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Three groups · nothing to read first
Come having read nothing. That's the normal way to arrive.
Every session starts from the text in the room, out loud, from the beginning. There is no homework, nobody checks, and turning up unprepared every week for a year would not once be remarked on.
Pick by when you're free, not by how much you know
Tuesday evening
Tuesdays 7:30–9:00pm
- The biggest group, about fourteen
- Where most new people start
- Tea from seven
- Finishes on the hour, properly
Thursday morning
Thursdays 10:00–11:30am
- Six or seven people, and quieter
- Children welcome and often there
- The slowest pace of the three
- Parking is easy at that hour
Sunday, straight after
Sundays 12:15–1:15pm
- Same building, no travelling
- One hour exactly, because of lunch
- The most arguing, cheerfully
- Nothing at all to bring
If none of those three work, say so on the form. A fourth group starts whenever four people want one, and that is genuinely how the last two began.
What an hour actually looks like
It gets read out first — By whoever wants to, in short pieces. Plenty of people never take a turn, and it isn't tracked
Then somebody asks something — Usually the leader, usually a dull-sounding question. The dull ones open up the most
Then it's open — Anybody talks. Long silences happen and nobody rushes in to fill them
Nothing gets concluded — There is no summary at the end telling you what you are now supposed to think
It stops on time — Always. People have buses, shifts and children, and running over is how you lose them
Some people stay on — Twenty minutes of tea and nothing to do with the text. This is where the friendships come from
Then somebody asks something — Usually the leader, usually a dull-sounding question. The dull ones open up the most
Then it's open — Anybody talks. Long silences happen and nobody rushes in to fill them
Nothing gets concluded — There is no summary at the end telling you what you are now supposed to think
It stops on time — Always. People have buses, shifts and children, and running over is how you lose them
Some people stay on — Twenty minutes of tea and nothing to do with the text. This is where the friendships come from
Nobody is asked to read or pray out loud
Reading aloud — Volunteers only. You are never gone round the circle, and there is no list
Praying aloud — The same. Some groups pray at the end and some don't, and joining in is never checked
Being asked a direct question — The leader doesn't do it. If somebody else does, "I'd rather listen" ends it
Saying nothing at all — Two people have come for years and said very little. They're regulars, not a problem to be fixed
Arriving late — Come in and sit down. Nobody looks up and nobody restarts the sentence for you
Leaving early — Sit near the door. It is the practical answer and it is what the door is for
Praying aloud — The same. Some groups pray at the end and some don't, and joining in is never checked
Being asked a direct question — The leader doesn't do it. If somebody else does, "I'd rather listen" ends it
Saying nothing at all — Two people have come for years and said very little. They're regulars, not a problem to be fixed
Arriving late — Come in and sit down. Nobody looks up and nobody restarts the sentence for you
Leaving early — Sit near the door. It is the practical answer and it is what the door is for
You can disagree, out loud, and nothing happens
A study group that everybody agrees in is a group where somebody has stopped saying what they think. So this gets said at the start of every new group, and it is meant literally.
If you think it's wrong — Say so, out loud, in the room. It is the most useful thing anybody does here
If you don't believe any of it — Then you're one of several. Nobody will work on you and nobody reports back
If the leader doesn't know — You get "I don't know" rather than something invented. It happens most weeks
If two people disagree — It stays a disagreement. Nothing is voted on and nobody has to concede at the end
What is not fine — Talking over somebody, or making one person the subject of the hour. That is the only rule there is
If you don't believe any of it — Then you're one of several. Nobody will work on you and nobody reports back
If the leader doesn't know — You get "I don't know" rather than something invented. It happens most weeks
If two people disagree — It stays a disagreement. Nothing is voted on and nobody has to concede at the end
What is not fine — Talking over somebody, or making one person the subject of the hour. That is the only rule there is
What this is not
It isn't a class — No syllabus, no exam, nothing to qualify for. Nobody is marking you and nobody can
It isn't counselling — If something heavy is going on, a room of fourteen is the wrong place for it. Say so and we'll point you at the right one
It isn't a membership — You're not on a list, you sign nothing, and stopping needs no explanation to anybody
It isn't only for believers — There is no doctrinal test at the door and there has never been one
It isn't a route to anything — Joining does not lead to being asked to volunteer, to give, or to take on a job
It isn't counselling — If something heavy is going on, a room of fourteen is the wrong place for it. Say so and we'll point you at the right one
It isn't a membership — You're not on a list, you sign nothing, and stopping needs no explanation to anybody
It isn't only for believers — There is no doctrinal test at the door and there has never been one
It isn't a route to anything — Joining does not lead to being asked to volunteer, to give, or to take on a job
That last one is said out loud because it is the quiet worry. Coming to a study group here has not once been the start of somebody being asked for money or a rota slot.
★★★★★
“I turned up having read nothing, said nothing, and went home. I did that for about two months. Nobody once mentioned it, and now I talk more than anyone.”
R. Nakamura
Tuesday group
★★★★★
“In week three I said I thought the whole passage was indefensible. The leader said go on. That is why I'm still here four years later.”
P. Osei
Sunday group
Ask about a group
This goes to whoever leads the group you pick, not to an office. You'll get a reply naming a specific date, and nothing is booked or expected by sending it.
Ask about a group
"Being asked to read out loud" is the most common answer to the third question by a distance. It is also the one thing on this page that can be promised outright: it does not happen.
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