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It is a cold, dark, damp, windy evening. My wife and I are walking from our car to a local concert hall to listen to beautiful music.
On Tuesday evening I heard a lovely reflection on the encounter of Jesus with travellers on the road to Emmaus as told in Luke 24.
I am a priest.
In my role as a priest I perform a sometimes bewildering array of functions. I lead public worship. I accompany people in rites of passage. I share leadership in a community of faith. I preach, teach and give spiritual support to people in a variety of life circumstances. I pray with people “in good times and in bad.”
But there is one thing I do as a priest that for me more than any other captures the essence of priesthood and connects the varied tasks I perform.
I probably should not admit it in public. And please do not tell anyone in the parish where I work, or inform my bishop.
Everyone in the Christian Church seems to agree that the way we in the church have been doing business for the past fifty years is no longer working.
I know the US is not Canada. But it is likely that, though the numbers are vastly different, the trends in charitable giving are similar in the two countries.
It is that time of year again. It comes around every twelve months – the requirement to submit a “Personal Ministry Review” to the Bishop.
They say confession is good for the soul. And we are still in the season of Lent. So, what better time to engage in a little self-flagellation.
In response to my reflections on “People In Pain”, I was sent an article written by Rachel Naomi Remen in the September 1999 issue of Shambhala Sun. It is called “Helping, Fixing or Serving?” http://www.shambhalasun.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2328
