All Iona-d out

I made a conscious decision on retirement to stop and not do anything but truly rest and wait for new opportunities to arise. 

So one moment you are truly retired and then suddenly in the space of 24 hours you almost think you are back at work except this time everything is by choice. 

So I found myself by choice leading an afternoon session at our church. Set within an Iona liturgy I had opportunity to share some thoughts about the Iona community that has had a profound influence on my thinking, life and ministry. The focus of the reflection time was a 'Blessing' workshop, and as I have always discovered, people wrote some amazing prayers. All very different with insight and challenge. I was pleased to be able to put them into a small booklet and let everyone have a copy on the Sunday. If you ask others to write you do so yourself and here is my offering. As our church has St Hugh's as its patron saint it felt write to pen one based on this.



Bless O God

St Hugh’s. 

Like a white swan

standing in the street. 

Activities 

like web feet

furiously busy

unseen

giving it movement 


Holy Spirit

guide then

this swan’s direction

Into a future 

downstream

till it meets

It’s creator 

Amen.


So a full afternoon was followed by an on line meeting with an Iona Family group who have been kind enough to invite me to join. I was delighted to join in and to meet folk including Joy Mead who has written so many wonderful insights into faith in a  variety of books which sit on my bookshelf. Over the coming months I hope to get to know them all well.


Then next day it was off to Oxford to an Iona Associates group meeting where we heard form a local Asylum support group. So I found myself transporting a local associate there and bringing two more home. I led the group in the Iona office so once again I found myself leading worship. All this after 17 months of not doing anything. In going to the Oxford group I was invited to a local group in Banbury in a couple of weeks time to share some insights from Sheffield.


So in the space of 24 hours new opportunities are opening up and its all by choice.




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