Birmingham Post and Mail, Report by Anthony Casey

February 2000

The dating game has been made that little bit easier in time for Valentines Day, following the launch of a Christian introduction agency.  Friends First is the brainchild of Katharine Gray.  She set up the group in January to help single Christians of all ages find friendship, and maybe even romance. She has won praise for her efforts from the local clergy, including the Rev James Langstaff, soon to be Rector of Sutton Coldfield’s Holy Trinity Church.

He welcomed the project, saying it would promote the Christian ideal of friendship among a wider circle of people whose hectic lives leave little time for socialising. He said: “The main target group is young adults who are very often in high pressured jobs and involved in church life. They quite often find themselves in churches where there are only a small number of their own age group and these things can make a person feel isolated.”

And Rev Langstaff does not believe the safety of integrity of members will be compromised by the blind date format of the meetings. As far as he is concerned, the people who are joining the group are adults capable of making their own decisions. “It has been carefully put together in such a way that it is entirely in the hands of people involving themselves so there should be no problems,” he said.

Friends First has a strict policy of confidentiality, with embers required to prove who they are before they are allowed to join.