The Churches of Forest Hill and Sydenham got together to do all sorts of events last weekend, from the rosary in the Catholic church to a labyrinth in Holy Trinity, Sydenham. The labyrinth I was involved in was in Sainsbury's car park and passers by who got intrigued could come in or just stand at the side and ask questions. A labyrinth involves a person taking a literal journey around pathways, stopping off at stations on the way. At each station, through a physical act - playing with magnets and a compass, dropping a stone - they are encouraged to think through a reality for them: working out what is a 'false north', attracting them away from the 'true north' of a compass, that might pass to God. Or it could be any number of these things.
The number and quality of conversations I had with those passing by was great.
I also had the privilege of hosting Brother Hugh Tibbotts for the night, who came to join us for the weekend from the Franciscan community in Hilfield.
http://franciscans.org.uk/h-hilfield.html
Among other things, we discussed whether there was such a thing as a "new monasticism" and his delight at the way our weekend had embraced both free churches, Protestant denominations and catholics.
If you still want to get a flavour of Here Our Prayer, you could visit our Stitch and Bloom exhibition which will be up till the end of Monday, displaying the creativity and spirituality behind the visual in our church: vestments and flowers. And there's a session on Prayer in Jewish Life on Wednesday night: see the website.
Next week sees our Marriage Preparation Day, as we gather with the couples about to commit their lives to each other. That's on Saturday (20th September).
Otherwise, I look forward to seeing you on Sunday, for our usual service at 10am.
Fr Robert
