Faith and Music 7th June 2023

The June 7th Fellowship of Faith meeting was focused on Faith and music. The support was amazing, the atmosphere was relaxed and the fellowship was present.

The Fellowship of Faith supper started with everyone sharing food around the table. The generosity and real hospitality of all that attended was so heart felt. Conversation, laughter and the Holy Spirit filled the space.

I gave an introduction to the evening with an opening prayer giving thanks to God. We started with Amir giving a solo performance of "I am not alone, You are always with me." Amir played acoustic guitar and sang in Farsi, the home language of Iran; Amir's country of birth. He calls Swindon, UK his home now and is supported by Swindon's own The Harbour Project, his Christ Church family and Fellowship of Faith.

After his live performance which was absolutely amazing and really touched everyone's heart at the table, Amir gave a lovely speech about what that song is about and what it means to him. He learned this song in secret and was not allowed to perform a Gospel song out loud in Iran. He also told us about his first baptism was with a prayer to Jesus in Iran. Amir has been baptized here in Christ Church and was one of the twelve confirmations of 2023.

The Rev. Moira gave a lovely talk on how music has influenced her life with faith. Recalling how music affects her grandchildren and the CD that must be played on family road trips. She also spoke about how we can learn from music especially if we want to learn Bible verses, giving some great examples of how it's easier to learn them in song. Moira finished her story on music and how it's influenced her life and her faith, sharing how music is everywhere, even waking up in the morning and hearing the birds singing, Moria also shared that this is one of God's songs which really resonated with a lot of people at the table.

Soon, others shared their personal experiences with Faith and music. James started off the karaoke and was loving the use of the Chromecast. The group learned this is probably the first time Gospel karaoke had ever taken place in Christ Church from Rev. Simon S. We started singing Way maker, it was probably the longest version of that song we had all ever heard. Fill my cup, Lord, was our finale! It was so encouraging to see everyone joining in. Simon S finished the karaoke with one of his favorites God's Love is like a Circle.

An inspirational closing Prayer by James finished the evening. Alex suggested that Amir do an encore, which was amazing. Amir absolutely loved the suggestion, the smile on his face was heartwarming. After Amirs awesome encore, everyone continued eating, laughing and sharing stories until pretty much all the food was gone. Thank you for all who helped clean up and put away.

Blog by Simon G