I remember feeling disheartened that no one came to the enquirer’s course in Cowshill. I suppose I have always assumed that people have a natural curiosity and any opportunity to ask questions, or seek answers, would appeal to someone. I tried to use humour to create a light-hearted invitation, playing on the idea that people don’t want to talk to a Vicar for fear of being ‘evangelised’. When no one came that evening, I wondered if it was a rejection of my invitation, or a rejection of faith, or Jesus, or organised religion. Maybe no one had questions. Maybe they’ve already explored faith and drawn their conclusions. Everything is speculation.
When I ran the second session, in Eastgate village hall, I wasn’t expecting anyone to come either. Eastgate is a smaller community of ~150 people. So when two people turned up I was both surprised and delighted.
My approach to enquirers courses, is to create space and engender thoughtful creativity in those attending. I don’t want to just speak for the sake of it… I’m interested in what interests those who’ve come. What are you curious about, what are your questions? After a couple of brief activities to get our brains in curiosity mode, their questions came flooding out. A mixture of their own, and their worries about what friends and family think.
- Heaven – what / where? Not up in the sky.
- Jesus, really crucified? Fact or fiction? The whole thing is a bit far fetched.
- What does praying do?
- What is a Christian? Are they crazy?
- Science vs religion – how can scientists believe?
- Is Christianity bollocks?
- What are the facts to do with religion?
We spent an enjoyable hour talking about all their questions, our experiences, what we knew to be factual and what we suspect is fiction. We looked at what is core to Christian belief, what things the church believes, and the random stuff that Christians believe – and we did it either at a simple level, or varying degrees of depth.
In terms of Rural Mission, and reflecting on personal experience… running an enquirers course makes the person providing it vulnerable to a range of feelings from lost hope to exposed ignorance. On the plus side, enquirers courses can be the most rewarding way to share faith with those who are curious.