May 16 - St. Columba's and Cumnor both in one day1!

A great night's sleep and awake to a steady rain which sounded wonderful as I drank my morning tea in the garden room with the rain making its pitter pattered on the roof. Nigel picked me up and we went to St. Columba's in Oxford City Center. The service was lead by the First Sunday group which is the LGBT group. It was a nice service with music I knew and prayers that were all written out. I appreciated the courage it took the people who gave their testimony in place of a sermon. It takes a lot to stand up before a congregation and say anything, no less that you have been hurt by the church before but have found a home at St. Columba's. After worship there was coffee, tea and biscuits. I think they have a lot to learn about biscuits though - I really prefer a good baking powder biscuit to the thin crunchy things they served today - but it what you are accustom to I suppose.

St. Columba's is an old church in the heart of Oxford. It is located on Alfred Street, which is only a street in name as I can't see how a car can pass through, no less two. Nevertheless, its doors first opened to serve the University as a chapel but has more recently (that is probably a hundred years or so) as a Presbyterian Church and after 1972 it has been a United Reformed Church. Carla Grosch -Miller has been the pastor for almost two years now and is from America. It is interesting to hear how the congregation has adapted to her and she to the congregation. I had the pleasure, if you can call it that, of being at the AGM (Annual General Meeting) for the afternoon. We were to bring our own lunch and I was able to find peanut butter and jam to bring so I was in a flux state with America on my taste buds and England in my eyes and ears. The meeting went well and I can see that they are a congregation that desires to share their ministry of radical inclusiveness with others so that more people will have the opportunity to praise God. In a conversation with Carla over coffee (from Starbucks) she told me that in England about only 7% of the people are religious and she has often experienced great distrust and dislike of the church. This is so different than my experience so I will be interested to see if I encounter this in any way. I imagine that most of my time will be spent with folks from the congregations so I think my exposure to other folks may be very limited.