The second in a series of a short series of films exploring each theme featured in Andrew Roberts’ book, Holy Habits from a URC persepctive has been released.
Directed by Kevin Snyman, Mission Enabler for West Midlands Synod, the ‘Holy Habit of Fellowship’ is seen in action at St David's Uniting Church in Pontypridd, through its ‘film and chat’ afternoon and work with refugees, all with the aim of bringing people together.
Holy Habits is one of the key resources for Walking the Way: Living the life of Jesus today, the URC’s focus on lifelong Christian discipleship and mission.
The Revd Phil Wall, Minister of St David’s, said: ‘Fellowship is about meeting God in one another and certainly in our film afternoons we have seen glimpses of that divine spark in conversations, laughter and the tears we share.’
Films shown during the special afternoon often focus on a range of Christian themes which can be discussed at the end of the screening.
‘I encourage you to try something like the film and chat afternoons,’ continued Mr Wall. ‘And you may well see friendships and faith deepen across your church and beyond.’
Earlier this year, the Walking the Way team produced a resource, ‘watching the screen’, that contains a variety of film suggestions for churches or groups wanting to hold their own ‘film and chat’ event.
Films such as: Chocolat, The Way, Calvary, and Philomena provide opportunities for great discussions.
Each of the films in the Holy Habits short film series feature an introduction by Mr Roberts, who in this film, says: ‘Out of all the holy habits, fellowship is the one I personally find most challenging.’ Watch the film to find out why.
The Holy Habits booklets are available to buy individually or as a full pack. Visit the URC Shop for details.
Don’t forget to share your thoughts on how you will be implementing the holy habits into your life, by visiting the Walking the Way Facebook or Twitter pages. You can also email us with your good news stories.
A film about the Holy Habit of Sharing Resources has also been released as part of the series:
The first film in the series looked at ‘The Holy Habit of Serving’ at Coventry Winter Night Shelter, hosted at St Columba’s URC, Coventry, and other local churches, in partnership with HOPE Coventry.
Mr Roberts explains: ‘Jesus is both our inspiration and our guide. The Bible reminds us that he came among us not to be served but to serve.’
The Revd Craig Muir, Minister of St Columba’s URC, Coventry, echoes this sentiment saying: ‘Coventry Winter Night Shelter is fundamentally about serving people.’
The film shows how a team of dedicated volunteers provided the homeless with food, a bed, and a safe place to stay temporarily during the cold nights of winter between December 2017 and March 2018.
‘Serving is right at the heart of what it means to be a follower of Jesus,’ continues Mr Roberts. ‘As Jesus said, the two great commandments are to love God, and love our neighbours as we would ourselves.’
He questioned: ‘If we are in a position of leadership, maybe a headteacher or a director of a company, how do we serve? Remember Jesus washed the feet of those he led. How do we model that kind of leadership in our day to day work?
Simon Peters, Walking the Way Project Manager, added: ‘We can look around us and think about what it means to put these habits into practice. These thought-provoking films offer us a range of examples for us to consider.’
A new film will be released towards the beginning of each month until eahc of the Holy Habots have been covered, so look out for 'The Holy Habit of Sharing Resources' coming in October.
