In September-December, a season when people move into the city to start new studies and jobs, we especially want to focus on being a super-welcoming family.

More than half of Londoners find that the capital is a lonely place to live. That’s not just for cliché housebound older adults; new reports show it’s more likely to be people between 18 to 30 years old. People can feel lonely in London. And people can feel lonely in church. So, this season is designed to significantly reverse that. New York Times bestselling author Brene Brown has said, “A deep sense of love and belonging is an irreducible need of all people.”

Our belong term is about creating safe places for weary pilgrims to be real, to admit failure, to explore shortcomings, and rejoice in the gospel’s transforming power. Groups dig into the recent Sunday preach and passage, applying it to our lives, sharing as honestly and openly as people present are comfortable.

During this term we also run clusters, gatherings where several Life Groups get together to be trained in one particular aspect of belong. So far we have looked at good listening and understanding our families of origin, and their impact on us and others.