Category: learning

silence or song

wonderfulexchange4 Comments

I read today that when we are happy our field of vision expands.  True enough, metaphorically, but apparently it’s true physiologically as well.

I’d always thought it was the other way round.  I remember distinctly the phase in my life as an undergraduate when I felt I learned to see for the first time.  I’m sure I’ve blogged about this and preached about this and bored you with this before; but it began with a prayer walk on the beach when I learned that even the sand above the tide line was damp in winter.  And it continued tide by tide, ripple by ripple, leaf by leaf  till the joy broke in flowering chestnut trees, and swallows soaring across a vast sky.  I believed that the seeing made me happy; but maybe it was the other way round.

I sat down to blog tonight, and was at a loss.  There are things I dare not say.  Things too fragile for naming, that leave my breath suspended so that I don’t know whether air or tears or laughter will come next.  It is all good. It is all familiar.  Yet it has been such a long time.

This transition is sending me right back to basics.  The customs and norms I find here, the particular life-journeys I am beginning to accompany leave the field wide open so that I find possibles in every direction: how will we engage deeply with scripture (how do we already, what needs to be broken open?) what is the shape of prayer, here, and how do we keep deepening it?  how does our worship express and form our identity?  how do we express different calls?

I know already (and others know too) it will not all be easy.  The very things I am most certain of in my vision of the the church, the liturgy, what it means to be a priest are the things that most obviously expose differences between my understandings and the congregation’s norms; they will provide the first conflicts and the first opportunities for growth (mine and theirs).

So, I’m reading Dom Gregory again.
And Ruth Burrows.
And Job.  (well, we can thank the CofE lectionary for that).
Then there is the story of Samuel and Saul and David that breaks my heart every time.
I suspect it will be Ephesians next.

Tomorrow is liturgy planning for a funeral, a wedding, the end of Young Church’s year; there are notes of a meeting I should have written up a week ago; and hymns to choose; and people to meet.  Thursday, the school show, then a funeral; Friday, a wedding rehearsal and much to do for the Young Church; Saturday a first meeting for a wedding, and then a wedding proper; Sunday, the end of Young-Church’s year, in which they will help lead the congregation in worship, and then a Barbecue on the lawn.

So I may not blog much.

I may (perchance) twitter.

But know that it is good.

who do you know?

wonderfulexchange5 Comments

Hermione’s Heaven is working well enough that we are going to try to make a go of it.  But if it is to succeed, it needs a much wider membership base.

So, this is to stir up business.

Do you know anyone who is growing in faith and may be looking for ideas about how to engage more deeply?

Do you know any ‘perpetual students’ who love a challenge, and who find small bits of stimulus fruitful?

Do you know anyone who is isolated in their faith and may like a space for conversation with other curious Christians?

Do you know people who might like to share resources and have access to a resource base for ‘things to try’ with small groups, congregations, liturgies?

If you can answer yes to any of those things, would you please ask them to join Hermione’s Heaven?

The group is by invitation only (to maintain a safe space), so you have two options:

1. you can join by telling me you’d like to in the comments; then you can invite as many people as you’d like.

2.  you can encourage them to email me or leave a comment so that I can send them an invitation directly..

Hermione’s Heaven is a ning group that offers a weekly ‘challenge’ and regular space for conversation.  There is no time commitment for members.  Drop is as often or as seldom as you like.  But please join!

If you have a blog of your own, and would be willing to link to this, that would be helpful too.

more information here and here.

Hermione’s Heaven

wonderfulexchange11 Comments

… 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:

  1. weekly suggestions (homework) offering something small to do.  Think of it as a perpetual growing season.
  2. groups on God-talk, liturgy, prayer, creativity, kids, etc where anyone can post ideas or ask questions
  3. 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.

wonderfulexchange14 Comments

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.