managing Hermione’s Heaven is like herding cats.
is there a single ‘J’ among us??
Category: communication
Hermione’s Heaven
… is up and running here.
This is very much a case of ‘no harm in trying’. If it works, the ning will offer the following:
- weekly suggestions (homework) offering something small to do. Think of it as a perpetual growing season.
- groups on God-talk, liturgy, prayer, creativity, kids, etc where anyone can post ideas or ask questions
- a forum for conversation
In case you missed it, the initial idea for this group was floated here. The name of the group evolved out of this post.
I’ve sent invitations out to any number of people. If I’ve missed you, let me know. If you have received an unsolicited invitation and are feeling a bit lost, would you join in anyway? I’ve probably included you in the hopes that you would pass word on to others who might be interested.
r.s.v.p.
I want to pick up two earlier questions, and try to pin them down.
Yesterday I floated the idea of a ‘things to try‘ blog. I wonder if the idea would not work better as a ning, thus allowing everyone to offer suggestions, and a way for conversation to carry on as and when people choose to engage with different ideas. So, the first invitation is this:
1. Would you like to be part of such a ning? If I get 5 ‘yes’ votes, I will set it up, and you can invite others from there.
1.b — what should I call it? Hermione’s Heaven is tempting but probably too much of an injoke to be helpful. Suggestions please.
1.c — does anyone have experience of grou.ps rather than ning? it looks tempting, but I know nothing about it.
Invitation number two: piskie bloggers baking day. Is this a winter thing, rather than a spring thing, do you suppose? I am happy to host in Dunoon, but perhaps someone more central would like to offer. I’m afraid my dates are rather limited. I can offer two dates in January, or else it will have to wait till after Easter (February is full, and Lent is not the time for it.) So…
2. You are invited to Dunoon for a day of making cookies, swapping recipes, and incarnating the blogging community on either Saturday, 24 January or Saturday 31 January. Please indicate both intention to come and preferred date.
Sermon done, web pages updated, and still half an hour left before the newsletter arrives for printing.
Sunday preparation is so much easier after a week of holiday slow-down.
pointed conversation
I had an interesting lesson in communication today. I was meeting with a woman who has been deaf since childhood. She is very good at lip reading and also ‘speaks’ quite successfully. But still, I was worried. How does communication work when stripped of voice tone and mediated by hand gestures, notes and frantic typing on a laptop? (plenty of creative spelling on my part, I can tell you…)
Well, it was extraordinary. We had something specific we wanted to talk about, which meant that there was a focus that is sometimes lacking in pastoral visits. But the difficulties in communication meant that we were careful not to waste words. There was no dithering, no beating around the bush; just straightforward conversation that went as far as it could (for now) into the topic at hand.
It was liberating to be able to stay so focused. It seems that the challenge to communicate is such that there is neither time nor need to second guess. Life would feel very different if conversation were always so purposeful and direct, with a cup of tea afterwards once the business is done.
wonderful exchange 