Action
“He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6v8)
Welcome to your tasters for August.
Loving God cannot be separated from loving others in the Christian tradition. Jesus revealed God's love in acts of service. Our faith is more than a set of beliefs, it is something that is lived out. James tells us that 'faith without works is barren'. This month take time to think about how you live your life. Where are you expressing your faith in Godly action? Is God calling you to let go of anything in order to make space for new acts of love and service? As you reflect on your rhythm of life ask God to show you what he is calling you to prioritise. Remember to be realistic, we can't do everything, but we can find a balance between prayer and action. Let what you do become acts of worship as you offer them to God.
So, time to begin.
Experiencing the power of faith on the move - a month considering action:
Jesus calls us to love our neighbours as we love ourselves. In this month's guided exploration we start with Old Testament and Jewish insights into Godly action. We reflect on the relationship between law and grace; and the qualities of compassion and generosity. In the final week we will learn lessons from social action initiatives in our region:
Don't forget to book your place on this month's 'Meet the Chefs' session on 4th September, 2025. This session will be led by Rev Nic Harris
Doing - Get stuck in
In this section you can download simple, clear instructions on how to get started:
Ideas for encountering God through action
Look in the further resources section below to find out how to get involved with Street Pastors, Ministry Experience Scheme or Foodbanks if you are inspired by watching the videos.
Watching - Learning from others
We've asked people to try out some of practices to share their experiences of how they have helped them to connect with God in new ways:
Helen Harrison from Bristol Street Pastors speaks about how going out to minister to those who are enjoying the city night life has helped her faith to grow.
Heather Windows shares how a visit to the local foodbank helped her discover the church and to meet a new 'mate' who has transformed her life. Now she continues to find great joy in serving in the foodbank that first helped her.
Tristan Hagger tells how he moved from being an unsatisfied and hedonistic student to a joy filled follower of Christ. Tristan is a member of the Ministry Experience Scheme in Bristol Diocese.
Further resources and links
Spend a year exploring God's call in action
If you've been inspired by Tristan's story you can find out more about how you could get involved in the Church of England Ministry Experience Scheme here:
Volunteer with Street Pastors.
Find our more about Street Pastors here:
Volunteer at a Foodbank
To find our more about volunteering at your local foodbank we recommend doing a google search. There are many foodbanks across the diocese which can easily be found through an online search. For those near Avonside the button below will take you straight to the website for the foodbank that Heather volunteered at: