|
 Follow the links to Liz’s Easter Message, Liz’s Christmas Message and recent sermon synopses on other pages.
A Message from our Minister - Revd. Liz Shaw
Welcome to St Andrew’s United Reformed Church.
I have been the minister of St Andrew’s and Northwood Hills United
Reformed Churches since September 2005 when my husband and I moved from our home in Stoke on Trent (the Potteries!).
Many people say to me ‘I am spiritual but don’t go to church’. That
can mean a number of things including ‘church bores me’ or ‘I cannot really believe what I think the church wants me to believe’. Now I
can’t promise you that church won’t bore you (that’s too subjective) but I can promise you a safe space where you can explore your faith freely.
We aim to be an inclusive community and within St Andrew’s we are richly blessed through having people with differing views about faith sharing their love of God together. So whilst I can tell you
that my own theology is liberal you will also find other people who are more evangelical. All people are valued and accepted for who they are and whilst we may not always agree, we listen to
each other with respect and we learn from each other. So if you want to explore your faith we would be delighted for you to join with us on this exciting journey.
St Andrew’s offers both formal and informal pastoral care. The formal care comes from a team of pastoral visitors, elders and myself and the informal care from simply sharing time together,
whether that be over a cup of coffee, at a House Group, or though our social events. We try not to take ourselves too seriously and we enjoy sharing a bit of fun and laughter.
We recognise the importance of our faith being connected to the lives we lead and that the church is not a ‘holy huddle’ but should instead look outwards into the world. The gospels reflect the
importance of a faith that seeks justice for all God’s people. Therefore the idea of Social Justice is firmly integrated into our church life through preaching, awareness raising and action.
This is an important year for us. In November we celebrate our 70th Anniversary. Whilst this is a time to remember the story of our church’s past, it is also a time to focus on where we are today
and where we believe God want us to be in the future. This is an exciting time.
Please feel free to contact me if you think I can be of help or if you have any questions that you
might want to ask. I can’t guarantee I’ll have the answers but I’ll enjoy talking to you!
Liz
|
