We attended the Parish Eucharist at St Catherine's this morning. Rhys presided and preached, and Emma was present, having celebrated earlier at St John's. She had a Baptism afterwards, and by the time we were gathering in the church hall after the service, a crowd of smartly dressed people were gathering outside in the grounds, arriving early for a twelve thirty start.
Rhys spoke about the clergy school experience in Santiago from which they returned on Friday, also about life as pilgrimage, and about next year's centenary of the disestablished Church in Wales diocese of Llandaff. Santiago is likely to have been a much more intense experience for participants than Oxford because it was away from Britain, in a place steeped with religious history and fervour. It may well take those who took part a while to digest what they received. How will this impact on the ministry they offer in future, I wonder?
When I was working, clergy school was a positive experience of worship and sharing together, albeit usually held in Oxford. It's good and necessary that professional clergy should have time to review their ministries and bond together in this way. Given there are so many volunteers, both layfolk and retired clerics, also exercising ministry in partnership with full timers, I wonder what could ever be done to embrace them all in a process which lasts several days, in order to achieve the same ends?
Bishop June wants us all to explore Pilgrimage further under her Diocesan Vision headlines; 'Telling a Joyful Story', 'Growing the Kingdom of God' and 'Building a Greater Capacity for Good'. To me it seems a bit vague. I'm unsure how this will translate into practical reality. Where do key activities of Listening and Dialogue come into the picture of a church renewing itself for mission? Are we still too concerned about what's left of our former selves as a traditional mainstream church, and not looking outwards nearly enough? Are we really hearing what's being said to us by people searching for a living faith but so far disappointed by our concerns and teaching? How does our church earn again the right to be heard when it comes to speaking of the things of God?
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