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A challenging question

Sharing my story with a homegroup from Newbury Methodist last night gave me a chance to reflect aloud on some of my recent journeyings. A member of the group asked me how I perceived Newbury Methodist after an eighteen year absence. I found it a hard question because this wasn’t a casual enquiry to which I could give a bland or trivial response, but a heartfelt concern about what they might do/have done differently. I sense the questioner was herself dissatisfied or saddened by the perceived failure to attract or keep younger people in the church. I was challenged by the question because in my ten months here I have remained uncommitted to the life of the church, partly through being away at Cliff some of the time, but also because coming from the centre of things in another church it is hard to get involved without being totally involved. Sitting on the edge of things is not normally my style, but it seemed right for the moment in order to help me reassess things and to be honest I ne...
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Cliff College

Just finishing the intensive teaching week for the Emerging Church module. Had input from George Lings, The Dranes, Stuart Murray, Michael Moynagh as well as the resident Cliff tutors. Much food for thought. Need a bit of time to digest it all. Will post a bit about the high and low lights of the week when I get back.
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Looking at Lent

Lent simply means length and it marks the 40 days (excluding Sundays) from Ash Wednesday until Easter day. This 40 day period which is often associated with fasting and self-denial is a preparation time for the great celebration of Easter. We can’t have the highs without experiencing the lows, otherwise there would be nothing to contrast the two. In the lectionary (Year B) we journey with Jesus through his wilderness experience to his interview before Pilate, laced with foreboding conversations along the way. This contrasts with the ‘light relief’ of the wedding at Cana on the third Sunday in Lent. Highs and lows teach us to be grateful for the good times and help us negotiate the dark ones. Today I have taken the funeral of a full term still born baby. It is hard when grief is so raw it feels uncontainable. Families grieving can’t make sense of their emotions let alone the circumstances that have led them there. All we can do in such circumstances is to be there. Of course it is not ...
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