Connecting…
The last week has been one of the busiest and tiring during my short time here in St Albans Diocese. I have been connecting on various levels and wanted to share a little about this theme which seems to keep nagging at me since being with you.
Some of Jesus' best stories start 'The Kingdom of God is like..' Jesus uses stories that the everyday people of the time could connect to and was a signpost to God.
Our recent 'Lock In' events focused on John 10:10, reflecting on what it might look like to have life in all its fullness but also what detracts from having this full life. Some of the key things I heard was school (performance pressures), parents, and self esteem. These places can be a blessing for those who connect but a lot less for those who can't or don't. Thanks to those who helped, brought, participated and came. You helped with the connectivity with Church and young people, but most of all to Christ.
My second connection was with the Youthwork Summit in Manchester that I had the privilege to attend. Connecting with peers is something we should not neglect as this can do damage to our wellbeing as people, relationships and those whom we serve. It was inspiring to hear from people engaged with youth work and ministry to grapple with issues from across various denominations. It is important to develop communities of practice to support each other in our everyday ministry to young people. The next summit is in London on the 19th May 2012 and details can be found here. It would be good to see as many from this diocese as possible participate and engage. Please put this in your diaries.
Finally, on my day off I went down to St Paul's Cathedral just to take a look around after the recent news events. The issues of connectedness have been brought sharply into focus between Church, State and people. We make a huge assumption that people do not understand the dangerous message of Jesus and some of its implications in being a disciple of Christ. It was probably more understood than thought and brought the Church under scrutiny over issues of justice and equality and how it connects or not. A bit messy but the journey of grace continues.
Today, as I muse, the Church of England celebrates the life of Archbishop Richard Hooker who helped look at three stools of being Anglican: Scripture, Tradition and Reason. These three when connected are a powerful tool for our connected life together as a Church which needs all three principles at work in order to help the connection. It can get a bit messy if there are absences or a greater emphasis on one or another, but that's for another day!
Two questions for reflection:
- How do we connect together?
- How do we connect to those who are not yet connected to us?
Let's connect and express these in the depths and quality of the relationships we form and sustain, and most of all with Christ in whom all things hold together.
Peace
Dean
Comments
There are no comments for this entry yet.
You need to be registered and logged in in order to leave a comment.
Short links
http://www.albandys.org.uk/go/connecting
http://www.albandys.org.uk/go/926