Sabbath Theology

After 4 weeks of retreat, rest, worship and being kind to myself, I am ready to start a new part of sabbatical plans.... Reading and re-engaging with my dissertation on Sabbath Theology. 

I wrote it in my final few months of formal ministry training (of course we never stop learning..so training never stops!). It was something I wanto explore before entering circuit to help develop and maintain a holistic approach to ministry and enable good practice in terms of work /life balance. 

17 years later, I admit I've not really looked at it although the theory of Sabbath theology has never left me!

At times I think I'm good at it but mostly I think I'm rubbish at allowing myself time to be rather than do and so with about 12 years left till retirement (unless the rules change again) I felt it was an important time to re-engage with it. Today then I will reread it, then over the next few weeks read some newer books on the subject and consider what else I can learn from it and put into practice 

I'm sure I'm blog about this morning but for now, it's time for coffee and space to read

called to be witnesses but what do we witness?

I attended a small village Anglican church this morning and was made to feel very welcome. The service was fairly traditional in terms of following the liturgy and lectionary for the day, but the visiting preacher spoke really well, on what it means to be a witness asking how and what do we witness today when we talk about Jesus. He reminded us that in order to be a witness we need to experience something and challenged us on making time to experience God in our daily lives... much to ponder!

The coffee was lovely too and I think there will be a return visit soon! 

What is your body saying to you?

There's a saying that I've been reminded of recently- 'listen to your body'. In our world of work, being busy and the pressure we put on ourselves and others put on us, it's often difficult to take the time to stop and we can feel guilty for doing so...but it's really important for our mind body and spirit that we do so. 

I'm very grateful for the time gifted by the Church for sabbatical and the time to do that, and listening to my body has been the highlight of this week. A lovely weekend in North Wales followed by a relaxing few days with time to do some reading, jigsaw and knitting and to go to my choir has helped me start feeling relaxed at last.. the rest of this week will be much of the same. 😀

Next week I intend to reread my dissertation on Sabbath Theology and do some reading around it. Part of living a Sabbath Theology life is finding time (not just on the Sabbath) to have moments for God and for self... something I've already done during the first few weeks of this sabbatical, but i also want to put in place things to ensure a better work / life balance as I return to work in July. 

For now though back to listening to the body!

Being Honest.

I've really enjoyed the space to retreat last week and join in worship and teaching at Spring Harvest (at home) this week...but I have to admit I'm beyond shattered. I'm not sleeping well at the moment and what sleep I have is full of stressy nightmares (not work related but some involving folk from the circuit). 

I had hoped to be feeling relaxed by now, but struggling a bit. Thankfully we have a weekend away coming up and I'm going to make sure I take some time to rest... 

Service or receiving?

At yesterday's Holy Week retreat... The leader was reflecting on the story of Jesus washing his disciples feet...

The bit that struck me the most, was the idea that in the act of washing feet 

Jesus shows true love – It wasn’t just a task to be done, but an opportunity to say his personal farewell to each one of his disciples. 

But it wasn't just a demonstration of offering love to others, but also an invitation to receive love. We cant give what we haven’t received. It’s an invitation to receive the love of Jesus for ourselves. 

Jesus asks us to receive from him – not just act in his name. Many want to be self sufficient, and find it hard to ask for help. Jesus says ask – because we need to recognise our own needs and come to him in openness to receive. 

Peter resisted Jesus washing his feet – I wonder how often do we do the same. It’s often easier to get on with the job of serving others, and forget our need to allow Jesus to minister to us, and then we wonder why we feel tired and drained.

Today  after spending an hour at the Cross with the retreat group, I am choosing self care and allowing space to receive God's love and rest. 

And praying for my friends and colleagues who still have a lot of work to do this weekend. 🙏🏻 

What do we store unnecessarily?

At today's session of the Holy Week retreat, we were reflecting on the story of Jesus turning over the tables in the temple.The session ended with this poem by Mary Oliver called Storage. 

How was your journey to Holy Week?

This evening as part of our retreat, we were encouraged to think about our journey towards Holy Week. Until last week for me it was incredibly busy trying to fit in all that needed to be done before sabbatical, and then last week where there was nothing (workwise) in the diary at all. It's not been the usual lead up to Holy Week and Easter and it has felt strange, but I am very grateful for the space. How was your journey to Holy Week? 

Yesterday was Palm Sunday and I watched 2 different live streamed Sunday services, neither of which really (wholly) concentrated on Palm Sunday so I missed waving my Palm crosses and singing Palm Sunday hymns. Which maybe why this picture struck me this evening, when we were shown some photos from the Holy Week Story. It's called Entry into the City by John August Swanson, and is a contemporary vibrant image of the ride into Jerusalem. Do you like it?