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A simple meal – or was it?  I needed to cook a relatively simple meal recently, a few prawns, some salmon fillets, and some vegetables – cooked indian style from a new cook book my family had treated me to!  Such is life!

I called into a cheaper high street supermarket, to purchase the goodies, and usually I always try and source local produce.  Time was tight, and so I did a trolley dash, collecting the fish, prawns, cauliflower, green beans and spices as I went.  I was amazed when  I came home and unpacked the food.  The prawns were from China, the salmon from Finland, the cauli from France, green beans from Israel, and the chillies from Zambia.  The goods may have been cheaper but at what cost to the carbon footprint and the Fair-trade world?  I’ll try and shop more wisely next time, and even so, the dishes were very nice and all gobbled up!

You’ll have noticed I’ve not blogged since the sleep out.  Nothing to do with tiredness and such, but I’ve been away visiting theological colleges.  As the Diocesan Director of Ordinands, I try to get to each of the colleges each year – to visit our ordinands in training, and find out how they are doing in-situ; and also to meet the college principal and staff and act as an ambassador for Salisbury Diocese, and enjoy conversations with them about the current state of theological education and formation, and its future.

My first visit was up at Durham, where I called in to Cranmer Hall, part of the University of Durham, and located in St John’s College.  http://www.dur.ac.uk/st-johns.college/cranmer/

I love that part of the world, and enjoy the different culture and context that is  all too apparent.  The students were lively and I appreciated the strong emphasis on mission and ecumenical partnerships; post-graduate studies, and the variety of placements in post-mining pit villages, and wealthier regeneration projects.  The Cathedral, as always, enticed me in, and it was good to see crowds of people, of all ages, milling around and praying at the shrines of Celtic saints.

The following day I left Durham and travelled west to Mirfield in Yorkshire.  http://college.mirfield.org.uk/ This was my first visit, and I was bowled over by the spirituality of the college.  The college shares the site with the Community of the Resurrection, a religious community of around 16 monks.  The singing of plainsong was just wonderful, and students and staff alike were welcoming.  There are imaginative plans to develop both the college and the community, including building a boat shaped monastery; reorder the community church to include a river, and scenes to explore the life and teaching of Jesus; and develop the college to train women and men for mission in the church of tomorrow.

I trust I was able to share a clear vision of how the Diocese of Salisbury saw its role in partnering the formation and training of the clergy of the future, as well as engaging in exciting conversations with staff and students seeking to discover what kind of church is God calling us to shape to further his mission in the world.

A very worthwhile trip for me, and I’m planning to visit the other colleges in the coming weeks.

The night has passed, and the day lies open before us …

Well, what was it like?  Well, it was colder than last year, and a cold wind whistled around the Cloisters all night, and at some stage, I’m not sure exactly when, I did feel drops of rain on my face.  I remember tucking my head deeper into my sleeping bag, and not worrying.  I did hear myself snore a little from time to time, but my sleeping companions said it was nothing compared to some roaring snoring at the other end of the row.

We settled down for the night after a short but poignant service led by Canon Ed Probert, the Canon Chancellor of the Cathedral. John interceded, Bishop Stephen gave a short reflection on how invisible homeless people can become – when faced with an authority figure, or when we choose to ignore them.  Our free supper was provided for us by Tesco, and the “hot dog” type bun filled with some cold meat, washed down by a hot coffee, sent us off to our sleeping bags.  The younger people were chatting in softened tones around us, and Wilts Army Cadets, local church youth groups, and St Edmund’s School Salisbury were represented; but us oldies needed to get our heads  down.  I pulled my hat down over my head, and as predicted, I soon was dreaming with the angels, and woke around 0600 with only that light sprinkling of precipitation to interupt a good night’s rest.  I was fortunate, others looked pretty wrecked.

As the younger people slept on, we swiftly rolled up our bags and mats, and headed out to breakfast with Canon Ed.  Then I needed to get home.  Home, such a simple requirement and yet full of sensations for me this particular morning.  I could not wait to get out of my clothes, and feel the razor blade on my stubbly cheeks and neck.  The warm water washing the sweat and gunk from my body, the warmth of the towelling gown I wrapped myself in.  How would I have felt if I had been denied those basic washing provisions?  And family to chat with, and feel valued by – not much to ask, but denied for many.

I carried on with my day’s plans, but those who will be sleeping out again tonight will find more important tasks than I – where will they find food, how will they avoid being compromised by being moved on, or their possesions stolen, and where will they find shelter and companionship today, tonight, tomorrow?

Seen the weather forecast tonight? Clear skies and temperature around 4 degrees, heavy rain about 0300, and a 12 mph wind keeping things cooler.  Why would anyone be interested in a weather forecast from 2200 – 0630?  A night on the town beckons!

Bishop Stephen, John and I are spending a second year supporting the work of Alabaré, the Christian care support for homeless and disadvantaged people.  We’ll be sleeping in the cloisters of Salisbury Cathedral – not exactly luxury accommodation, with cardboard, bedrolls, and sleeping bags.  But we will be with hundreds [hopefully non-snorers!] of others who will join in this  fundraising and attention seeking action.

For us, it will be a token gesture of solidarity for those who find themselves without shelter, food and support.  For many reasons, people lose security, stability, friends and family, and when there is no place to go, outdoors is the only choice.  Last year, apparently I slipped into a deep sleep about 30 secs after lights out, and woke around 0600, hungry for my breakfast.  Tomorrow, I will rise again, and will head home for a shower, and a cooked breakfast.  For those who have no choice but to do this every night, there are few luxuries like that to look forward to. 

Think about us, when you are tucked up under your duvet, pray for those who are unlikely to find safety and hospitality this night, and then act, by putting something of what you have plenty of into the hands of those who have not.  Food, finance, and an hour of your time will be welcomed by the staff of Alabaré.  See their website at http://www.alabare.co.uk/

Yesterday offered me a rare chance to enjoy one of my hobbies that I regret gets little time at the moment – that of painting.  I was very fortunate to go on one of the Diocese’s Continuing Ministry Development [CMD] days, entitled Glimpses of Eternity – a day workshop on the making of icons.  The day ably led by Jacky Botterill, who is an experienced icon writer, and contemplative religious.  The day was held at Wren Hall, the Education Centre of the Cathedral.

Our day started with coffee, and the choosing of an image to use.  As it was the feast day of St Polycarp, I choose an image of him.  We then chose our wooden panels, which had been previously coated with 12 coats of whiting and glue,  and which only needed rubbing down to prepare the surface for painting.  The paints we used were egg tempora, which required the separating of the egg yolk from the white, and then taking the egg yolk sac, breaking the sac with a needle and draining the liquid yolk into a jar, and then discarding the sac.  The pigment can then be added to the yolk liquid and you have your paint.  Hours later, and after prayer, orthodox chanting and gallons of coffee, were admired our efforts, placed them in a temporary iconostasis, and prayed for God’s blessing on our work.

A great day, and thanks to Jacky – see her work at http://www.stella-maris-icons.co.uk/index.html  To see mine, look below! I must make more time to do this kind of work.

Good Morning.

This week has been a very good discipline for me as I looked again at what I thought about Lent and it has added a different dimension to Lent for me.

Jesus’ time in the desert was not a time of preparation for his death but for the beginning of his ministry. We often forget this as Lent for us leads to Good Friday then Easter. I would suggest that it would be useful for us to consider this season of Lent as a beginning of something rather than the end of something.

Some people think of Lent as a time of abstinence, they often say that Lent ought to be a time when we struggle. I would ask those people to rethink what they are saying and why. If, as I believe, Lent is a time when we can reflect on and celebrate God’s love for us then we can’t be all doom and gloom.

When we read the stories in the Bible of Jesus healing people, whether in mind, body or soul, we are never told that the healed person went away crying. Many times we are told that they wanted to tell the world about the joy they felt, or there were orders for meals to be provided and eaten. Everyone was talking about the change in them and their lives would never be the same.

So why can’t we do the same when through our acknowledgement of our sins, the need to seek forgiveness and accepting God’s love we become ‘healed’. Our lives will never be the same again and people will notice the change in us. We may not want to tell the world about our sins but I can’t see why we would want to hide God’s love.

When we meet the love of our lives we may not want to tell everyone everything about that person but we most certainly want to tell people that we are loved. We want them to share our joy and the beginning of a new phase in our lives. If this new love leads to a wedding then people are invited to join in that celebration of our love.

Lent can be the start of a new phase in our relationship with God which can bring us so much joy. If it is so for you why not join me in seeing Lent as a time of celebration that God’s love is bigger than anything we could imagine, that within that love we can be ourselves and now that we are loved.
I hope you have a joyful Lent.

Another of those wonderful parish pastoral visits that regular blog-watchers know give John +Stephen and I such pleasure.  This time I spent a couple of days with the Rev’d David Scrace and the people of Harnham, on the southern fringes of Salisbury.

The visit started with me attending morning prayer in the parish church of All Saints.  I turned up around 0845, and was greeted in the porch by a growl and sneer from a wayfarer’s dog, but a friendly grin from the man himself.  “The church is open for prayers at 9″ I was told, and “You might like to look around the churchyard” indicated that the man’s early morning solitude was valued!  I did walk around the churchyard and then returned promptly at 0900 as the tolling bell summoned me.  My wayfarer friend was chatting on his mobile phone when I passed through the porch a second time; how does he charge that phone’s battery, I mused?

The day started with prayer and scene setting chat with David before we moved into our first meeting with the Neighbourhood Association, and City Councillor.  We chatted about what makes a good neighbourhood and what issues Harnham residents were concerned about, before I answered their Qs about church, faith and the meaning of life.

Our lunch was taken at St George’s hall, where we met with the Bible Study group, and I was very impressed with how the group methodically were working through Luke, and the depth and insights their theology expressed.  The intercessory prayers led by a group member, in particular, were very powerful.  A real oasis for the clergy in middle of the day. For some members of the group – this was church, as Sundays were not possible.

The next visit was up at the Voluntary Controlled Primary School, where I met with the Headteacher and a Foundation governor.  We discussed the development of a Christian ethos within the school, and the efforts Governors and parents were making to make the school inclusive and yet distinctive.  A quick visit to the classrooms followed, but I would like to go back and spend more time chatting to pupils and teachers.

We then moved up to the new volume housing development at St Osmund’s fields on the A338 out of Salisbury.  I was not allowed onto the site as we did not have the correct hi-vis jackets, boots and helmets, but I was able to see the site of the proposed Community Hall, and the conversations with the sales assistant in the office and the site manager helped us understand who was showing interest in buying on the estate, and how the hall might serve the wider community.

We were now very cold, and hypothermia was staved off by a quick return to the vicarage, where a restoring mug of tea welcomed some of David’s senior lay colleagues, and a fascinating discussion around restructuring the parishes vision for mission and ministry, with a specific focus on pastoral care.

The visit ended the following Sunday when I presided at the two Parish Communions, heard an excellent sermon from the Associate Priest, and chatted to many people about my time in the benefice.  I’ve already planned another strategic meeting with the lay leadership team, and will visit again on Mothering Sunday.

Thanks Harnham – it was good to hear you at work and play.

Good morning.

As you know I went to a concert on Tuesday night and during the interval I chatted about doing Morning Thought and that I was looking at Lent. We then talked about other things before the concert started again. It was during this second part that a thought flitted across my mind –‘what if someone listening thought that I was talking about the verb leant?’ Later on the way home it came again and I wondered what, if any, connected the two words?

Priests are rather like programme presenters as we can make links with anything and here is mine for linking LENT with LEANT.

The season Lent is a time when we reflect on our way of life. To do this we need to be supported, to lean on people. By that I mean to use them as a support and not to make them do what you want. Is this any different to how we behave at other times?

When I reflect on my own life the answer is ‘yes’ – there have been times when I have literally leant on someone most notably when I damaged my knee and after operations. There have been times when I have leant on friends and families for their emotional support – when I was made redundant and when my father died. There were also the less obvious times, when I felt low for no apparent reason or needed that mug of coffee and a little time.

Simon and Garfunkel sang a song called ‘I am a rock’ in it there are these lines ‘I have no need of friendship; friendship causes pain. It’s laughter and it’s loving I disdain. And a rock fells no pain; and an island never cries.’ No-one can live completely alone we all need someone who supports us, cries with us and celebrates with us.

Being that open to people can cause pain, we often flinch from becoming too close to someone because of that. Another song tells us how dismal a world is without love a thought that I think we could all agree with. And those who love us will stick with us and will not deliberately cause us pain. They are the ones to whom we open ourselves, we build up that trust by spending time with them.

In the season of Lent we have the time to spend with God, to renew our trust and faith in him. To recognise and acknowledge his love for us and that we can depend on his support, we can lean on him – as he was and is and will be.

I hope you find the support you need today.

Good Morning.

We’ve looked at two specific dates and now I want us to look to Lent in general terms.

Lent is a time for reflection whether alone or in a group. Some parishes run what we call Lent Courses which are often Bible based and involve time in reading the passage from the Bible and then joining a weekly group to discuss what you have found out and to ask questions which may have arisen. Some people find this helpful whilst other like to read a book and reflect on that alone.

We in Durrington and the Avon Valley are running both kinds this year with two different courses running twice each week and one meeting near the end of Lent for those who have read a book throughout, rather like a book club.

Christians don’t always need to do something, yes we are watched and how we behave does affect other’s views not only of us but of God and the Church. If we are seen to be behaving in a manner which people don’t consider ‘Christian’ we are often reprimanded and told that we have disappointed. The difficulty with that is that people forget that Christians are humans and our wish to change often takes our whole lives – for our acceptance of God doesn’t make our lives easier. In fact I would like to suggest that our lives become harder as we try to change our way of behaving to reflect more of the love of God and the behaviour of Jesus.

There are times therefore when we need to be – to spend time with God, other Christians and ourselves. To reflect on the love we have for all three, to re-charge our batteries and feel the love flowing towards us. These reflections aren’t all doom and gloom. It’s rather like looking at a photograph album – there are times when pictures make you cringe, others make you laugh, yet more may make you cry etc. Most will remind you of people and places you enjoyed or loved. Most times we will gain something about ourselves, whether consciously or not.

So it is with the reflections through Lent, there are times when we may cringe, laugh or cry etc but we will gain through the experience if we give ourselves the time. Just as we give time to the important human relationships in our lives, particularly those we know are underpinned by love.

I hope you time for reflection today.

Good Morning.

How did the pancakes go yesterday? I didn’t have any in the end but went to a good concert instead –well I thought that I couldn’t have both!

Today is Ash Wednesday when many churches hold services in which the sign of the cross is made on people’s foreheads with ash made from last years Palm crosses. Ashes were often put on as a sign of mourning and in some ways this is what we are doing – mourning for the way we live.

This is so different from yesterday’s celebration and wishing to overturn conventions for a short time. Now we are back to reality, you know the morning after the night before when you wish you hadn’t had that drink or that extra pudding or pancake.(An aside –I’m told that it is not the last drink but the first drink which causes the problem. Yes, I know I’m still thinking about that.)

Does this now mean that we have to go about with sombre faces, refusing to have an enjoyable time? My answer is NO – we can still carry on enjoying life as much or as little as we did before today but (and you knew there would be a but) there is now an added dimension to it all. For if we are serious about wanting to take this time of Lent as a time to reflect on what we have or have not done then we will become less superficial and more aware of how our actions affect others.

The prayer used at services today begins ‘Almighty and everlasting God, you hate nothing that you have made and forgive the sins of all those who are penitent’. I think that is wonderfully empowering as whatever I confess to him God will not hate me. It doesn’t mean that he condones all my behaviour but it does mean that I can tell him anything and know that I am loved. Having that response means that I will be more willing to put right that which I have done wrong and not do it again if I can, but even then I will be supported.

That is no different to how we respond in any other part of our life, if we find someone who likes or loves us, warts and all, we feel good and because we feel good about ourselves we are more able to do the difficult things more readily. That is empowerment.