Hi There!

How has your March been? I seem to have been too busy. Set free, I have abused my diary and so myself, and therefore maybe, my responsibilities to you, and, dare, I say it, yes, to God.

I guess that as I journey on I will be glad that I managed to do it all. A 48hour conference in Sheffield called Mission21. ‘Being Christian congregations in such a way that all may not only hear the Good News, but also see it lived’, will be the strap line I carry with me from it. Plus the conviction that this task is for all Christians, and needs us all, so lets ‘stop spitting at each other’ and get on with the task – meeting God at work and working in collaboration with God and one another.

I also found myself on a five-day course on ‘mediation and conflict resolution for church leaders’. I had signed up for this as part of my resolves out of my self-appraisal. It will be interesting to begin to use some of the understanding and knowledge gleaned. I encourage others to see it as being worthwhile. Led by Bridge Builders from the London Mennonite Community. 

In the middle of all this one of my real joys is joining congregations Sunday-by-Sunday and sharing in their worship. We have been journeying through Lent, having given up…. Or resolved to…. And each Sunday has provided a different focus, but all in the company of Angels who minister to us, well if we give them time.

One group of ’angels’ who ministered to me were the new Sunday night young peoples group at Hereford, who shared in our evening worship, exploring

• What it felt like to be bound?
• Freedom from what?
• Freedom for what?

My experience is that sticking with feelings is not always easy, but it might have been interesting to interview the person who found themselves bound to a chair. To hold on to the “what does it feel like?” question. Listening carefully to the answer. Who are the people around us who are bound. How do they relate to the Biblical notion of the stranger in our midst?

I think that many of the things from which they sort to be set free, had to do with bad feelings. Broken relationships. Wrongs done. Resolves broken. And what is it that the song says, “why is sorry the hardest word?” but how powerful. When it came to the third question, apparently, in preparation, the response of one of the young people, was “That’s a tricky question”. So it is. How we use our freedom is a deeply challenging and profound issue. Out of my own journey, in the company of people, like my Helen, who have learning disabilities, I have long held that the issue needs to be explored in terms of autonomy, taking proper personal responsibility, and our interdependence in the human family. Maybe it should be the subject of our reflection as we pause between Good Friday and Easter Morning, so that as we celebrate the heart of our faith, new life in the Risen Christ it will take us into a new freedom.

Well a gardening friend told me that our potatoes should be in by Good Friday! I pray that this Easter time will be a time of blessing, and not to many eggs!

Bill Anderson