Aelred Fellowship (2:00pm)

Saint Aelred (1109-1167) is considered one of the most lovable saints, the patron saint of friendship. His feast day is January 12th.

Aelred was the Abbott of the Cistercian Abbey of Rievaulx in North Yorkshire. His treatise “On Spiritual Friendship” is still one of the best theological statements on the connection between human and spiritual love. “God is friendship… He who abides in friendship abides in God, and God in him,” he wrote, paraphrasing 1 John 4 v16.

Aelred was passionate about friendship. He describes friendship with eloquence in this often-quoted passage:

“It is no small consolation in this life to have someone you can unite with in an intimate affection and the embrace of a holy love, someone in whom your spirit can rest, to whom you can pour out your soul, to whose pleasant exchanges, as to soothing songs, you can fly in sorrow… with whose spiritual kisses, as with remedial salves, you may draw out all the weariness of your restless anxieties. A man who can shed tears with you in your worries, be happy with you when things go well, search out with you the answers to your problems, whom with the ties of charity you can lead into the depths of your heart; . . . where the sweetness of the Spirit flows between you, where you so join yourself and cleave to him that soul mingles with soul and two become one.”

We represent a diversity of denominations and our hope is to grow together through friendship made in Christ.
We meet together on the first Thursday of the month & on this occasion we are meeting in the upstairs lounge at Stokesley Methodist Church at 2.00pm till 4.00pm.

If you have an interest in ecumenism or would like to find out more about the Christian faith and its diversity, then join us for one of our informal and social sessions. This is a time for reflection and Bible Study, sharing thoughts and seeking answers.

All are welcome to come and spend time with friends and fellow church members.