Perhaps more than any other year in our living memory, we are ready for a new start, the winter of 2020 is retreating and the spring of 2021 is being ushered in. I know that for some of us, the loss we’ve experienced in 2020 will take a long time to fade, but the start of the vaccination programme is a sign of hope, which gives us optimism that 2021 will be very different from 2020.

Thanks to everyone who gave so generously to the food banks and Christmas lunches. As well as the joy of feasting over Christmas, we’d like to offer you some spiritual food to relish at the beginning of the New Year. To do this, we are going to run two courses; everyone’s welcome to join us, it doesn’t matter if you rarely go to church or go every week.

The courses will provide the opportunity to explore the Christian faith and see how it can be lived out in our daily lives. Each session includes a time of contemplation and discussion as part of a group. One course will explore the big questions of faith through one of the greatest Christian treasures, The Lord's Prayer. This course is for those who are interested in finding out more or who are new to Christianity. It’s an opportunity to engage with those
who have been pondering the big questions of life.

The other course will explore what it means to live as a child of the kingdom of God and to follow in the way of Christ each day as a member of his Church. This is particularly for people who have been part of a Pilgrim course before, and who would like to take their faith to a deeper level.

We hope that at the start of this New Year, these courses will challenge and stimulate us, and bring us hope for the year ahead. Details of how to join are here.

Caroline Halmshaw