Gornal and Sedgley confirmands

Last weekend, Bishop Alan Winton confirmed candidates from the parishes of Gornal and Sedgley and Kingswinford at All Saints’ Church in Sedgley.  We asked the candidates from All Saints to tell us about their journey to confirmation and the difference their faith has made to their lives.

Andy Ellwood

Andy was Christened as a child but hadn’t attended Church in many years. He was on holiday in Torbay when he looked out of a window and saw sunlight reflecting from a cross on the top of a church roof and felt something calling to him. He said:

“When I got back home, I went to All Saints’ Church one Sunday and it felt like coming home. I have never felt so welcomed and it quickly felt like family. Since then, I’ve become more and more involved, for example starting to help with bellringing. My faith has changed dramatically over the last year, and I really feel the presence of God with me. I reaffirmed my baptism vows on the celebration of the Baptism of Christ and wanted to do more to reinforce my commitment to faith. It feels like a calling for me to live life as a Christian.”

Laura Foster

Laura was also Christened as a child and although she didn’t grow up in a religious family, she studied Christianity as part of a Counselling and Religious ethics degree. A couple of years ago, there was a period of ill health for a couple of her family members, and she felt called to go into a church. Laura said:

“I tried three different churches but wasn’t able to get into any of them! Then I emailed Diane to see if she could open All Saints for me. I met her there and she allowed me to sit for a while before we had a chat. I began coming regularly, first to the 8am service and then to the 11am service. To start with, I was very thrown by the change in my beliefs, it all felt very new, but it has definitely changed my life and I now feel like something is with me all the time.”

Laura’s husband has recently surprised her by enabling them to renew their wedding vows in church and often comes to the family service with Laura and their daughter.

“Our daughter is five years old and has autism so often struggles with new and loud things. When we first started coming to the family service, we used to take her out during the hymns because she struggled, but now she goes up to the front with Diane to do the actions! I believe I found my faith to help her with hers – she has a Jesus doll which she carries around, and she loves reading bible stories together. When she’s suffering with night terrors I’ll say a prayer over her and in the past she’s said she’s had a dream about Jesus. I really feel we help each other as we explore faith further and it was important to me to make a public demonstration of my faith and who I am now.”

Nicola Machin

Nicola attended All Saints Church as a child. Her Mum was a Christian and she used to go into church with school and Rainbows and Brownies. However, as she grew older, she questioned and moved away from her faith. Then in 2021 her son was born at 29 weeks and both he and Nicola were critically ill in hospital.  Nicola said:

“It was a hugely traumatic time. I hadn’t even seen my son and was told that he might not survive. However, as sat in the hospital bed, I had an overwhelming feeling that everything was going to be OK; that there was something in the room with me and was also watching over Reuben – that brought me a lot of comfort.”

When Nicola was discharged, her son was still in Intensive Care. He’d had numerous brain surgeries, and she and her partner were told to be prepared that he might not make it to his first birthday.

“I went into church, lit a candle and said a prayer and went back to the hospital with renewed hope that God was looking after Reuben. I used to ask God to put angels on the four corners of his hospital cot – I found that gave me the strength to go home and sleep myself. Reuben came through that period and although he still has many challenges, he’s doing incredibly well. We brought him to the pancake party at All Saints last year and he really enjoyed himself. We then heard about the family services and thought it would be somewhere where we could all go together. Reuben can be quite vocal and we wanted somewhere where we wouldn’t be judged – it’s just felt right.”

“I’m so grateful to God for giving us the gift of Reuben and saving both our lives to continue on our journey together. He’s carried us through some awful times, and my faith has helped me to let some things go, forgive what has happened and move on. We are so blessed to have found All Saints which is so welcoming and accepting and being confirmed feels like giving something back.”

Karen Jones

Karen was Baptised as a baby, went to Sunday School as a child and as she grew up, attended services as an adult, at another church. She hadn’t been to church for several years and was looking for a new church.

She said: “One Sunday, I decided to go to a service at All Saints and immediately felt warmly welcomed by Revd Diane and members of the congregation. I instinctively knew that this was her new home and the right place to continue my journey of faith. Confirmation is an important step to further reinforce my sense of belonging at All Saints Church.”

Gornal and Sedgley parish

Kath Apperley has been a member of All Saints for over 40 years and has been helping to prepare the candidates for confirmation. She says that becoming a renewal church has been the opportunity for a fresh start:

“There is real momentum now to reach out to children and young people and there is a hopeful feel that our church is again becoming a place of life as we pass God’s love from one generation to another.  It has been a wonderful blessing to be part of helping prepare our candidates for confirmation and share in their journey.” The Revd Diane said: “It’s great to see families walking into church for the first time or for the first time in a while. Many of them remember All Saints from when they were children and want to bring their own children in too. We thank God for all he is currently doing in our parish.”