Stories

My Story

Stories from people about their Christian journey. Take a look through. 

Dennis Shattel

We can put God on a shelf But God will never do the same to us

Jeremiah 29:11
“I know the plans I have for you” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you plans and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
I have always had a faith since I was a young child; my family never attended church apart from weddings funerals and christenings. I remember watching the films at Christmas and Easter about “Jesus”
I attended a local Baptist church Sunday school on and off from about the age of 6, the church would always run a “holiday Special” club for 1 week during the six weeks school holidays this would be based on Jesus but done in a fun and enjoyable way.
I attended the Baptist Church on a regular basis joining the Boy’s Brigade and attend the Sunday Services. When I was about 14 years old, I remember one evening service where Jesus entered my live. At the end of the service the person doing the service said “That if there was anybody here wants to know more about Jesus and wants to invite Jesus into their lives to come to the front”
The feeling inside me was so over whelming I cannot begin to describe how I was feeling. Well before I knew it I found myself at the front being prayed for and asking Jesus to be a part of my live!
A couple of years later I decided to take my faith another step forward and was Baptised, and what a experience that was to step down into a pool of water stand there declare your faith in Christ, to go into the water to symbolised the dying with Christ and to come out of the water rising with Christ and being born again.
I attended church and my love and faith in Jesus grew stronger. When I was about 23 years old I decided to put God on a shelf but I still loved God and had my faith but church life did not exist.
When I was about 32 I attended St Edmunds for a short while and allowed God back in my life for a little while and put God back onto the shelf.
I have now been attending St Edmunds since October 2007 and allowing God to be a part of my life once again. Looking back over my life God has never stopped loving me; he has never put me on the shelf like I have done him!
My faith in him is growing stronger and I know he as great plans for me, but it’s a matter of trusting in him and allowing him to have control.
I have asked God to be the centre of my life and use me in his work, this is a big statement to make to God and when you put your trust in him he will use you in his plan. For some time I have been struggling with letting go and letting God have his way. I am now slowly letting him have his way, this is not going to be easy for me but here goes! I have a church family that is there for me and willing to support me.
I am on a journey with him and with many others, it is not always going to easy but I know that I am safe in God’s hands.
God will never ask of me something that I am not able to do without his help.

Keith Gibson

Transformation from our Lord Jesus Christ!

I feel changed, the way I think the way I see, almost as if I have got God eyes.
From feeling emotionless, down I finally went up to Jean.
To be honest I felt scared of what God will do through her, I felt disconnected and hopeless. Being me I expected the same experience as Dunford House, and when that did not happen I felt even worse. I say now what I have learnt DO NOT put God in a box and what you think and what God thinks are two completely different things. God has said a lot this weekend I feel I have matured and grown in my faith. When I got back I was just walking along and taking notice of creation around me taking time to look, and just listening.

I tell you the truth I could not just pray, I actually could not pray properly for weeks, there was so much going on in my head, and so many questions but know answers. When I feel in the spirit it had all gone all that was left was peace and quiet, strange warmth.

I tell you now through our Lord Jesus Christ, I have been changed. I am determent and will trust God; I am putting everything at his feet.

I would just like to say also I found it very hard at giving why I should pay for my faith, which was always in my head. I tell you now you should give; the money we give helps for the mission of this church, it builds up better resources for our community and the people out there.
There is so much we can do with the money that we give; I just want to share that.

I just say to the people that are finding it hard at the moment, put on the full armour of God.

Ephesians 6: (10) Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. (11) Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. (12) For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. (13) Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. (14) Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, (15) and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. (16) In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. (17) Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God. (18) And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

If we do these things we can really make a stand, for I feel that the devil will try and do everything he can to shatter and destroy our plans for the community and its people. We need to keep on praying for each other and the community.

Change is here weather we like it or not. Amen.

Sharon Jarvis

 

Sharon has lived on Temple Hill all her life and has attended the local community school, been a member of the Brownies and the Guides and went to many a good disco in the Scout Hut on Marsh Street. Even when Sharon left school to go out into the big wide world she ended up working at the Wellcome Foundation on Temple Hill!! So all in all you could say Sharon is a Dartford girl and her heart is very much with the community.

 

About her faith in God she says: “Although I wasn’t actually brought up in a church going environment I always had some sort of faith in God and it was at the Dartford Mission that I got my first taste into what having a personal relationship with God was all about. However life moves on and any spiritual growth fell to the wayside and nights of drinking, dancing and having a good time took over. It was when I wanted to get married that my conscience was pricked again. For me it was marriage in a church and it was at the attendance of the reading of my banns that a great sense of coming home came over me and I knew that this was where God wanted me to be and where I still am.

 

My personal faith has grown and my involvement in the church has taken many paths from co-ordination of summer fetes, barn dances and bonfire nights to being a member of the Parochial Church Council at which church policy and issues are discussed. I was Parish Treasurer for eight years even though I had worries that I couldn’t control my own finances let alone the local church but then God does work in mysterious ways

 

It was in 1999, after a lot of soul searching, that I felt called to be put forward for training as a Reader in the Church Of England. As a Reader I am licensed to lead public worship, preach and conduct funerals. I am told that my gift is to be able to portray the Christian message in a fun and interactive way such that it is suited to All Age Worship. Hence I am normally seen doing my stuff at the monthly family services where I’ve built duplo brick houses and seen the one on sandy ground come crashing down, had a magic multiplying machine for harvest, depicted the story of the transfiguration of Christ with Teddy Bears and dressed up as Sully from Monsters Inc. for the children’s Christmas Eve service.

 

One of the good things about being a Reader is that it allows you to not only take your personal faith into the workplace but also enables you to give a positive view of the church, a view that unfortunately gets a bad press from the media and society that depicts the church as being boring and out of date. It also allows me to take the training that I receive at work back into the church community. Many a work/management tool has been utilised at our church to get to the root of a crisis and the fact that we have a mission statement and a five-year plan is something to be applauded.

 

Keith Elliott

I'm fed up with the pressure I've put on myself for the last 47 years trying to be what I think people expect me to be. I’ve avoided labelling myself ‘Christian’ because people make judgements about what that means, including fellow gay and lesbians towards who 'the Church' has become increasingly hostile. Whilst I've attended church on and off I’ve never found anywhere I've felt at home.

I went to Sunday school as a child and to a beach mission every summer in the holidays. I suppose you could say God has always been there in the background, ever since I prayed he would be one summer. However, the fun of singing, playing games and early morning bible study (anyone remember lamplighters?) followed by breakfast was lost as I got older; as life became harder. I studied Religious Studies at University; where I struggled with my sexuality. Both the Christian Union and GaySoc were difficult places to be; the tension was painful. I was baptised and confirmed whilst at Uni, but working life brought other pressures. And the Christians I did meet seemed much more disciplined and holy than me!

However, in the last year or so I've been challenged to look at myself and take control of events; and that's how I ended up at St Edmund's. I needed to find a church where I could be myself and found St Eds through Google. The last year hasn't been without its ups and downs, but support from my partner and the welcome and support of everyone at St Eds has been great (and just what I needed!). It may have taken some time but my real spiritual journey has begun. Celebrating the Eucharist at St Eds every Sunday is very special to me; space to stop, listen and share with others the Good News in an inclusive Church...the way Church ought to be. Thanks everyone!

Michael Drew

GET LOST!

Like many others I have had a long hard battle with the Church or even God; having had the Catholic guilt rammed down my throat every day and twice on Sunday for the entirety of my childhood, I rebelled with gusto.
As I watched my friends within the hospital ward die I could not help but fear what had they done that was so bad that God wanted to strike them dead?
 

As an angry teenager I quickly became an atheist, there is no God but I equally knew I was lost. I knew I needed to belong but could not reconcile my past experiences with that nagging feeling in my head.
So to cut a long story short I tried most religions and some more but then I found myself bankrupt and living on the street, begging for food. Thankfully the zeitgeist then held the homeless with some sympathy and it is with eternal love for those many unknown people that gave me money, food and even clothes that kept me alive in those first few months. It took about five months before I was found by the London City Mission and invited to get a meal and shower and then I knew my saviour. Still living on the street but with that meeting lead to other centres, most of which were Christian funded.
Now at last I knew what Christianity meant to me, actions not high alter words. These people exuded Christianity as I felt it.
Not that I am saying everyone must go out a hug a homeless man but do look at them as individuals not an illness, not all of them are drug addicts, yes they are often drunk but what would you do if you became homeless and everyone turns their back on you? They are people that have fallen through the strata of society, or even worse they are former service men that can no longer cope with society as we know it.
 

I was lost and now am found; is that the end of the story, of course not.
I am not the type of person that gets emotional (well not often) with my God, I cannot go with a prayer at the drop of a hat and most certainly will not offer a shopping list in my prayers. So how can I in my own sweet way, offer my trust to God; easy, get lost.
Like a lot of people I like to organise my life, so that is the answer, disorganise myself.
The other day I stepped out of my flat and caught the first bus going in which ever direction, and then another and another and another and at 5.30pm I am in Portsmouth (I was not murdered on route, in fact had several nice chats) walked around and found a B & B and booked in. You may find all that a little lightweight but it gives me the feeling of trust, I am in the hands of God – will I get home, will I have to sleep on the street, will I be murdered?
Early Jesus believers willingly died for their beliefs, when that went out of fashion people gave their lives as hermits which morphed into become a monk or nun. None of those appeal to me, I try my best to help others when I can, I say hello and welcome strangers and offer what help I can but is that just words, I can not say, so I get lost for my God. 
 

Laura’s Story

Why Jesus? I come from a long line of atheists and so admitting I believe in God came as a bit of a challenge. Experiencing God started at an early age for me. I went to a catholic school (only because it offered the best education) and so prayer and stories about Jesus were an everyday experience for me.

I remember when I was about nine or ten we had a phone call about my granddad. He was away on a family visit to Scotland when he had a serious heart attack and they weren’t sure he was going to survive. I remember praying to God and asking him to heal my granddad. It was a very powerful moment for me and I have always remembered it. My granddad did survive and returned to us. From that moment I believed that God existed in a childish way.

My story continues later as I approached adulthood. I was waiting to go to university when I heard what is often called a ‘small still voice’. I knew then that something was calling to me and the only point of reference I had was to knock on the door of the local convent and ask if they thought it could be Jesus. The lovely sensible nun that opened the door that day to me said I should continue to listen and explore this calling and that it would be a good idea if I didn’t run off to be with any mad sect or anything. I was completely taken aback but I took her advice and went off to university with an open mind. As soon as I got to university my first friend was a Christian. We got talking and she invited me to Christian union and I soon started to explore my faith. When i did finally accept god into my life I started to attend a Catholic church and I was able to be confirmed and that really cemented my faith journey.

My journey has really taken me through some rocky times. I am married with two beautiful but challenging children and I live a very comfortable life. I have a nice house, job, car, caravan and two very nutty Springer spaniels. On the outside we look a perfectly normal happy family. On the road to this we have had to overcome infertility, depression and breakdown. My husband suffered a serious breakdown not long after we adopted our sons’. The pressure of failed IVF and then gaining two children at once was a heavy burden to carry. I was very ill and depressed for a number of years and the stress of supporting me didn’t allow my husband to grieve. When we moved to be closer to my family my husband just cracked and he was ill for six months. I feel very blessed that Ian was healed so very quickly because most people never really fully recover from a breakdown. My husband is now very successful at what he does and he is happy and well and has learnt to manage his stress much more successfully. Only through God’s love and grace do I feel that this has been accomplished.

My eldest son has learning difficulties and behavioural problems and living with him is a daily challenge. Right now I am feeling the strain but even at this low ebb I know God has not abandoned me. I am catching little rays of light where God is ministering to my needs and this stops me from feeling like giving up. Life has been a challenge and at times the thought of plodding on makes me despair but on entering church , especially St Ed’s I feel God’s loving arms embrace me and give me hope for the future. Sharing my journey with my friends at church helps me greatly. What do they say ‘ a problem shared is a problem halved’. Today is just a blink in God’s eternal plan, whatever the future holds for me and my family we will not be alone. I pray that my story may be of use to you. Don’t give up continue on the journey of faith and we can be pilgrims on this journey together.

Ally Spreadbridge

Ally Spreadbridge joined St Edmund's as curate in 2007.

This is something of Ally's story:

"I was really delighted to learn recently that I have been offered the post of curate at St Edmunds to begin in September of next year.  This will coincide with the completion of my formation training at The South East Institute of Theological Education at Chatham and being ordained a deacon.

Going to a parish following ordination is always a special and important mile-stone in ministry and I look forward to the change and challenges it will bring. 

I should perhaps tell you a little about myself.  I am married to Paul, who is an Anglican priest and in parish ministry in the Rochester Diocese, we met while both serving in the Royal Navy, Paul as a medical service officer and me as a nurse. We have four grown up children, one girl and three boys, who now live in different parts of the country with their partners and children who are an endless source of delight!  I hope you will have the opportunity to meet them on their regular visits to . I will be moving into the curate’s house at St Edmunds when the time is right, this may bring challenges of its own, but I know Paul will support me and we will be together whenever we can.  

My secular work has been in the field of community care.  I am a qualified nurse but in recent years I have been an inspecting officer for adults and children in care working for the Commission for Social Care Inspection better known as CSCI.  I see this as a vital role in the community as it safeguards and protect the most vulnerable in society.  I will be leaving this work when I take up full time ministry.

My church tradition began as a child in the Congregational church now the URC, and has seen change over the years from central Anglican with a catholic ethos, to broad Anglican in a conservative worshipping and musical setting and again to a more open and enquiring church with plenty of community interaction and outreach. Often these have overlapped.  I hope my own experiences of faith and church to date will enrich the ministry that I can share with you at St Edmunds, and that in turn, I can learn from your experience of faith and church in Dartford. 

The Christian journey is never fully known and there is always the element of the unknown which lies ahead. The urging of the Holy Spirit prompts us to respond to God’s invitation and as the prompting grows it cannot be ignored.  I have responded to that calling to ordained ministry and I look forward to the unknown future I will share with you at St Edmund’s and I look forward to being with you in the not too distant future.

In God’s love,
Alison (Ally to my friends) "

Matt Mitchell

" Hi, I'm m@ da Goff, I've been told to write this thingy about how the church has changed my life, but I don't know where to start. Well, I think I'd start with how it changed my perception on life. I now have a different view on what life is about and how to pursue my dreams.

First of all St Edmund's and all the people inside its perimeter are great and they all help me and others whatever their background. They are a considerate and friendly bunch of people, they have all changed my life completely. They have changed my father's death ritual because before I started to go to church I used to get extremely drunk and then self-harm. But this year was different. Instead of doing what I normally do, the church and members of the congregation held a special service for me and my deceased father. I cannot thank them enough for this.

Second and thirdly they have supported me with quitting several things. For example I used to self-harm and drink excessively, and also I used to do drugs. Thanks to St Ed's I do not do any of these which is better for me and for those around me.
I also do several things in and around the church. For example I sing in the music group which I find really great, the people are really fun and they help me with my singing instead of criticizing me like I had for the majority of my life. It has been an extreme change in me and other people have noticed this too.

I would never have thought in a million years before I started going to St Edmund's that I would ever step a toe inside a church. But now I have surprised myself by actually enjoying church and thinking of the congregation as family.

I think St. Edmund's is a great place for anyone to go no matter the background, sexuality or culture, because we are all friendly fun people and if I have to sum up St Ed's in one word it will be CHANGE or FUN because change is fun."

Pam Turley

My youngest son went in the army at 16 and at 19, in 2003, he went to war in Iraq. He was in the front line. This was a terrible time for me and my husband. My son's friend was killed and my son's tank was shot at. We did not hear from our son but we watched the news constantly.  I went to church to my son's church to pray. I can't explain, but there was nothing there - doesn't that sound awful?

I did not know where to turn to, so I decided to go to the school where the services of St Edmund's were being held while the new church was being built. I went and sat quietly, I closed my eyes, then I could hear the congregation: they were praying for my son. They did not know him, I guess they had read about him in the paper. But they were praying for my son. An overwhelming sense of peace filled me, I knew from that moment that my son would come home safe and I thanked God for the prayers that were being said. 

That same day I went home and put the sky news on. I watched it all the time, I still had not heard from my son - he couldn't get in touch, he was at war. 
As I watched the news I could see some soldiers being interviewed in Iraq. I recognised one boy. I said to my husband: 'Look, he looks like Leon's friend'. Next I knew, my son was being interviewed!! Yes, it was my Leon, he was safe, he was staring at me through the TV. God had answered my prayers yet again.

When the new church was built I started to become a regular, I wanted more. I went away on holiday, as always we would visit different churches. I was sitting here in this church, deep in thought, thinking about all sorts of things in my life. Of how I have always looked after other people, and how long I had looked after children: I have four children, two stepchildren, their ages ranged from 20 to 35. I was a child minder having looked after over 30 children over the years, I looked after my mum, my best friend when she was ill; I dressed her and washed her and made her look nice when she died as I did my mum. I looked after my husband as he looked after me, I was not in such good health myself and my doctor kept telling me to stop work, but I needed something to carry on, so I never gave up.  Then, sitting in this church it just came to me that there was a me and it was time for me now. There and then I decided to go back to St Edmund's, my roots, and do what God wanted me to do, whatever it was.