A month in review...

Probably not helped by sitting out in the cold over three days for the Passion of Christ I was not in good shape during Easter week. Therefore it was a delight to learn that Jane had booked a very last minute short break to Portugal.

After speaking at the Sussex Prayer Breakfast we (me and the ‘girls’) headed off for Gatwick and then to Faro. We arrived at the set of apartments just a few miles west of Albufeira around 9pm.  I hadn’t a clue where I was, only a vague idea of how I had got there, and as often happens when I fly, I could hardly hear anything. But Jane and Tabitha were fantastic and ensured I had the time and space I needed to rest and recuperate. I soon picked up and we had a brilliant time exploring the area in a hired car. We visited a great Anglican Church in nearby Lagoa. Always worth doing, as amongst other things, ‘locals’ can give you the best information on places to visit on a short stay.   

Arriving back it was straight into ‘work’ as I attended a Training Day in Supervision for Spiritual Directors Part-Two with the excellent Andrew Walker. A few days later we had the concluding Day for the year long course ‘Introduction to Spiritual Direction.’

The pace of life remained hectic because as much as I needed the break and it was great to be away the flip side was that I now had limited prep time for some upcoming events and activities.    

  The first of these was the Residential Weekend for our MSM course. http://www.missionshapedministry.org/ I was co-leading a module on Evangelism. It was a huge challenge trying to condense  two 90 minute sessions into one 120 minute session. The weekend itself was great fun and this was my first visit to the fantastic Ashburnham Conference and Prayer Centre.

I arrived back home on Sunday afternoon and had a quick turn around before heading north at 7am on Monday. I was going to the Church Army Gathering at The Hayes Conference Centre Swanwick. ‘The Gathering’ was chosen instead of Conference to reflect our becoming an Acknowledged Mission Order last September. The title was ‘Fit Together’ which was a very clever idea as it carried a number of motifs. We heard some ‘stories’ of the work of various Officers and again it is amazing the breadth of the work of the Church Army across the UK and Ireland.  However in our agreed endeavour to make Christ known we ‘fit together.’ Our key note speaker was Graham Tomlin who helped us explore how we could train ourselves in Spiritual Fitness. (Getting 'Fit Together') For my part I set up a display of the work of CA in rural areas, I led a small group plus I ran a workshop introducing the Rural Evangelism Course Simon Martin and I produced for the Arthur Rank Centre. http://www.arthurrankcentre.org.uk/

Back from The Gathering and time for some last minute preparation for the final session of the ‘Everybody Welcome Course’ at Wivlesfield. www.everybodywelcome.org.uk/

Sunday, and I joined the good folk at St George’s Kemp Town for what has now become an established Celebration BBQ following the Patronal Mass. I provided some large garden games, a PA kit, a folk singing brother, Malcolm, and a singing wife who also helps set things up – Jane is a real treasure!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Although not so much an aficionado of detective novels and stories as my wife and daughter I do like certain ones. ‘Foyle’s War’ is one for example that I really do enjoy. There is nothing really daring do about Foyle, he is no maverick figure as so many of them are. He is a man of absolute integrity on which he will not compromise. He also is not afraid of asking awkward question of anybody because nobody is ever above the law.

One of the keys to his detective work and all good detective work is that of observation. In one of the recent Sherlock Holmes films Holmes on one occasion says to Watson ‘you see but you do not observe.’

That is a skill all Christians need to develop and something I am learning and trying to put into practise on a daily basis.

How alert are we to the world and the people around us with whom we have a daily encounter? Do we randomly sit next to someone on the bus or train, or might this be a divine encounter? I am not advocating we muscle in on every occasion to begin a conversation with someone sitting next to us about the deep meaning of life. However I am suggesting we become aware, observant and prepared. (1 Peter 3.15) It might be a smile, a simple word, help with luggage, anything at all. This may not seem like anything earth shattering and yet if we practised this sense of God’s awareness, this observation, being God’s detectives, we would find our own lives richer and the Kingdom of God more fully realized.

Could we learn in each and every situation to look around and say quite literally, ‘what am I doing here for God’s sake?’ 

Having just celebrated the joy of Easter we now anticipate Christ’s ascension and then the coming of the Spirit at Pentecost. The work of Jesus is now entrusted to us through the power of the same Spirit.

 

‘Without God we can not, without us God will not.’

This is beautifully encapsulated in this prayer by Teresa of Avila (1515–1582)

Christ Has No Body

Christ has no body but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which he looks
Compassion on this world,
Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good,
Yours are the hands, with which he blesses all the world.
Yours are the hands, yours are the feet,
Yours are the eyes, you are his body.
Christ has no body now but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which he looks
compassion on this world.
Christ has no body now on earth but yours.

That means through you and me Jesus now boards’ busses and airplanes, he rides trains and he goes to work at the head of multi-national companies and he cleans toilets!

I have in my head a children’s song that I think comes from a Captain Alan Price collection, ‘Life’s an adventure following Jesus.’

That’s what I am trying to do, to be aware of, to be attentive to and to be ready to act upon the prompting of the Spirit in each and every situation I find myself in.