Don’t miss out on the Church in the Pub…

Arriving at The Cotton Tree a couple of minutes late on Wednesday 31st May, the first meeting of Church in the Pub was just beginning.

Lynn Caudwell

As I walked into the room reserved for us, I must admit that I was very surprised to find there was nowhere to sit… the room was already full of people talking and laughing together. I ended up perched on an open barrel of rolled up dog mats next to some people from St Oswald’s Bollington; some of St John’s Adlington congregation were nearby, but on another table.

We began with a prayer. Still more people tried to come in but had to move to a table in another room. There was a sense of excitement and joy that we were gathering as three churches in such a visible way. After a while some cards with discussion starters were distributed across the tables and we were soon talking with people about our lives, our faith, world affairs and ethics. The questions were open ended and helped us to get to know each other a bit better. We also had a chance to look at some newspapers and pick out things to pray about.

The feedback I received was that it was very encouraging to meet people from other churches. Some knew each other from different walks of life without realising they also went to church. It was good to talk about our faith and to have a chance to ask each other questions. The fact that we met in public was a very visible display of the community of faith that exists in Adlington, Bollington and Pott Shrigley. We must have seemed like a happy crowd that others may want to meet!

We do hope and pray that as we continue to meet monthly, we will be able to welcome those who are interested to explore more about God and faith. This was a gentle but encouraging start, and we will continue to adapt Church in the Pub as necessary: do come along if you are interested to hear more about this unfolding story.

The next meeting will be on Weds. 28th June at 8.00pm in The Cotton Tree. See you there?!

Others enjoyed the event too:

‘It was good to have the opportunity to meet up with people from other local churches on a social level and to discuss and explore our faith with each other. It was interesting to meet some people who I knew previously but didn't realise were Christians.’

‘I wasn’t expecting Church in the Pub to be so well attended. The room allocated to us was packed full of people, and late comers spilled out into the bar area. It was good to meet and relax with other local Christians. All the Christians from St Oswald’s and St John’s churches that I chatted with were previously unknown to me.’

‘I thought it was a good start for what could, or should? be, a long-term project. Nancy from Bollington had brought along resources as 'icebreakers' which helped St Oswald, St John & St Christopher people to get to know each other. There was some conversation with people in the pub which, with prayer and God's help, could develop into bringing the Gospel to our neighbours.’

So be on the lookout for the next few dates…