The new economy?

I love my Fiat 500. its zippy, zesty, purrs like a tiger, fits in small places and is very economical - as well as being environmentally friendly. It's also quite retro.
It is perhaps a trend of modern times that we are rejecting bigger, costlier things in favour of economy and intimacy.
Thinking about Church Without Walls today, I was reflecting on how folk, although ostensibly rejecting the institution that much of the church has become (sometimes large and impersonal) are nonetheless seeking overt ordinances of religion and traditions with which to mark rites of passage and other important ages and stages of life as well as seeking daily spiritual disciplines.
It seems that the old ways, rituals of the past are once again coming to the fore and observing some of those ways has led to a growth of new kind of monastic communities.
The order and the connectedness of these communities allows for a depth and a sharing as well as the freedom to explore that isn't always possible in larger gatherings.
Perhaps a good sign for the growth of faith.


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Guides Own

At Easter time, my friend, Beth gifted me a copy of Anne Lamott's "Help, Thanks, Wow!
I enjoyed reading this simple exploration of three prayers that accompany and often carry us through life.
So, when asked to lead a group of Girl Guides in worship on a mountain top in Switzerland, I could think of nothing better than to share with them these three prayers.
With the help of bubbles (everything is enhanced by bubbles) we breathed in the beauty of our surroundings and breathed out our help, thanks and wows in rainbow bubbles.
A memorable offering of worship.

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Gal-ship

A few years ago, I undertook, with colleagues, a six week introduction to Mission Shaped Ministry. There are few opportunities to share intentionally with colleagues in ministry. So many of our interactions become opportunities to grouse or to transact business and fellowship is pushed way down the agenda. So I welcomed this opportunity to study and to share fellowship.
One of the sessions in the Mission Shaped Ministry intro was on "Community". We were encouraged to think of all the different types of communities of which we are a part. That was one of the first occasions I found myself trying to explain the amazing community that is RevGalBlogPals. It's hard to put into words the amazing support that can be obtained from a virtual community and the incredible sense of fellowship that can be experienced with colleagues, many of whom I may never meet in this life. But the fact that I was still working as an ordained minister of word and sacrament (and continue to do so) was largely attributable to this group of supportive mainly women clergy. And, of course, to God, who brought these women, prepared to share their strengths and vulnerabilities, into my life at just the right time. During a particularly testing spell, I experienced many Elijah moments when angels in the form of RevGals offered virtual manna for the journey.
Since those early days of being sustained by virtual community, of reading in blog posts the struggles of others and beginning to process my own challenges through blogging, I have had the joy of meeting some of those women in real life, putting faces to the stories and the journeys. And it has also been a joy to introduce some of my Scottish colleagues to this community, offering gal-ship, both virtual and real life.
And so, for me, the gal-ship experienced through RevGalBlogPals has been life enhancing. Thanks be to God.
Gal-ship - Guardian Angels Loving, Supporting Holding in Prayer.
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