Small Groups
Members of our congregation are encouraged to join a small group. These play an important part in building our sense of community. At present there are five small groups, three meet during the evening and two meet during the day, most meeting fortnightly. The purpose of the groups is to encourage people in Christian discipleship by praying together and reading scripture, but also to keep in touch with the wider world and church.
There are no official leaders of the groups, but group members each take a role or responsibility, for example, hospitality, keeping in touch with the wider church, guiding the group in prayer and worship, giving the group a sense of fun and enjoyment etc. These tasks are changed amongst members of the group by mutual arrangement about three times a year. This gives the group a real sense of community and mutual responsibility. The clergy offer help to the groups visiting occasionally and supply resources for study and prayer if required.
Anyone interested in joining a small group should approach one of the clergy in the first instance via the Parish Office
The Agape Group
describe themselves....
Our house group is called AGAPE which means ‘Love’ not only 'Love of God for humankind' but 'unselfish love' of Christians for other persons. Our group consists of Deb Wright, Sharon Pilling, Jean Thomas, Patricia Shorten, Stella Bavin, Hannah Casey, Shirley Tidey and Stella Chaplin. We meet every two weeks on a Monday evening from 7.30 – 9.30 during term time only. We are currently studying some of the sermons that are being given in church, also available on the website, with questions at the end, and have found this a good way of looking at ourselves and talking about our own faith and issues around that.
Sometimes we choose our own study topics and recently spent a term on “women in the Bible”. In addition to our Bible study we include some fun (amusing stories/games) and news either from our local community and/or the wider world. We are updated regularly with news from Connect Christian Counselling whom we support in our group. We are committed to growing together in spirit and prayers and try to vary the way we pray as much as possible. We have used stones, toy animals, repetitive prayers, chants, traditional and open prayers, our own and parts of the sermon amongst others. In addition to all this, we try to have regular social evenings and have an occasional visiting leader to our group. We have also hosted Maundy Thursday as a group twice with guests, which was a moving experience for all who attended.
Dumela
describes itself thus...
The word DUMELA is a Sesotho or Setswana word of Greeting used in Botswana, and the group received its name from two founder members Dave and Sue, who had lived there. Our group meet on two evenings each month, at our host Stuart Parr's house. We are mixed, both men and women. During the evening we relax, and catch up on news, and have a time for study and a time for refreshments. We generally close with an evening service. On the social side we have had outings to a restaurant or a meal in a pub, inviting friends and family members. In December we sang Carols, and our hearts out, to residents of Corrina Lodge Care Home in Camberley. During the Spring we joined together for an Agape Meal, a special meal the day before Good Friday.
We are now studying 'Stretch out your hand' by Tilda Norburg and Robert D Weber. This is a book on Christian Healing, and we are discussing the chapters as we read them.
Hilltop Group
meets fortnightly on Wednesday evenings, usually in Audrey Gullet’s home. Apart from Audrey, we have seven other members – Sue Ferro, Thora Ray, Robin Lanscombe, Bonnie and John Bennett and Peter and Jean Bateman. We were sad to lose David and Margaret Salt a few months ago when they moved from this area: David had been a tremendous source of knowledge and wisdom and Margaret’s gentle and novel way of leading our prayers was very much appreciated.
During the Autumn we discussed the sermons on Christian Discipleship (which were very helpfully published on the website) and, since Christmas, have been following the course Play Your Part. We take turns at leading the group with a different person leading the prayers each time. The evening finishes with refreshments and, when there is time, Peter introduces us to interesting topics which he has gleaned from the press during the past couple of weeks, usually the Church Times.
Last August we had a group outing to the Quiet Garden at Willow Grange which we all found very inspiring. We began with a short prayer and then wandered around the garden, stopping in various areas to soak up the peace and beauty of the place, giving us time to reflect and be away from the usual busyness of life in urban Surrey.
Our December meeting is usually a social affair, when we have a meal together and often bring along a favourite reading or poem to share with each other.
We are a friendly group and those who have joined us more recently have felt welcomed and able to participate in the discussions comfortably.
