretary of Oughtibridge Parish Church
It’s just over four years ago that I made a very positive decision to attend
Church. This I suppose was fuelled by the fact my husband and I were hoping
to have our baby girl baptised in the near future.
I had attended Zion Sunday School with friends as a child until my mid-teenage
years and then other things started to become more important, although I never
stopped trusting in God.
Living away from home was a great experience and I would occasionally attend
Church. However, due to work commitments and moving numerous times, I never
went to Church regularly but often felt that I wanted to.
So it was only when I returned to live permanently in my home village that
I visited our Parish Church here in Oughtibridge, and it was a very welcoming
experience.
Everyone was very friendly and I suppose from my point of view there were a
number of faces that I knew from my childhood.
The relaxed and welcoming environment made me feel at ease in Church even if
my baby was noisy. Julian and Lisa and many members of the church family made
me feel at home very quickly. It has been this true Christian love and guidance
that has helped me discover the true grace of God, through his son Jesus Christ
our Lord and Saviour.
I was confirmed in May 2006 and my relationship with Jesus has truly blossomed
since then.
I wanted to share this experience with you all and express how important it
is for me, to be part of a Church which serves our home community, in which
my children and I spend most of our time.
We are a church which has seen growth in the past few years particularly in
children’s work. However, it is challenging at times to achieve everything
that we would like to with limited resources.
The Church of England is facing difficult times and we here in Oughtibridge
Parish are no exception to that, so I would urge you to consider what is important
to you and how valuable your local Church is for the community as a whole.
P.S. Many thanks to the church family for your continued love and friendship.