Experiments In Silence

Lent begins tomorrow. It is a season of, what the Orthodox call, 'bright sadness.' St Benedict, in chapter 49 of his rule, calls monks (the faithful) to live a continuous Lent. He acknowledges that this will be almost impossible for most, but he is calling us to live attentively to God, looking to him for a conversion of our hearts. As a season, it is a gift to the church to seek to live a deeper faith in Christ through reading scripture, spending time in prayer, and words and works that seek justice for especially the marginalised. I regularly pray the prayer of St Ephrem during this season. It catches it's spirit and my heart's desire perfectly.

It has been nearly a month since my last post. The fact that it has been that long should give you an idea of how those days have been - draining; full; intensive; not so much noisy but close to sensory overload. I have reached the second week in advent kind of punch drunk; dazed; needing some space. I have noticed again how visually and auditorily noisy our world is. Perhaps I notice it more in these shorter and darker days as shop windows try to entice us in to spend money in the lead up to Christmas, but also as more and more houses bejewel themselves with Christmas lights in these early days of Advent waiting. I have noticed again how that affects me. As a response, or perhaps an antidote to that, I am praying. I don't regularly say Prayer During the Day as Common Worship calls it, but a few times in recent days I have retreated to the safety and security of that liturgy and I have allowed the silence between the words to envelop me. Advent invites t...

Me at my ordination as a priest in 2000  After nearly twenty one years in parish ministry, I have been doing a little reflecting on all that has been. As I play a part in the training and formation of another Curate, I've also been reflecting on some of the things that have sustained me over that time. Boundaries . My own TI was very clear that I needed to take my allotted rest day and if I didn't he would come down on me like a tonne of bricks - not quite his turn of phrase but basically what I heard! Over the years, whilst I am not convinced that I have always taken all of my allotted leave, I have been fastidious about my rest day. The opportunity to take Sabbath, to stop, to do something renewing for me and of me has been key. It was made clear that as a then single person, that I should not be doing my laundry and cleaning on my day off as keeping myself and the house was part of normal life and ministry. This, therefore, allowed my rest day to be just that. Silenc...

As an adult I have always been an early riser. It is a rare occasion for me to lie in. This has been a source of frustration over the years. Since becoming a parish priest, waking early is something I have received as a gift. The space before the world wakes is largely silent and dark - filled with the Other. It is numinous. A thin place. It is time when I often hear God most clearly and sense God's presence. Over many years, the early hours of Sunday morning have been the time that I tend to write sermons. I read scripture on the previous Monday and note I take from commentaries and then I allow it to 'sit' until the latter part of the week when I may look at it all again; but Sunday's are writing time.  Some of you will react in horror that I might leave it all that late. I am self-awareness enough to know that I work best to a deadline and a few hours to write up my thinking certainly galvanises things! But... I am also self-aware enough to k...