"They will soar on wings like eagles" Isaiah 40:31b
Some of you will know that both Dave and myself come from broken marriages. This terrible time from being in a relationship through separation and divorce was made bearable by the tremendous support given mainly by Christian friends, many from St George's. Since we have been together we have both held the firm belief that God has been calling us into the marriage ministry in some way. We have waited sometimes patiently, sometimes not, for Him to make us aware of His purpose for us. There have been a few false starts that in retrospect were clearly what we wanted to do rather than God's intention for us. Then earlier in 2003 we came across an advertisement in 'The Door' for people to train as Aquila Co-ordinators. The advertisment leaped off the page at us and this time we both knew it was what God was calling us to do. We have prayed over this and had affirmation from many Christian friends that this is the right way forward for us.
The Aquila Care Trust is a small Christian charity that runs self-help groups for those who are separated, divorced r have come through a broken relationship. Although the self-help groups are run by Christians their primary concern is showing God's love in their care and acceptance of the course members, not evangelism. However, spirituality is touched on during the sessions in a very gentle and non-threatening way. If anyone expresses an interest in knowing more, we would suggest ways in which they could explore more fully.
Aquila was formed in 1991 by a group of church members in East Sussex who had all experienced a marriage breakdown. They had a series of weekly meetings with Canon Andrew Cornes who was researching for a book on divorce and remarriage. Much healing was received during these discussions and it became obvious that there were many others in great pain after broken relationships that would benefit from similar groups. So Aquila was born.
We have talked to Fr John at each step while taking prayerful steps towards training. First we had to attend a phase one course to make sure we had no personal baggage that would get in the way of this work and to experience what being a group member feels like. This was a very positive experience for us both. During October 2003 we attended two weekends of very intensive training to become co-ordinators. Thankfully we have been accepted by Aquila and are now in a position to set up a phase one self-help group in Newbury. At the present time, the nearest courses are in Maidstone or Bristol so there is a real need in this area.
We will be running regular courses at St Georges Annexe from May 2004 onwards. For more information about the courses or about the work of Aquila in general please contact:
Aquila Care Trust central office 01892 665524 or e-mail
Chris & Dave Hill