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Like many another I was christened as a baby, but it was what my parents did for me afterwards that made a noticeable difference in my life.
Mine was hardly what you would call a religious upbringing, but my earliest memories of Christianity are the twice-yearly visits to Rochester Cathedral on Christmas and Easter Days for the morning service, when I was a child. I remember the place being so big and so old, the biggest building I had ever seen; I remember singing and music like you don't get anywhere else; I remember voices speaking from somewhere and not being able to see who was talking. It wasn't exactly comforting, but it was stimulating. All these unusual experiences germinated the seed sown at my baptism, with the result that I have always loved history, music and singing, and a sense of mystery, of things that give up their secrets slowly.
I suppose in my teens I became confirmed in these preferences, but bit by bit life's experiences taught me to transfer my appreciation of these externals of worship to the heart of the matter, a God who is so prepared to love human beings that he became one, the God-man, Jesus Christ. Clearly, to have generated so much history, so many attempts to create beauty and meaning in every branch of the arts, so much that rings true with human experience, the Christian message must be a great and important thing, the only worthwhile thing in the world. Inexorably I felt drawn to this faith. I have never used the woes of this world or the evil things people can do as arguments against God - why bother? Anyone who loves life and the good things life allows us to experience must love God.
So here am I, a priest of the Christian Church, trying to embody some of things that Jesus means to us. Like the cathedral, the music and the mystery, I serve God and it makes me feel good and fulfilled. Every Christian is made a priest at their christening, but to me it falls by the appointment of the Christian community to make that priesthood visible, and real, and not just an idea. The work I do has many sides to it, some appealing, some less so, but none of it is possible without a sense of communion - common union - both with God and with the people who are my neighbours. Jesus Christ has made all that possible for me and without him my life would have been unquestionably different, and in my view no life at all.
Kenneth Clark
(Rector)
Scientists, I believed as a child, could answer almost any question and what they didn't know they would, without doubt, be able to find out. I have since studied and been keenly interested in all things scientific, and have seen amazing advances in scientific knowledge. The extent of human discovery is already vast, but it is clear that we are still merely scratching the surface of the incredible complexity of our World. The more questions we find answers to, the more there are still to answer.
Like many scientists I don't believe that the balance, interactivity, complexity and beauty of the natural world are chance happenings, but that there is a great power at work here which is beyond our ability to explain through science. Christians call this power God and He became part of the human race for a few short years through the man called Jesus. Christ's message to all humans is straightforward, 'love God, and love one another'. In particular I think this means not only recognising and making the most of the natural abilities and gifts we are all given, but also using them to benefit one another. This is not an easy ask and we all need help because the going is often very tough! I find that being in church and giving myself some time to focus on and really think about things, can often provide answers. Is this a co-incidence? I don't think so!
Maggie
(Choir member)
In these times of computers and machines doing everything we have less and less control over our lives. Faith is to me the letting go of the past, not worrying about the future and letting today just unfold. God will provide.
In my 27 years of Tai chi and Kung-fu training you learn very quickly that the Brain blocks natural things from happening. Hence the need for meditation and quiet reflection. God provides everything for us, it is a natural phenomenon and if you think about it you will block it. At first, it is almost blind faith. To let go and hope that it will work. Some people call it coincidence, some say, "being in the right place at the right time", some just say luck. How many times have you got just what you needed, out of the blue, when you least expected it?
Be a sceptic and lose out, or have faith and gain the world.
Let go and let God.
Nik (choirmaster & organist)
I am Roger Pickett, a Chartered Surveyor and semi professional artist, married to Margaret and have one grown up married daughter. We moved to Stone some 6 years ago having previously lived in
I became a Christian when, as a boy, I was told the simple fundamental truth of Christianity, that Jesus Christ, who is God, became man in order to teach divine truth and to die upon a cross to enable all those who believe in him to receive forgiveness for all the wrongdoing (that is part of being human) and inherit everlasting life. It seemed amazing to me then, and even more so now, that anyone should want to die for me, particularly undergoing voluntarily such a cruel death as crucifixion; not only for everyone born into the world but also particularly for me as one individual. I thought about this and believed it. Those who have seen Mel Gibson's recent film will have some limited idea of the suffering endured upon the cross by Christ Jesus to liberate all people as individuals.
I grew up as a Christian because through faith I believed. Fundamental to Christianity is the necessity to believe. There is no proof that Christ died for all or that eternal life is given to those who believe. The essence of Christianity is faith; that which is hoped for but not yet experienced. However as I grew through adolescence, then married and earned a living so I discovered that the seemingly contradictions of Christ's teaching worked. Giving is better than receiving, pursuing that which is good is far more rewarding than pursuing evil, love is stronger than hate, peace making does achieve more than waging war, forgiveness is more healthy than harbouring grudges.
I remain a Christian because the older I get the more I realise, when I think about it and look at the state of the world in general, that Christianity, foolish as it seems, changes people and their lives. I have discovered this through faith and seeking to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ as well as watching other people. The experiences of life have provided an assurance that has, without doubt, only become apparent as a direct result of my tentative initial faith and belief some fifty years ago. Thus that which I could not prove initially, and which still cannot be proved until death, has nevertheless become more certain for me as I have grown older and has now reached the point where I am so certain, even though I cannot prove it, that for me not to believe has become impossible. I know that the squabbling and folly of Christian Church over the last 2000 years has so often failed to proclaim the teachings of Christ and continues to fail today but I know also that this is the result of human fallibility and weakness and forms part of what Jesus Christ came to forgive. For me there is hope and certainty, through faith, for all that the future holds for everyone who believes, however bleak it may at times appear to the contrary.
St Mary's church is situated in a semi-rural Kent parish, close to the M25 and the A2 which are some of the busiest routes into and around London.
Many parishioners (that is everyone who lives in the parish!) commute into London on a daily basis while others work either within the parish or in local towns like Dartford and Gravesend.
The Bluewater shopping centre is a few minutes walk from St Mary's and the Queen Elizabeth Bridge is a prominent feature on the skyline from most parts of the parish.
We are ordinary people, leading ordinary lives, but lives that are shaped by our Christian beliefs.
