My second placement, in May – June 2022, was with St Hugh’s Music Academy, and took place primarily during the week rather than on Sundays. My role consisted of supporting the Music Academy by welcoming students and their parents, dealing with some of the admin, and assisting with the group teaching sessions. I also helpedContinue reading “Crossing boundaries (2)”
Author Archives: KathR
Crossing boundaries (1)
In January 2022 I spent 4 weeks at an Anglo-Catholic church in a nearby town, as part of my lay ministry training. I somehow got busy after that and never posted these reflections. But, over a year later, they still make sense to me, so here they are…. My church experience has been fairly eclecticContinue reading “Crossing boundaries (1)”
Prayers for everyday people
I’ve been thinking about what kind of prayer might be appropriate for our monthly drop-in community gatherings. We don’t plan to have a formal service, but over time we might like to pray together in some way. I have created this short gathering prayer that reflects the character of our Good Shepherd community – before,Continue reading “Prayers for everyday people”
How many sheep does it take to put up a gazebo? reflections on our Fresh Expressions journey
Recently our church (Church of the Good Shepherd Sandhills) held an informal social drop-in morning for church members and the wider community. One of the first tasks facing us was to figure out how to put up the gazebo lent by a family who were not going to be there in person. It took aboutContinue reading “How many sheep does it take to put up a gazebo? reflections on our Fresh Expressions journey”
Road: on the journey, together
One of the things I have been reminded of over the last 6 months is that all of us, church members or not, are on a journey. All of us have had our lives impacted by the pandemic in ways that will most likely take years to come to terms with. In the restricted existenceContinue reading “Road: on the journey, together”
Refectory: church in the time of COVID
One of the challenges of the last year or so has been staying connected with our church community. During that time, community got much more local. For me, in lockdown 1.0, it mainly consisted of the four people living under our roof – one of whom was visiting from overseas and ended up staying forContinue reading “Refectory: church in the time of COVID”
Cave: the world in my back lounge
On March 24th 2020 office life abruptly ceased and along with thousands of others, I became a home-worker – and entered the existence of a hermit. It was a shock to say the least (to those I live with too, who were suddenly exposed to much more of my presence than they had been usedContinue reading “Cave: the world in my back lounge”
Cave, refectory, road: reflections on lockdown spirituality
Over the last year I’ve been introduced to the writing of Julian of Norwich. (Just watched a fantastic documentary by Dr Janina Ramirez which gives a great insight into Julian’s life including her book Revelations of divine love). Julian lived from approximately 1342 – 1416 or so. She was an important figure in medieval timesContinue reading “Cave, refectory, road: reflections on lockdown spirituality”
From Carousel to COVID
When you walk through a stormHold your head up highAnd don’t be afraid of the dark At the end of a stormThere’s a golden skyAnd the sweet silver song of a lark Walk on through the windWalk on through the rainThough your dreams be tossed and blown Walk on, walk onWith hope in your heartAndContinue reading “From Carousel to COVID”
Doing theology – reflective spiral
Over the last few weeks our CMS pioneer training group has been thinking about some tools to help us reflect. The “Doing theology” reflective spiral by Laurie Green is an excellent way to bring reflection and action to bear on each other in an interplay that he terms “praxis.” It is about dissolving the distinctionContinue reading “Doing theology – reflective spiral”
On the journey 