Once upon a time, this blog was alive and well.
In my curacy I visited it daily, - sometimes even twice a day.
It helped me to reflect on the new, surprising world of ministry in which I found myself, forced me to try and spot God at work in the unexpected corners of that parish, provided a space to learn on the job - and gave me confidence in my voice as a writer too.
The move into incumbency inevitably brought changes. While I had FELT busy as a curate, it turned out to be nothing in comparison with life as a parish priest, and somehow it seemed that the stories of my days were less often mine to tell.
I kept going, though less regularly...finding other places for reflection, though sometimes, if I'm honest, doing less of that than is healthy for anyone.
When I moved to the cathedral, without any deliberate decision, I found that the blog seemed to have turned simply into a repository for sermons. How very very dull! though I confess that as an extravert, I find it hugely helpful if people respond to my words somewhere - so that posting those sermons here, with a link to Facebook, meant that I knew that people had heard and engaged with my thoughts...
But - there was NO decision to stop writing, no resolve that enough was enough - and so I was positively shocked when I logged in here today, 31st December, and realised that there was nothing more recent than August.
August?!?! How on EARTH had that happened?
Since then there has been Greenbelt and Copenhagen, a third visit to India and a whole busy season of Cathedral life...and many of the details have been lost as I've whirled on through.
That's not how I want to live my life...I want to notice what is happening in and around me, and, noticing, to share where I can.
I can't promise a return to the "glory days", when my blog felt like something quite lovely, something to be proud of, that created a community of online friends whom I still treasure...but I do want it to be something alive, not a museum piece.
I've long since learned that resolutions are dangerous things - but I'm voicing a hope and an aspiration, to be more present here, as, perversely, I think that will also help me to be more present to myself.
Time to dust off this corner of the internet, then, and see what happens next.
In my curacy I visited it daily, - sometimes even twice a day.
It helped me to reflect on the new, surprising world of ministry in which I found myself, forced me to try and spot God at work in the unexpected corners of that parish, provided a space to learn on the job - and gave me confidence in my voice as a writer too.
The move into incumbency inevitably brought changes. While I had FELT busy as a curate, it turned out to be nothing in comparison with life as a parish priest, and somehow it seemed that the stories of my days were less often mine to tell.
I kept going, though less regularly...finding other places for reflection, though sometimes, if I'm honest, doing less of that than is healthy for anyone.
When I moved to the cathedral, without any deliberate decision, I found that the blog seemed to have turned simply into a repository for sermons. How very very dull! though I confess that as an extravert, I find it hugely helpful if people respond to my words somewhere - so that posting those sermons here, with a link to Facebook, meant that I knew that people had heard and engaged with my thoughts...
But - there was NO decision to stop writing, no resolve that enough was enough - and so I was positively shocked when I logged in here today, 31st December, and realised that there was nothing more recent than August.
August?!?! How on EARTH had that happened?
Since then there has been Greenbelt and Copenhagen, a third visit to India and a whole busy season of Cathedral life...and many of the details have been lost as I've whirled on through.
That's not how I want to live my life...I want to notice what is happening in and around me, and, noticing, to share where I can.
I can't promise a return to the "glory days", when my blog felt like something quite lovely, something to be proud of, that created a community of online friends whom I still treasure...but I do want it to be something alive, not a museum piece.
I've long since learned that resolutions are dangerous things - but I'm voicing a hope and an aspiration, to be more present here, as, perversely, I think that will also help me to be more present to myself.
Time to dust off this corner of the internet, then, and see what happens next.
