Growing Spiritually

Our mission is to help our members grow so that they can work to help others, both to come to know and love Jesus Christ and through practical action. On this page you will find some of the programmes and activities which we support to help us grow together spiritually.

Sycamore

Sycamore is an informal course about the Catholic faith and its relevance for life today. It gives you space to meet other people, share ideas, explore your beliefs, and think about questions that really matter. It has been produced by the very talented Fr Stephen Wang in London, who has a real gift for sharing the depth and richness of the Catholic tradition and its compassionate and life-giving vision. He helps us to see how these truths can be recognised in our lives and in the longings of our hearts. Each session includes a short film and opportunities for discussion.

To watch the films or find out more about Sycamore visit: www.sycamore.fm

I would like to extend a particular invitation to join us to anyone who reads this who is not Catholic, and would like to know more about how we see the world and God at work in it and in us. Maybe this last year has made you more curious. Maybe no one has ever invited you to learn more. Maybe it’s been on the cards for 40 years but the time has never seemed right. Whatever the reason, you will find a warm welcome and an opportunity to explore the Catholic faith in the company of others on the same journey, and sympathetic guides. You are very welcome to speak with me before registering, should you wish.

I believe that many in our parish will find Sycamore helpful for their journey in faith. I do look forward to the time when we can run the sessions over a meal together, but in the meanwhile I’d like to encourage everyone in the parish to have a think about giving it a go as some spiritual food during this pandemic.

The Bartimaeus Project

The Bartimaeus Project is a series of talks given by a group of parish priests in the diocese of Arundel and Brighton to give people a deeper understanding of the Catholic Faith. They have called it “The Bartimaeus Project” because of Bartimaeus’ request of Jesus “Lord let me see”. He is, of course, asking for physical sight, but in the Gospel that is also a metaphor for understanding.

The sessions will be delivered both ‘really’ and ‘virtually’. The speaker each time will have a real audience, and the talk part of the session will be streamed to audiences in other locations, and also available online. After the talk there will be a chance for discussion, led by someone at each location. Then there will be a final part where questions can be put back to the speaker from the other locations. The first sessions will be on our understanding of Revelation—how God speaks to us—and the Bible.

For more details, visit the project's website.

The Alpha Programme

This programme is where we encourage everybody to start. We have found that it inspires community and open discussion about matters which are important to us all. This programme is for those who have faith, those who are searching and those who do not faith. Every opinion is both valued and valuable. A typical session involves a meal, a video and a time for discussion. It is amazing but 98% of those people who have attended this programme in Godalming would recommend it to others! So, if you are interested to find out more, please get in touch and see when the next course is going to be run. For more information, please contact Nicki or Alan Lion on 01483 420859.