Selfies in The Vestry

So with Epiphany still a very fresh memory we are now officially in Lent - so for us at AFC it was pancakes at LunchBreak on Tuesday and sharing in a Service of Ashing and Eucharist at St Michael's yesterday.

But what does it all mean? And how can we find a sense of freshness in the Church Year?

That’s why I was very grateful for the insights of two ministerial colleagues yesterday - Ash Wednesday.

Sharon, the Associate Priest at St Michael’s used a phrase in her off the cuff vestry prayer (that's the Selfie photo - even clergy can misbehave in vestries!!)  before we went into the Lady Chapel for the Eucharist that asked God to help us this Lent ‘realign’ ourselves.  She didn’t linger in guilt or try to define sin, she didn’t pray about giving up anything but chose instead having a positive view of Lent.  That in the business of life when it’s easy to get so many issues out of perspective Lent could be seen as an ideal time for realignment – actively seeking to restore the equilibrium of our faith, relationships and responsibilities.

An earlier contribution to a conversation in the day was also helpful.  I was having lunch in Ruislip with Edward and Edwin, pastors of our link church at Harlesden in North London and Edward was telling me of his recent Sabbatical.  He told me of the month he spent on St Kits, and then the month back home in Ghana and finally the four weeks with which he concluded his Sabbatical on a Silent Retreat with the Sisters of The Lamb of God just outside of Oxford.  Four weeks of silence – I gasped over the garlic mushrooms.  'How did you survive'? I asked.  He smiled and told me; 'well I only went to the 5am service twice!' He then said: 'But I actually got into the rhythm of being there and ended up loving silence so much I didn’t want to come home!' Well, just like Jesus and his 40 days, Edward seems to have been changed, or at least his faith deepened by that experience.

Wilderness and realignment - that will do me at the beginning of our Lenten pilgrimage!

Best wishes,

Ian