In responding to this question, we’ve yet to come up with an answer we’re entirely happy with.

Locally in West Cross and Mumbles it's usually enough to mention that Linden was begun by John Sampson. And now he’s an MBE there's more kudos than ever in using that particular connection! But further afield, where the heathen have not even heard of Sampson, it's not so easy.

Much of the language to do with church and being a follower of Jesus has been devalued and robbed of meaning through misuse, misunderstanding and caricature. At Linden we’re trying to reclaim some lost ground.

We're journeying together and it's proving to be quite an adventure! But through it all our overriding experience is one of being held by the uncompromising and relentless tenderness of God. We're holding on to him and each other.

We could, of course, be forgiven for suffering from a crisis of identity. The office at Linden regularly takes calls from those wanting to book a table for two at 7.30 pm thinking they are telephoning The Linden Tree pub. One primary school pupil went home and told her mum they'd had visitors in school to take assembly that day, from The Lynford Christie Centre.

But in the face of such confusion about who we are, one thing is certain. In the words of Mary Alice, the narrator of 'Desperate Housewives', the American series about the darker side of suburbia, "Human beings are designed for many things. Loneliness isn't one of them."

We're sticking together.