Holy Week and Easter Week are always such a busy time in church life and yet it is busy precisely because it is a time when we set aside time to prepare ourselves for Christ's death and resurrection.
To enter into the mystery of Easter is to travel joyfully in the Palm Sunday procession; hesitantly through the darkness of Maundy Thursday, the deep sorrow of Good Friday, and the stillness of Holy Saturday, and to step with confidence into the beautiful dawn of Easter Sunday.
This year my Easter journey has been blessed by a special Eucharist with the Bishop and other ordinands on Holy Wednesday, an all night vigil with a group of teenage friends on Maundy Thursday, the privilege of leading a Good Friday meditative service at my home church and a wonderful Easter morning service full of life and gratitude at St Mary's where we welcomed two new members to our church family in Baptism.
But the journey is doesn't end when we reach the Bank Holiday, or even when I go back to work tomorrow. As Jerome Berryman would say, Easter is such a great mystery that it cannot be kept to one day or even one week, but spills over into the coming weeks as we continue to live in the light of the Resurrection.
"This is the resurrection, that in his death we have come to know life and can freely offer our life to God."
I hope and pray that whatever you are doing and wherever you are each of you is having a peaceful and blessed Easter.
Monday, 25 April 2011
Sunday, 17 April 2011
Spiritual Disciplines
The theme for our Easter School was Spiritual Disciplines and over the 6 days we looked at Prayer and Fasting, Thanksgiving and Celebration, Silence, Obedience and Submission, Sacrifice and Simplicity. Each theme was supported by academic study, practical work, Bible study small group discussion and worship.
Looking back over the week as a whole I have been thinking about how my life experience so far has shaped my understanding of these things and how they are shaping me and will shape my future ministry. I guess I am not alone in finding some easier than others, and I struggle with the way concepts like Submission and Sacrifice can be misrepresented and abused so that they become oppressive rather than life giving.
But I promised to say something about the discipline of silence...
I am not very good at it!
In fact, although I need and much appreciate silence space and stillness in my life, On Thursday I was in the very difficult position of being in a community of people who were spending the entire day (meals and all) in silence, on a day when what I wanted most to do was stomp and shout!
I have to add that shouting is something I do far less of than silence and stillness, however, not wanting to disturb other's silence I decided mid morning to put my walking boots on and take myself off for a long walk.
For the most part I did walk in silence and solitude and I spent half an hour in a beautiful village church in silent prayer.
So far so good, but then I climbed a tree and I spent half an hour sat in tree shouting my prayer very loudly - much to the surprise of a poor dog walker who must have thought I was completely crazy!
But,
The silence in which I climbed down the tree and walked the few miles back to School was far more profoundly peaceful following my shouting.
The following morning our Bible Study was 1 Kings 19. The story of the Lord coming to Elijah in the "still small voice" or as the New Century Version put it "a quiet gentle sound". (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Kings%2019&version=NCV)
I wonder if Elijah would have noticed the that soft and silent presence had it not been in such contrast to the storm and commotion that went before? I wonder if I would have been able to enter so profoundly into God's presence on my walk back had I not also gone through the storm?
So I'd like to put in a plea for shouting as a spiritual discipline. Although I'd make the tree climbing optional...
Looking back over the week as a whole I have been thinking about how my life experience so far has shaped my understanding of these things and how they are shaping me and will shape my future ministry. I guess I am not alone in finding some easier than others, and I struggle with the way concepts like Submission and Sacrifice can be misrepresented and abused so that they become oppressive rather than life giving.
But I promised to say something about the discipline of silence...
I am not very good at it!
In fact, although I need and much appreciate silence space and stillness in my life, On Thursday I was in the very difficult position of being in a community of people who were spending the entire day (meals and all) in silence, on a day when what I wanted most to do was stomp and shout!
I have to add that shouting is something I do far less of than silence and stillness, however, not wanting to disturb other's silence I decided mid morning to put my walking boots on and take myself off for a long walk.
For the most part I did walk in silence and solitude and I spent half an hour in a beautiful village church in silent prayer.
So far so good, but then I climbed a tree and I spent half an hour sat in tree shouting my prayer very loudly - much to the surprise of a poor dog walker who must have thought I was completely crazy!
But,
The silence in which I climbed down the tree and walked the few miles back to School was far more profoundly peaceful following my shouting.
The following morning our Bible Study was 1 Kings 19. The story of the Lord coming to Elijah in the "still small voice" or as the New Century Version put it "a quiet gentle sound". (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Kings%2019&version=NCV)
I wonder if Elijah would have noticed the that soft and silent presence had it not been in such contrast to the storm and commotion that went before? I wonder if I would have been able to enter so profoundly into God's presence on my walk back had I not also gone through the storm?
So I'd like to put in a plea for shouting as a spiritual discipline. Although I'd make the tree climbing optional...
The week that was: Easter School 2011
I am just back from Easter school. From lectures and inspiring Bible Study to group work, prayer, practical skills, a day spent in silent retreat (almost - more on that tomorrow...) and an amazing leaving party with the 3rd years; such a busy and thought provoking week needs far more digestion time than I have yet been able to give it but as I reflect on the experience over the coming days I will try to give you a flavour of what this has all been like.
Tonight all I can say is that I am exhausted and my head is still buzzing with new things.
We were asked to sum up our experiences of the week in small groups as TWEETs - short statements about 140 characters long.
My group wrote Being away, being together, just being.... being closer to God.
But I just loved the way another of the groups summed up the week:
"I AM was and we were still"!
Tonight all I can say is that I am exhausted and my head is still buzzing with new things.
We were asked to sum up our experiences of the week in small groups as TWEETs - short statements about 140 characters long.
My group wrote Being away, being together, just being.... being closer to God.
But I just loved the way another of the groups summed up the week:
"I AM was and we were still"!
Saturday, 9 April 2011
No Comment?
Several of you have mentioned that you have had trouble getting started with commenting on my blog. Here is how to get started:
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Click on the title of the blog - this will open the blog page
If you have a gmail or AIM or similar account you can click on the "sign in" tab (top right) and enter your username and password.
If you don't have an account it is fairly easy to create one by following the steps at
https://www.google.com/accounts/NewAccount
You need to enter your email address and create a username and password. You will get an email asking you to confirm that your do want to set up an account. Click on the link in that email and follow the instructions. Then, when you click on the blog you will be able to use the user name and password you have selected to sign in. When you are signed in you can comment on any blog entry by typing in the comment box below each blog. If you are still having trouble I'm happy to help.
Easter School
Well I am sat in Starbucks having a coffee and making a mental list of everything I need to pack. Tomorrow after the APCM I am off to Easter School; a whole week secluded from the world to be with God and with other students. I'm looking forward with a combination of excitement and anxiety, to an exhausting mix of learning, worship, fellowship and hopefully fun. Given how tiring our weekend residentials are I suspect I will need to sleep for a week on my return!
As daunting as it seems I know that it is also a huge privilege to be able to take a week off work and spend quality time with God and with the others students who are also on this strange journey to ordination. It will be good too to get to know some of those students in the 2nd and 3rd year a little better. The year groups have different residential weekends so there are only a few occasions in the year when we all meet up but everyone attends Easter School together. Of those 2nd and 3rd years I have spoken to at seminars, the mere fact that they have survived their first year and have managed to walk the tightrope of study, church placement, work, family, life etc without plummeting to the ground is deeply reassuring!
I am also looking forward to spending more time with my small "&Co" group. It seems a long time since we were last together in February. Please think of us this week and pray for Anne, Irwin, Mark, Mary, Ness, and I - and especially for those 3rd year students as they prepare for their ordinations in just a few weeks time.
P.S. Found out yesterday I passed my second module - phew!
As daunting as it seems I know that it is also a huge privilege to be able to take a week off work and spend quality time with God and with the others students who are also on this strange journey to ordination. It will be good too to get to know some of those students in the 2nd and 3rd year a little better. The year groups have different residential weekends so there are only a few occasions in the year when we all meet up but everyone attends Easter School together. Of those 2nd and 3rd years I have spoken to at seminars, the mere fact that they have survived their first year and have managed to walk the tightrope of study, church placement, work, family, life etc without plummeting to the ground is deeply reassuring!
I am also looking forward to spending more time with my small "&Co" group. It seems a long time since we were last together in February. Please think of us this week and pray for Anne, Irwin, Mark, Mary, Ness, and I - and especially for those 3rd year students as they prepare for their ordinations in just a few weeks time.
P.S. Found out yesterday I passed my second module - phew!
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