When we arrived at the Church Hall for the "Moving Forward Together" day we did not know what to expect. Chatting to others over coffee and cake we discovered we were not alone. However, the not knowing was part of the excitement. The hall quickly filled up with people and one immediately felt a buzz, a sense of anticipation of what was about to happen. It was when we moved across to the church that the size of attendance became apparent. Sarah Alexander revealed that the numbers had shot up at the last minute to around 200, way beyond their initial expectations. There were people from every age group, every service. It was a sizeable representation of all those that attend St Nicolas which was just what this day needed to get a sense of us moving forward together as a church.
Throughout the day we were encouraged to talk to those we didn't know. There was an icebreaker early on where we were grouped into the areas of West Berkshire where we live. It was great to find out people who went to church that we didn't know lived near us. Everyone had a name badge with a different colour spot on it and we were set the challenge of finding out what the coloured spots meant by talking to others. They did not mean anything in the end but it got people talking! The day was split into three sections: "Looking back at the past", "Celebrating the present" and "Shaping the future". The children had their own organised activities but joined us at the start and end of the day. "Looking back at the past" focused on the legacy of the decision in 2006 to go from one to two morning services. Churchwarden Nic Cope, who was PCC Secretary at the time, gave a detailed timeline on how the decision was made, its impact and the recent healing and reconciliation process to deal with the pain some people have experienced from what happened. Nic apologised on behalf of the churchwardens, saying that he had not expected the pain caused to be "so deep and long-lasting". The Rector, David Stone, also apologised, saying that he regretted especially that provision for children had not been established for the 9:15 service when it began. Whilst recognising that for some the pain would still take time to heal, it was felt that this was now the time to move forward. David Stone, commenting on the recent SPEAR process, said "sowing the seeds for the future we have to clear away some of the weeds of the past". Pip Peacock gave an honest and moving account of how the move to two services had affected her but that she felt deep down that it was best for the church to move on. "Whilst we are arguing on what we do and don't want to do, we are not reaching out to those outside," she said. Everyone was then invited to pray in a moment of silence for all those affected and that the God of reconciliation would allow us to let go of the past. Just before lunch we moved on to "Celebrating the present". To show the diversity of worship at St Nicolas, people who attend each of the five Sunday services explained why they liked attending the service they go to. The young people from The Firm then prayed for each service and gave their reflections on each one as they had been to every service the Sunday before. It was great for instance to hear 16-year-old Joel Gregory describe the 8:00 am communion service as 'absolutely amazing'. After a delicious ploughman's lunch and "deconstructed" trifle pudding served enthusiastically by members of The Firm, the day continued with a PowerPoint presentation showing the breadth of what St Nicolas is currently doing. 16 year old Ozzie Daws gave a powerful testimony of how God has been taking the "smoke" away in his life and making him bolder in his faith. He encouraged us to do likewise and challenged us to share our faith more and bring people to Christ. In the final section, "Shaping the future" the focus was on welcoming others. We were posed the question "How might St Nicolas develop to better meet the needs of the people I know?" Sarah Alexander informed us that research has found people won't stay at a church unless they have made significant friendships there. After discussion in small groups suggestions were written down on Post-It notes and are now on red boards in the church if you wish to read them. As the day drew to a close, Sarah challenged us to be united in our heart for God and for Newbury. "Join in with what God is doing... Who knows where He is going to take us as we seek him and his agenda for our future? Let us allow the God of possibilities to take us forward in his strength, in his power and in his love." It was a very special day in the life of St Nicolas and there are already calls for another day in the spring. One can imagine exciting things happening at St Nicolas Church in the coming years and we will look back to this day as the start of them. Chris Hall | 