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Editorial:
Nurturing spirituality From
the[acting] director: New Shoes Wholeness,
Holiness & Wholegrain Spirituality Comment:
Racehorses and Turtles A
Spirituality of Communion: The Benedictine Monks, Rostrevor Interview
with John Dickinson & Paul Symonds: The Shape of Spirituality Prayer
24-7 In
quest of living theology: A conversation piece on theological education
and Christian formation A
Spirituality of Welcome Bible
Study: Christian Spirituality Review:
How (Not) to Speak of God Review:
Spirituality and Transformation Difficult
Conversations |
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THERE’S AN OLD PROVERB that says that you cannot really understand another person, or their job, unless you “walk a mile in their shoes”. Well, that has been my experience since August, when David left for his sabbatical in America. I have “walked many miles” and have learned first-hand what it is like being the Director of the Centre, albeit it I have only been maintaining rather than developing the Centre while he is away. David’s sabbatical was a long time coming; he postponed it on several occasions in the lead up to and following the transition from ECONI to the Centre for Contemporary Christianity in April 2004. It has been good for him, and us, that he has stepped out of his “shoes” and occupied a different role in a new setting in Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. David is the first Fellow of the Center for Reconciliation Visiting Practitioners programme, which provides renewal, reflection, continuing education, and writing space for leading Christian practitioners across the world. The Center for Reconciliation hosts and, at the same time, benefits from the presence of visiting Fellows as they enrich Duke's teaching and formation around faithful Christian practice. David has been teaching a course on the theme “Thinking Biblically, Building Peace: Perspectives on Reconciliation and Conflict Transformation from the Northern Ireland Experience.” In addition, he has been tutoring a module for a ThD student, preaching and has given public lectures and spoken at other teaching events. In early December he spoke at the Boston Theological Institute at Harvard. This was one of his last engagements before taking a winter holiday with friends in Florida. By the time you read this, he will be back at his desk and I will be enjoying the comfort of my own “shoes”. As Acting Director I have had my own kind of sabbatical – not one characterised by rest, rather one where sabbatical is defined as “any extended period of leave from one's customary work, to acquire new skills or training.” I have been involved in aspects of the Centre’s life that have caused me to look for, and find, the management skills that have been dormant since my days at the YMCA. I have had to pay attention to internal operational concerns and external context issues so that the Centre can make its contribution towards a shared future. This has been a really challenging time for me, because I have endeavoured to deliver my own programme as well. I have only survived because the Support Services team have kept me afloat. May God forever bless Linda, Adrienne, Trevor and June! What I have noticed as Acting Director is the absence of space. My days fill with deadlines and meetings. There were times when the wheels came off the wagon. Standing in for David at one meeting, which I thought was a launch event and turned out to be something else, I was late, had no papers, no diary and, worst of all, no idea what I was meant to contribute. I bluffed and got a free lunch for my efforts but I don’t want to do that again. Being overloaded with busyness is not good for the organisation, or for my own soul. Being busy all the time looks good on paper and seems to reflect purposefulness and intention, but without space to stop, rest, notice and pay attention to what really matters, it all becomes smoke and mirrors. It seems fitting that I should come to this realisation of sabbath following our annual conference on Spirituality, which is also the theme of this edition of Lion&Lamb. At the November conference in Armagh, our keynote speaker, Marva Dawn talked about the way that keeping a sabbath changed her completely, and how, at a particularly busy time in her life, she kept one day when she wouldn’t work. She recognised that busyness had become a bondage that God wanted to set her free from. So she just worked six days. It was that simple. Everyone in that room at the conference recognised the truth of what she said, but when she asked us why we did not keep sabbath, the laughter from the floor revealed our truth that we would rather harm ourselves than sacrifice our self-importance. As the greatest gift God created, the very climax of creation, she exhorted us not to treat the sabbath day in a throwaway way, but to see it as a day for us to join the whole cosmos, and rest. When the word for sabbath actually means “stop”, there is something important for me to hear, and also for you to do as you read this magazine. Stop. This is how we get enfolded into God’s purposes, by resting, not rushing – and that’s the kind of spirituality we should be nurturing. May the thoughts and ideas in this magazine empower you to stop and declare sabbath on those things that will ultimately harm you. May you find the space to practice sabbath and begin to pay attention to what really matters. LYNDA GOULD is a Programme Director at the Centre for Contemporary Christianity in Ireland. |
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