Short Articles by our Members

Joe Fahd had a miraculous escape on a mountainside in Northern Ireland recently when he had to be rescued by helicopter, but he was not the first . . .

Lest you strike your foot against a stone . . .

I don't remember the date of Ascension Thursday when I was 17, but I do know that we had the day off school, and that I went to visit my friend Peter, so that we could play golf. To get to the course, he had pulled out his sister's old bike, and while I walked he rode the bike carrying our golf clubs.

We weren't very good at golf, but the game was fun, and before we set off back, with me on the bike this time, I asked to have a go, without the clubs, as I'd never ridden this "girl's" bike.

I rolled forward and was getting the hang of it, when I tried to put on the brakes. Nothing happened, and ahead was a "T-junction" where you had to turn left or right or fall down a cliff!

I was going too fast to turn, and I didn't want to hit the tree straight in front of me, "in case I hurt myself", so I went straight off the edge of the cliff.

.

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The next thing I remember, I was lying on my back, without the bike, and I just automatically said a couple of prayers, "Our Father", "Glory be", as we Catholics did back then. I also remember humming the tune of the Hollies hit song, "I'm alive" (it's probably somewhere on YouTube now).

Peter came running to the edge, convinced that I'd been killed by the drop. He was relieved to hear my voice calling out "Get an ambulance!"

The lady from the golf club came to offer me some brandy, but what might have been fun (and illegal!) half an hour earlier had no attraction for me. The ambulance came, and the police, who pronounced that I had fallen 70 feet, (22 metres) straight down.

According to the ambulance crew, I'd probably broken both my legs and was lucky it had been so little. They stretchered me into a rather scruffy little ambulance, not at all the tall gleaming one I'd expected, and we drove to the hospital. The doctors and nurses rushed to check me out, and to my embarrassment proceeded to cut off my trousers, so they could have a good look at my legs. I had x-rays and an injection for shock, but nothing was broken.

It was almost disappointing, and Peter's parents were very relieved when they drove us back to his home to watch Top of the Pops. I began to feel a bit queasy, and when they took me home, I slept badly and didn't bother going in to school on Friday.

I've thought about that day several times since, and realised that I could very well have died instantly, or else broken my back and lived in hospital from then on. I don't know why I was spared.

There is no clear reason why I escaped with only cuts and bruises, after such a fall, except that He commands His angels and "on their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone."

In a certain sense all my life, since the age of 17 has been a special gift, so it's my job to make use of it the way He wants me to. But He has to help me.

Men of faith, living in households, challenged my shaky faith.

by Michael Rossi

You might ask me why I'm part of this community of people of different church backgrounds. For me, Antioch has been an important and essential part in my coming to give my life to God. That's a process and journey which never stops, but my story involves a realisation that I was called to do something in life, and a Fijian celibate brother whose wisdom had a big impact on me!

I grew up in a Catholic family in Scotland, went to church regularly, and never really stopped going or believing. But I don't think I really understood the need for a personal relationship with God. I came to London in 1998 to study music, which was a great few years. But I experienced myself becoming more distant from a meaningful relationship with God. My attitudes to money, relationships and other things were becoming more free and easy and disconnected with my faith. It was in my second year at university that I met the student outreach of Antioch. Hearing one of them speak I recognised a Scottish accent, and so, being reminded of home, decided to introduce myself!

I was gradually introduced to their activities and life, seeing some of the men living together in a house, and praying and sharing and supporting each other; experiencing their prayer and the fact that they saw life was more than just a series of unconnected events and happenings. I guess what struck me most was their very lively faith in God and the love they had for people. They were genuine, and took an interest in me. Upon leaving university I wasn't sure what to do or where to live. They invited me to live with a couple of the other guys, in a 'household' - a place where the guys prayed together in the morning, shared meals together and tried to live a life together rather than just be a flat share.

I was reticent at first, unsure in particular about sharing a room with 3 other guys (two sets of bunk beds!). But it was one of the most formative years of my life. Getting into the routine of prayer, learning to create space to read the Bible and listen to God, and increasing in patience and love by living with others in close proximity. They say iron sharpens iron, and I felt I was sharpened that year. The number of meals and parties was immense, and I lost count of how many people came through our doors.

I was unemployed for a significant part of that year, which really tested my ability to trust in God's working in my life, but through that experience I came to hear the call to do two years' mission work with the community's student outreach. Never having considered myself capable of 'mission', here I was doing it full time! And being able to give to others, in the same way that others spent time listening and caring and being alongside me, was a great blessing.

Being involved with the student outreach and getting increasingly involved with the community, I had an environment where I could be supported in my faith, where I could share honestly and deeply all my joys and struggles and live out that vision of Christian life which had attracted me when I first met them. So, it made so much sense to want to continue with this after my mission work finished. As a result I chose to become a member of the Antioch community, and have been so for several years now.

I now work for the BBC, and am very much involved with the Antioch community and my local church. What continues to attract me to this way of life? Being able to share deeply and honestly and be encouraged in my faith, in particular through "sharing groups", is a wonderful blessing. And to have a place where I can serve others and have good teaching and input means I'm not standing still in my journey with God. And the deep and meaningful relationships I've formed (which will be for life) are an amazing blessing. In this world where so much is transitory, this is important.

"Sharing groups" are single sex support groups which meet, usually fortnightly, for prayer and encouragement.

God called me, but I had to choose to accept!

by Dominic Perrem

Hi, my name's Dominic, I'm 28 and a member of the Antioch community. I am a Roman Catholic, and have been in community since, when I was six, my parents joined a related community in Dublin, Ireland (where I'm from).

My testimony really begins from the start of my life, as I had the privilege of being raised in a loving and committed Christian family. The best way to describe my parents joining a lay community like Antioch is: they wanted to go a step further in their faith. We went to Church on Sunday, but we were also in this community of Christians who lived near each other, supported each other, prayed and lived out a call to a form of discipleship- a lay community. It's a call to be 'in the world, not of it' (gospel of John), living normal lives but aiming to do more in God through our fellowship together.

The Christian walk starts at baptism which, for me, was childhood. But there were key points of decision-making in adult life where I have chosen for God over something else. For these choices, I'm very grateful. It is why I'm a part of Antioch, and the church as a whole. When I was a college student, having slipped into the lifestyle of just hanging out, partying and having various girlfriends, things had gotten pretty bad for me. I had utterly no direction that I cared about and had nothing but myself to think about. It felt pretty empty. I wanted to be challenged at the end of college.  I was desperate for more of God, and was very blessed to find water in my desert: I had the chance to go on a gap year where I served young people in different countries (as a youth-worker), assisting a very good man whose job was to develop youth programs.

All of us have a desire for answers - a desire for God. I struggled to think I would merely follow my parents. Mostly, reaching adulthood, this gap year was a chance to find out if God was 'real' for me. Despite having good Christian teaching in my youth and good friendships with other Christians, I needed to go abroad and search for God away from what I knew - this gap year was that opportunity. I worked from London for the year, and settled here afterwards. I wanted to give community a shot and start my career (publishing), so I decided to stay on in London to push those envelopes.

That decision, to go for community life, and tie myself down to it, was a huge step. It was part of the process of getting to know God, I realise. I was now going to be committed and answerable to my brothers and sisters in Antioch (previously, I was on the fringes). I would be praying with them, meeting my small group to share about my life and support them and be personal and open with God through these relationships.

There are ways we need to choose for the Lord in life. Some of us need to think our way through all our objections before we can let God touch our hearts. Some of us meet the Lord directly when we meet another person who shows us something we know we are missing. I always knew the Lord, and wanted to have more of him. However, there were fears- growing pains in making those choices for real. Things that make you want to freeze, or run away. There could be fear that you will lose some part of your identity with God. He might ask you to change your life - all of us would be afraid of that! In reality, the Lord is a tender, tender loving Father, who wants the best for his children. Whatever he asks, it's in a love deeper and more for our own good than we can understand. With that in mind, I can commit my life to others here in Antioch, and know he's the boss of all of us. There's no fear in that.

People will always let us down, just like we let ourselves down. That might be an argument for staying away from deeper commitments to others. However, if you let God rule your life and give him your pain and your joy, if you believe he's there guiding you in good and bad times, that he will never leave you, then giving your life to others in community works. Giving ten percent of your finances - giving away all the things you want to hold on to - makes sense: you're not the boss, it's not yours anyway. As it says in Scripture 'it is no longer I who live, but Christ living in me.' Sounds weird, right? But not when you start to know Christ- he made you and wants to be with you.

Don't get me wrong, it's still frightening to keep going- not for yourself but for the others! When I head out to lead my youth group, when I pick up the Bible to pray or take time to be with someone for their sake, not mine, I'm still scared of giving myself fully to it for God's sake. It's easy to step back and 'not be sure' in life. I still do it. But God is someone worth taking every chance for. It's true that, if you give things away, they come back in another way- a way you won't expect. As a 28 year old man, just married in 2008 to the woman of my dreams, I'm just blessed he has led me, through his Spirit, to a place where I'm with Antioch and on this journey.

It's more of a blessing than words can describe, really. Like music, or something like a feeling of joy that flutters around when you think about it. Hope some of you reading this will join us someday!                                      - Dominic Perrem

What God has been saying to me over the last year

By Karen Mascarenhas  

Therefore the LORD waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you.  For the LORD is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him. For a people shall dwell in Zion, in Jerusalem; you shall weep no more. He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry. As soon as he hears it, he answers you. And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your Teacher will not hide himself anymore, but your eyes shall see your Teacher. And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, "This is the way, walk in it," when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left. Isaiah 30: 18-21

As you have probably gathered Antioch is part of an international group of communities called the Sword of the Spirit. I come from one such community in Mumbai, India. A year and a half ago I left Mumbai to pursue higher education in London. Coming to the UK was a completely different experience for me. Coming from a culture of warm and friendly people it was difficult to get used to a lonely life in London. Added to it was the not so pleasant weather. I remember wondering how I would cope for the next year. God obviously had plans for me and a week into my course I met some girls from Antioch's university outreach (Koinonia) and went along to their weekly meeting. One of the first things that struck me was the welcoming nature of these students which was such a refreshing change from what I had seen in London.

My first experience with Antioch was at the community anniversary weekend. I didn't really know what to expect and wondered if they were anything like the community I was part of in India. To my surprise I found they were so much like my community back home with people being warm and loving. That weekend really made me sit back and think I was so blessed to be part of the Sword of the Spirit and to have found community in London.

Since then God has brought me a long way.  Initially I never thought I would have much time to invest with Koinonia or Antioch because of my intense course and the fact that I lived in north east London. However, going along to Koinonia meetings and during my prayer time, I began to realise that there was more to life than just focussing on my degree. That changed the way I managed my time and I began to see that the minute I had God as my top priority (Koinonia events, community etc), my assignments, exams, dissertations all fell into place. What was even more amazing was how well I was able to do in them. Through it all I slowly learnt how God wanted me to trust in him totally which is something I have always struggled with. This was something I learnt more of in the months following my degree.

I felt God calling me to serve him in Koinonia after my degree and thought I would be able to do it while I got a job. However as the months drew on it was more and more difficult to find a job and I had trouble with a visa as well. I ended up doing a lot more time with Koinonia than I had planned. This involved connecting with Christian students at university and I found God really blessing me in this work and my ability to reach out to students. I was happy serving God in this way but constantly questioned and doubted if this was where God wanted me to be especially since I had no visa and hadn't found a job yet.

Although it was really difficult, I felt a sense to "have faith" and I had a number of scripture verses that said the same. However being the kind of person who always liked things done my way and who hated uncertainty, I found this very difficult to handle. As I look back I've seen that even though I was going through a difficult time in another country away from family, I wasn't alone. It was so reassuring to know that I had the support, prayers of the community here in London. I am thankful for God's provision in ways like that.

His provision and his love for his people never ends and  exactly when I desperately needed answers about how I was going to be able to carry on in London, I received my visa a full two weeks before it was actually due.  God's provision didn't stop there and just after Christmas when I returned to London really low on funds to survive, I was offered a job with Koinonia.  In addition I also have an opportunity to work in a laboratory a few hours a week and get UK based lab experience.

This was just after I had this scripture verse during my prayer time Isaiah 30: 18 - 21 on how God is waiting to be gracious to me. I've realised through this experience that what God really wanted me to do was serve him fully and leave the rest up to him. I feel so blessed and happy. It has not been an easy thing to learn but I've realised it's God's plan for my life that's important and not my own because he knows best. It's about fitting myself in HIS plan.

Karen Mascarenhas

Why I am a member of Antioch

by Arthur Delargy

You have probably already gathered that Antioch is a charismatic, covenant, ecumenical Christian community, based in West London, and part of a community of communities throughout the world, known as the Sword of the Spirit.

I've been a member of Antioch for over 20 years now, having first come into contact with community through one of its outreaches based at the University of London, where I was studying.

I can think of many reasons why I decided to join Antioch, not least the blessing of being able to find 'a place to stand' with men and women who were, and are, constant in faith, hope and love, having a vision to be a bulwark and a place of refuge, and a desire to make Jesus known in this generation. But, I always come back to one thing, something that makes Antioch, though numerically a small community, a significant, unique and prophetic expression of God's love for His people, and that's our ecumenical call - a call to live out Christian unity with integrity.

I was born in 1968, in Ballymena, N. Ireland - the year the modern-day 'troubles', as they are euphemistically called, began. I was brought up in a strong Catholic family, in a small farming community. All the other villages around us were all Catholic, and also quite strongly republican. To say that I had a parochial upbringing would be true in its fullest sense. Anti-protestant feeling was very strong in our local community. The sense of distrust, suspicion and hostility was not helped by the segregation of the Protestant and Catholic communities in Northern Ireland. In my case, I was 17 years old when I met my first Protestant. In many ways this was a watershed, the guy was perfectly normal (we went on to be close friends when we went to college in London) so my 'worldview', such as it was at the age of 17, was challenged for the first time.

A year later, when I left home to study in London, the Lord started to 'stretch my tent pegs' even further. I became involved in University Christian Outreach (UCO), a student Christian group at the University of London, (now called Koinonia) mainly through the persistence and faithfulness of a few men. Even back in 1986 the university environment was a hostile place for Christians. This group was unique among the student Christian societies in providing a place for Protestants and Catholics to serve and worship together, a place where I quickly felt spiritually 'at home'. Later on I discovered that UCO was an outreach of the West London Community, a group of Christians of all denominations, including many families and single people, as well as a lay brotherhood, seeking to live out the call to Christian unity in their day to day lives. The theologians call this 'grassroots evangelism' - it's a precious thing, which comes out of recognising that, as fellow members of the Body of Christ we have a relationship with and an obligation to each other. I regret that it's taken me half my life to realise this. In 1988, I made a public commitment to join the West London Community (now called Antioch). That night was significant for me and for the Community too - at the time the senior leader of the Community was a Protestant from Northern Ireland, and I was the first Northern Irish Catholic to join. On the same evening a Singhalese from Sri Lanka joined, crossing another divide, and taking his place worshipping side by side with several Sri Lankan Tamils, who at that time formed a significant contingent of the West London Community.

Paul wrote, regarding reconciliation of Jew and Gentile in Ephesians 2:14-16
"For He himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in His flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in Himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which He put to death their hostility."

In Antioch we attempt to live out our life together because of what we've got in common - we receive from the same place - the Lord Jesus. At the same time we try to understand our differences, showing charity and humility in our dealings with one another, and supporting each other in being faithful members of our own churches and traditions. This is not cheap and not always easy, but as Psalm 133 says, when we dwell in unity, God commands a blessing, and this is my experience of 20 years living in this charismatic, covenant, ecumenical Christian community called Antioch.