Stories of Faith

Here are some local, real life experinces which show how faith has changed people's lives.

‘Hard-bitten ex-copper’, Gordon Douglas talks about four days that changed his life.

My pilgrimage of faith started when I was a small boy, first at Sunday school then through school assemblies. When I started work as a policeman, although the basics of Christianity were held firm, my actual church worship was limited to scout meetings, weddings, baptisms and funerals. During 30 years in the Notts Constabulary I saw many things which tested my faith regarding man's inhumanity to man, but I also witnessed great acts of kindness. Although I wasn't a regular church-goer, without my deep and sincere faith in God I could not have survived the pressures of police life.
Many years later I was re-introduced to the Anglican Church by a friend of the family, and I began to attend services on a regular basis with my wife and children, but because of my work and family commitments I did not get very involved with church life.
On retiring from the Force I began dipping my toe into  church life and began assisting with 'Time Travelling!' - a two week Church/School religious discovery project - at Southwell Minster. During this time I met many Christians but one lady in particular stood out. She was wearing a rainbow coloured scarf. One afternoon I cheekily asked her why she was wearing such a brightly coloured scarf. She explained that the scarf represented the Cursillo movement, which I learnt was a four day course, endorsed by the Bishop of Southwell, aimed at enabling Christians to broaden their religious base, and to give meaning to the words ‘We are the body of Christ.’
I prayed for guidance and went to a Church meeting to  hear people who had been inspired by Cursillo and I was overwhelmed by the atmosphere. Without hesitation I applied to go on the course, even though I knew no-one and I was well aware of my limitations as I was no 'Bible basher'. This was some feat for a hard bitten ex-copper!
There were fifteen short lectures, which covered aspects of prayer, piety and action, interspersed with periods of worship, entertainment, art, laughter and conversation, but without doubt the overwhelming feeling of well-being, love, friendship and above all peace, carried the course - and perhaps more importantly has continued to flourish since. However, the overall impact for me was a life-changing experience on the Saturday night.

At 9.30pm the whole group went into Chapel for worship. On entering I was conscious of the very low music and a blaze of light. There were two crosses, covered in 'T' lights. Surrounding the crosses on the floor was a large number of 'T' lights on silver paper. The overall effect was one of absolute peace. I sat down on the front row at the far end of the Chapel, and was very soon crying uncontrollably. I had never experienced anything quite like it. My arms were by my side and it felt as if I was being emptied or drained, everything was running down my arms and away out of my hands and fingers. This, together with the crying, seemed to last for a long time.
 I was not aware of anyone else in the room even   though it was full. When I composed myself I saw that two vicars were seated in the Chapel either side of the crosses. They were both dressed fully in white and seemed to glow against the backdrop of light.
I seemed compelled to go the vicar nearest to me. I sat down opposite her and again cried uncontrollably whilst she talked to me. Some of what was said I did not comprehend. She waited whilst I composed myself and then asked me what I wanted. I told her I would do whatever the Lord asked of me. She then anointed me with oil and I returned to my seat to cry yet again.
This was without doubt the most moving experience of my life and the only explanation I can give is that it was the Holy Spirit working through me. On leaving the Chapel I sat outside for a while and felt a wonderful sense of peace and well-being. I was on a 'high' for about two weeks and many people had to listen to me. I feel that I have moved on since the course, in that I have further broadened my religious pilgrimage and I wait upon God's calling, should he choose to use me.
I sincerely hope that my experience will help you in your realisation of faith. Faith is a mighty thing and if we trust in God and pray there's nothing that we can't do in his strength.
The next Cursillo is 9th-12th December. Tel: 0115 8417143 for details.

Alyn’s call to priesthood is fulfilled

It's been a long but steady journey towards the priesthood for Alyn Haskey, who first started considering ordination 30 years ago… "I must have been about 12 , I used to listen to Radio Luxemburg and a programme called 'Our Decision' about God and Jesus," explained Alyn. "I began to think what is it all about and there must be something else to life than this? So I thought, OK if there's a God who cares about me then maybe I'll give it a go and I asked God to show me what he could do. I just thought maybe…Then I began to feel a change and things began to happen, opportunities began to open up."
Now 30 years on, Alyn can look back on a chequered past, from teenage belief to life at university, the start of his preaching ministry and evangelism, closed doors to work and disappoints, publishing poetry and studying for theology and at last the church's recognition of his God-given gifts and ministry in ordination.
Alyn (52), who is a member of St Andrew’s Church, Nottingham, was born with cerebral palsy and spent his early years fighting against severe disability including a severe speech defect. Education was considered a waste of time for him and those around him used to say: " He can't do anything." But becoming a Christian as a teenager triggered a change in Alyn, he said: "I thought that God had called me, but I didn't know at the time to what, but I thought maybe one day I'll be a vicar. Speaking was really difficult, but gradually I started to feel that I could communicate better and I believe God has developed that gift."
Alyn will be ordained at Southwell Minster on July 4th along with seven other candidates and will serve his curacy at St Stephen’s, Sneinton. His reaction to being told he was being accepted for ministry in the Church of England was big victory punch ‘yes!’ He said: “It will just be a day that will never be forgotten and I’m looking forward to my first Easter sermon and saying: do you know Jesus is alive?”

Licensed to listen

East Midlands paramedicas now have their very own chaplain - on call to listen & help - he is a ‘spiritual 999er’

Ambulance service, how may I help you? Many of us will have heard this professional voice at the end of the phone in times of crisis, danger and anxiety. But what about those who work for the emergency services and are faced with the extremes in people's lives on a daily basis?

East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS) has been one of the first to recognise that their employees need spiritual help available and paramedic Jon Shaw, with 25 years experience under his belt, has stepped into the breach.

Following his own 'God-experience' after attending a particularly tragic Road Traffic Accident (RTA), Jon began going to his local church and as he started his own spiritual journey, he also became aware of the need for 'a carer for the carers' he was working with.
He said: "I  had been talking about a kind of chaplaincy role for paramedics and other staff for a number of years. I never imagined that I would find myself becoming part of the solution!"

Jon's own training as a licensed Reader in his church at St Wilfrid's, Calverton, has given him a range of experiences - taking funerals and assisting in other services in his spare time. He has been supported over the past few years by his vicar, Canon Peter Hill. As a recognised chaplain to EMAS he is now one of the first paramedics in the country to take up the dual role of professional practitioner and workplace chaplain.
He said: "Working for the emergency services can be very stressful. We see people in the extremes of life and death. It is demanding for both paramedics on the ground and those behind the scenes, like the staff in the control room taking the calls and others in support roles. I hope I can be a listening ear for them by just being around for them. I believe I can be a bridge for the organisation back to the church."

Working as a paramedic

"We never know what is a typical day - each day is different. We could be involved in multi-system trauma through an RTA to acute abdominal or breathing problems.
Sundays are very busy as more people with leisure time are out on the roads or doing DIY which can lead to accidents. Sundays can be quite dramatic.
The high points of the job are where we can make a real difference and save lives. If someone has taken an overdose or has a heart attack we can help by giving a lifesaving drug, and we can also help immediately with pain relief. Being there at the right time to help save life and promote it is crucial. We call it the 'golden hour' - the care people receive in the first hour after an injury or incident. If this is high quality it can make a big difference to their recovery and the time they will need to spend in hospital, so that actually saves money,” he explained.

“We are involved in situations that can be highly volatile and it is a difficult job at night. In Nottingham city centre for example there are an extra 80,000 people coming in to enjoy the nightlife, especially on Friday and Saturday nights. But incidents we are called to can often involve people being hostile through the influence of drink and drugs. On the ground paramedics can be in a very vulnerable position and receive a lot of abuse from people.”

This is part of the reason why Jon believes his chaplaincy role is so vital in supporting people within the pressure of the workplace.
“Sometimes people feel more comfortable having a chat with a colleague than a councillor.”

Face to Face in the Philippines

My name is Helen Frith I am 19 years old and I go to St John's Church in Mansfield.  Between A-levels and University I felt called to go on a mission to the Philippines for four months with the Christian charity Signpost International.  It's hard to capture everything that I witnessed and learnt over there but here's a snippet of some of my experiences.

Having said goodbye to everything and everyone I knew, equipped with the bare minimum and thrown together with a bunch of people I didn't really know I began to wonder whether this four month trip to the Philippines was such a good idea. After all why would God want unqualified, inexperienced, untravelled me to jet across the world to minister to complete strangers? I was about to find out.

My time in the Philippines has been exhilarating, difficult, insightful and heart breaking. The country is one of such stark contrasts. Whilst being stunningly beautiful it is also dirty, threatening and ugly; mass poverty pervades the entire nation.

Perhaps one of the hardest things to see day after day after day were the terrible conditions that people live in. A lot of the "houses" we visited were constructed from scrap metal, tyres, wood and pieces of material which, in the wet season proves to be flimsy and precarious shelter when the typhoons hit.

There is one shanty house in particular which will remain engraved on my mind forever. The rainy season had already began and in the drizzly aftermath of a typhoon.The only way to reach the house was to walk through a graveyard scrambling over the occasional grave, climb over a high wall and wade through open sewage water in our flip flops! The house itself was actually tilted on its side and to make it through the "doorway" we had to crawl and contort ourselves whilst trying to avoid being torn to shreds by the jagged corrugated iron. The worst was yet to come. As my eyes grew accustomed to the dim light inside I saw that the whole floor was piled high with rotting rubbish, mouldy blankets hung from the ceiling, scrawny dogs and malnourished children sat around lethargically. If all this wasn't shocking enough, a putrid stench revealed an open sewer running through the room by the far wall. Utterly horrified we left with the misery of the situation on our shoulders.

Thankfully, the Christian charity that we were working with: "Signpost International" takes families out of such awful conditions and provides adequate housing for them.  At one of the new houses the eldest daughter who was my age (18 years old) said that she had dreamed of and prayed for a beautiful house for her family all of her life and now couldn't believe that her dream had come true. Tears streaming down my face I felt truly humbled by this girl's sincere gratefulness for what would be by our standards a glorified shed.