Nigel Wright

So near but so far

The Wright family are enjoying seeing in the New Year with family in Auckland, New Zealand. The weather is a stark contrast to the last post below - both are equally beautiful but it is an amazing privilege to be able to change from winter to summer in just over a day.

Yet New Zealand is far bigger than people imagine and a dear friend in Christ Church is on the move from Christ Church to Adelaide and we can't orchestrate to get to see them before they go. In addition I have just found out an old school friend is in Christ Church (I thought they were in Auckland) so I can't hook up there either!

It does get me thinking about how much of life is outside our control - but how much is predestined? So to my friends I can't get to see, all the very best and to all those we are currently getting to see, thank you so much for your wonderful Kiwi warmth and generosity.

 

the bread and wine debate

One of the things A has been looking forward to (in and around his trials and tribulations) is being able to take communion at church. At home we break bread together but A so wants to take part in public too. I must confess that I find it extremely difficult to refuse children at the altar rail – they understand far more than we credit them (and sometimes far more than us)!

 

One of the talking points with adults preparing to take part in communion in church tends to be how and when does the bread and wine become Jesus?

 

Stanley Hauwerwas deals with that question far better than I:

 

“Too often accounts of how or when the elements (bread and wine) become the body and blood are attempts to provide mechanistic explanations, assuming that God cannot get into his creation is something “back there.” But we must remember that our salvation is created in the midst of the earth. The God who created us continues to create and redeem. The first sentence of Mathew’s gospel made that clear. By being made sharers in Jesus’ body and blood, we participate in the new creation.

     The God who is in Christ, very God and very man, is also the God that has no difficulty in being found in the bread and the wine made for us the body and blood of Christ….The Eucharist is the feast that makes Christ’s time the time in which his people live… This meal, therefore, becomes the meal of unity binding Christians through time and space to be one body, one Christ, for the world.[1]

 

Whenever we share a meal with friends, family, colleagues etc. we come together in love and fellowship – don’t believe me, what does it feel like trying to eat a meal with some-one you have fallen out with!

 

Stanley Hauwerwas’s last sentence (highlighted in bold) is the one that really needs addressing in the institutional church and particularly across denominations!   

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[1] Stanley Hauwerwas, Mathew (London: SCM Press, 2006), p. 219.

A big thank you

It's been a long time - over two months with only the essentials in life  being attended to...

What happened?

A, our seven year old, broke both his legs at the end of our family holiday -  late August - which turned our lives upside down, (should have gone to Greenbelt which is our usual habit in late August), but more of that later.

This post is a big, big thank you for all the love and support, prayers, gifts and kindness we have all received over the past two months. It has all been very much appreciated by us all. An extra special thank you to the gang of school mums who have looked after D, our eighteen month old, and allowed Jo or I (mainly Jo) to go into school with A in his wheelchair to keep up with his schooling...

A is now free of casts after two months (as of last Wednesday), two operations, seven different casts and a few repairs to casts along the way - you can't keep boys from being active!  The healing has been amazing and all looks well such that in eighteen months time an x-ray would not be able to detect any breaks and we are praying that will be so.

And for now?

A has a big task ahead in relearning to walk, he is currently doing well with a frame and we are praying that the tendons and ligaments will behave themselves throughout these early stages.

Many, many thanks

God's Breath Given to Us

Borrowed in full from the Henri Nouwen daily reflection:

"Being the living Christ today means being filled with the same Spirit that filled Jesus. Jesus and his Father are breathing the same breath, the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the intimate communion that makes Jesus and his Father one. Jesus says: "I am in the Father and the Father is in me" (John 14:10) and "The Father and I are one" (John 10:30). It is this unity that Jesus wants to give us. That is the gift of his Holy Spirit.

Living a spiritual life, therefore, means living in the same communion with the Father as Jesus did, and thus making God present in the world. "

Can't argue with that...

Bradford Diocesan Day

The Bradford diocesan day went "without a hitch" in the words of the Bishop - I can testify to that from my perspective and was thoroughly moved by Dr Christina Baxter and Fr Timothy Radcliffe.

My Spirituality in work seminars seemed to go well with  a particularly lively and enthusiastic bunch in the morning seminar and a more quietly reflective and concentrated seminar in the afternoon. Thank you to both groups for your kind words and feedback and I hope and pray that what you took away with you is helping you today!

Setting the Pace

The Lord is my Pace setter - I shall not rush
He makes me stop for quiet intervals,
He provides me with images of stillness which
Restore my serenity,
He leads me in ways of efficiency through
Calmness of mind,
And his guidance is peace.
*
Even though I have a great many things to
Accomplish each day, I will not fret,
For his presence is here,
His timelessness, His all importance, will keep
Me in balance
He prepares refreshment and renewal in the
Midst of my activity,
By anointing my mind with His oils of tranquility,
My cup of joyous energy overflows.
*
Truly harmony and effectiveness
Shall be the fruits of my hours,
For I shall walk in the Pace of my Lord
And dwell in His House forever.
*
Psalm 23

 

Much needed communication

Over the past couple of weeks I have received a letter from afar, various e-mails from across the globe and a few very appreciated phone calls, all from people who I respect greatly and whose friendship and support I value dearly.

All during a very busy time, great timing, giving much encouragement.

We can't do anything worth doing... alone..

And the timing?

Divine intervention?

Don't knock it!

.

Advent reflections: April

A month with a concentrated focus on the curacy including both my Deacon's review and also the curates annual training residential. The review went well and the Archdeacon was both affirming and reassuring, plenty to work on in terms of models of ministry and the combination of parish and business. Not the easiest combination for a training incumbent either.

The residential was, for me, very special, we were privileged to have Ken Leach conduct the three day program and take us on a journey of exploration through ordained ministry (in particular Priesthood) and all the various out-workings. Ken shared much about his ministry, particularly his ministry in Soho and the Soho clubs - an inspirational ministry if ever there was one.

It was a a good lesson in theological reflection by one who has had a great deal of practice. This was how I captured it then (the reflection above was written before I read the following, the impression remains a powerful one):

"Last week I spent the bulk of the week with twenty some fellow curates on residential training at Scargill house. A time that for me was blessed, relaxing, stimulating and affirming.

*

The subject matter - The changing roles and nature of the Priesthood in the Church of England today.  A huge and often controversial subject matter!

*

It was, in my opinion, wonderfully and very ably led by Kenneth Leech who very cleverly led us through three days of gathering our experiences, exploring those experiences, reflecting on those experiences and sewing the seeds of response (a good bit of Practical theology in process)…

*

It is not possible to capture the whole three days and much of it was confidential, there was a great deal of openness and honesty that added an unexpected wealth to the proceedings…

A few items from my notes, (that aren’t confidential!), just a very few from 10 pages of scribbles!

*

- Don’t fall into the balance trap – Integration – how to do the things one does in a more prayerful and contemplative way.

- Aquinas – “Through Baptism one is Ordained to the Eucharist”

- All people through their Baptisms are called to be Priests – all Christians share in the Paschal mystery

- Ordained – pointers/concentrators of energy – hallowed to represent the community, a public responsibility

- Priests only make sense at the point where sacred and secular meet (I’m really having to “chew” on this one)

- atmosphere of question and discussion required in and around gatherings

*

A big thank you to our IME director for putting it all together, to Kenneth for leading it and to Scargill for looking after us so well… oh and nearly forgot, many thanks to the Diocese for financing it…"

Advent reflections: January

I thought I would see what happened if I used advent to reflect on the year past with a view to helping focus on the year to come. The idea is to flick through the diary each month of the year and pick out one or two things that were influential/critical life events and explore where God "might be" in those events.

January was the month I received a quality control visit at the practice (think offstead, systems inspections etc). To my surprise it was suggested that the systems, practices etc., in place were good enough (with a bit of tweaking) to qualify for the ACCA quality assurance "kite mark".

It was anaffirming moment, not least because it is not that common for small practices to be "up to scratch" but also because my accountancy practice is interwoven with my curacy training and activityty. There was no way of "hiding" this fact (not that I wanted to) and practices have had to be developed to ensure the two can work together as well as side by side, so the assessor was subjected to far more than perhaps they expected.

And God in this? There is a security, a comfort factor, for all concerned, from clients to parishioners, anda reassurance that "worker priest" models can be developed that enable ministry to be undertaken while maintaining professional and business ethics.

It was also the month I was loaned a copy of Saints in Hell by Gilbert Cesbron, a novel based on the French worker priest movement of the early 1900s. Godly timing?

Prayer as opportunity & a “Christian” friend

Two incidents stand out for me this week – both occurred in the same gathering. Both happened in group work that I was assisting with –

 

“I Wish I had a Christian friend, then I would have a friend I could trust and who would not lie to me”, this was a response to a discussion about faith in action and more specifically about lying.

Incredibly thought provoking, yes that is the kind of friend some one walking in the Christian faith should be, yes they will fail from time to time and yes others who do not overtly profess a Christian faith can also carry those qualities.

 

“I wish I had a friend like that”…and I do have friends like that, for which I am very grateful and it was the first person I ever met like that who had a huge influence on my faith journey many years ago. (I do hope and pray that the person who said those words finds a friend like that).

 

The second involved a clip from the film evan almighty, a clip where God is speaking, to the wife of the modern day Noah, about the answer to prayer being the provision of opportunity to address the issue being prayed about.

 

The answer to prayer is the giving of the opportunity… prayer as opportunity… a concept I have wrestled with before and find helpful in working through issues.

 

But it was much more powerful on this day, and remains so, as I recognise the opportunities arising from the longstanding prayers I have and as I look back on areas of prayer over the years and how the opportunity becomes the source, the source of deeper union with God.

 

To work and walk through a situation with God is a far greater thing, Vanier captures the opportunity that arises as a result of God being revealed:

“Why are we blinded to these manifestations of God?

Is it because we are comfortable and secure

in our way of life, our certitudes and our feelings of elitism

and do not want to change?

Are we frightened of anything that might disturb us?

The God of Love and the love of God are calling us to go forth

on this journey to union with God.

 That means deepening our interior life –  

Which is our only real security –

In order to walk more confidently into the things

God may be calling us to.”[1]

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[1] John Vanier, Drawn into the Mystery of Jesus through the Gospel of John (2004: Montreal , Novalis), p. 179.

Sharing stories....

"Why has Nigel stopped blogging?" - a question received by Jo my wife earlier this week - "I don't think he has consciously stopped but he has been extremely busy, ill  and is probably also struggling as it was a big thing in his relationship with Tom (Bigbulkyanglican)..." Jo's response (or as close to it as she retold to me).

Wise words, a view point I hadn't really though about, but she is of course right, grieving comes in many forms, as does denial of grieving, and Tom introduced me to blogging in my own right and it was how we shared our stories in terms of our thoughts and viewpoints (the gossip and chitchat came over a pint or a coffee).

So now I write again to share this and to pick up the threads... not least because the person Jo was talking to expressed how they missed the blog and being able to share my story this way.

Sharing stories is crucial to our being, and our not being!, much underrated despite all the attention given to story by a whole raft of academic and practical research.

I'm currently reading The Brothers Karamazov by Dostoevsky and it is a wonderful world of story and theology through story, well worth a read (all be it a long one)