A godmother’s nurture
Ruth Vaughan, church warden at Christ Church, Eaton, has four god-children. It’s a while since their baptisms and they’re now young adults but, as well as praying for them, she still does her best to be a nurturing Christian presence in their lives.
“I’ve always wanted them to know that I’m there for them,” she says.
When they were children, she’d send holiday postcards firmly addressed to them (not their parents!) and make every effort to see them. But Alexandra grew up in Yorkshire and though Ruth remembers cradling her on her lap in Norwich Cathedral during her own son’s Confirmation, it was really when Alexandra’s mum died tragically early that Ruth’s godmothering came into its own. Early on, Christmas and birthday gifts had been colourful books telling biblical stories – Noah, maybe, or the Good Samaritan. But then, talking often and in depth with her grieving 21-year-old god-daughter, Ruth was able to offer gifts of solace and support.
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A royal anointing
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Eco Church journey
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Faith in the family
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Take my yoke upon you…
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A nurturing environment for growth
“I wanted to offer something last year to mark the ‘Prayerful’ focus of the Diocesan Vision,” writes Eleanor Langan, Rector of St Helen’s, Norwich and Chaplain of The Great Hospital, “so I invited Susanna Gunner to lead her “Pondering Prayer” morning here.
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