Jesus said "I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, 21 that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one, 23 I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

I read these words from chapter 17 of St. John's gospel at the morning service in the cathedral today. The weekday service at the cathedral is a wonderful way to start the day, even if it is terribly early! The chapel of St. Thomas has been a place of prayer since 1185 and it is a wonderful place to sit and be still or worship in. One of the things which has struck me quite powerfully since starting at the Cathedral is both the sense of rhythm of the place in terms of the daily round of worship and alongside that the sense of community that this engenders (good word that, engender).

If you have read my previous blog post which was my sermon from last Sunday evening you will see that the idea of community is rattling around my brain at the moment - possibly due to my having joined several new ones recently, a new job, new colleagues, new congregations, new neighbourhood, new city, new gym and new friends too. Not all of these are Christian communities of course, but they are all places where God dwells.

Occasionally when reading at this morning service words jump out at me and usually cause me to stumble my words or do and say the wrong thing at the wrong time - much to certain colleagues dismay! What struck me very forcibly this morning were the verses I've put at the start of this post. Jesus seems to be saying that if the world sees Christians as one body, one community with God then they will understand something about God and God's love for all people. There is something very powerful about this. The church is worried about falling attendances and continuing arguments about whether the UK is a Christian country or not. Endless debates are held about mission and how to engage with the World. Maybe we need to start by engaging with each other properly first - goodness knows very few churches get that right even though every church will tell you what a wonderful, friendly community they are!

Maybe the impact of Christian groups or congregations who fall under the 'Fresh Expressions of Church' label such as Messy Church or Cafe Church etc. are successful because they do this - manage to create community and community in a way which enables people to see the love and unity between God the Father and God the Son. For more on Fresh Expressions see this article from yesterdays Guardian Newspaper

Ultimately, as always seems to be the case with the Christian faith, it is all about relationships. So in my role as Canon at Portsmouth Cathedral responsible for growth maybe one of the ways to achieve this is to look at strengthening and building up the community there, so that we may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me, and that we may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

Of course aiming to achieve that perfect unity which exists between Father, Son and Holy Spirit may seem impossible but it is clear that is what we should aspire to. A tall order and how to achieve it? Answers on a post card please...... (or in the comments, thanks!).