Vicar Fight on Harry Hill's TV Burb

I just watched an on Harry Hill TV Burb. We all rolled around laughing at this...

Cuddesdon in the Snow

A beautiful location, even more beautiful in the snow.

THE DIGITAL STORY OF THE NATIVITY

This is a great video. Worth two minutes of your time.

Happy Christmas

End of term - new things....

Again, I have left it rather long between posts on this blog. The consequence is that for the last few weeks I have been trying to think of something significant enough to write about to break my silence. But I have been lacking ideas and time.

Today we had the last of the first terms lectures. Being at Ripon College Cuddesdon, of course, it is not actually the end of term - we have a Theme Study Week next week. I am studying Liturgy.

Anyway, I have reflected on some of the things I have learnt this term which I had not expected.

• Poetry - A couple of lectures have used poetry to illustrate their points. As I read new books, I am findings that some poetry really resonates with me. Not just in a 'Oh, that is nice' but in a 'Of, now I get it' way.
• Art. We went to the pre-Raphelite exhibition at The Ashmolean which showed me a previously under nourished area of my soul. There was some really good (excellent) art work that was inspiring and moving - that told a story deeper than the first glance of the picture. It reminded me of the importance of taking time out - taking a pause. There is an irony here - being at Theological College is one of the busiest things I have done, and it is too easy to forget to take time, a pause to reflect. I wrote and talked about this before - see here.
• Drama. We did an unusual session where we had to make a tableau of a feeling or incident. I was pretty sceptical about this - what would it tell us about a situation, but it turned out to be really useful and enlightening. Feelings were exposed that were not previously identified, and people were able to identify other feelings and issues just from a still tableau.
• Being in Oxford. I had not expected to be so in awe about going to Oxford University for the lectures on Tuesday morning. However, waling in to the Examination Rooms in a morning still feels a privilege. At the start of term, walking into Oxford in the sun was special, and it remains special in the ice and snow.
• New worship experiences. Over the last few years, I have been hit time and time again by the Spirit moving when I have least expected it. Coming to Ripon College Cuddesdon was designed to give me a whole range of new experiences that I would not have other wise experienced. And that has happened. I have led a number of worship events, including the Book of Common Prayer Evensong (and am learning to sing!). Whilst I was incredibly nervous beforehand, I was very pleased afterwards to have completed it. The same for Compline, our Group reflective worship. I have been to more BCP services than I would have ever expected, and I am just about getting used to them!

Next week I will spend the whole week on Liturgy, and then I will be catching up with essays before Christmas. The New Year will bring a new term and a new timetable. Bring it on.

Of course, there are many things that have also confirmed previous expectations, about my preferred types of worship

It was a year ago...

It is hard to believe, but I first visited Ripon College Cuddesdon a year ago. Little did I really know that one year later I would be at college having experienced a Bishop's Advisory Panel. It all started .. well, no it started a long time before, but I took it seriously after a dream and a promise from God to take my somewhere beautiful yet frightening. I feel I have been through all those experiences already, and I am certainly somewhere beautiful now.

My diary entry for the two days is somewhat revealing about the pattern of college here at Cuddesdon.

12.00: Meet at reception
1.00: Lunch
4.00: Tea
5.15: College Eucharist
6.00: Dinner

7.30: Morning Prayer
8.30: Breakfast

Of course, we ended up doing far more than that, having interviews with both Martyn Percy and Michael Lakey, meeting students and being shown round the college.

More revealing is my journal entry (written a week later, when we were on holiday in Tuscany). It reads

A week ago we went, as a whole family, to Ripon College in Cuddesdon. It was to have a look around the college. I felt at home. I could have stayed there - I would go back now, it felt right. The people, the building, the place. Even (!) the worship felt good..... Visiting made it feel real, but also made the barriers feel real. We have a number of hoops to jump through - God willing.

 (Interesting notes from the same journal entry, I have recalled our meal we had that night - steak from a Tuscan butchers, fresh figs, grapes and plums, and Italian Ice Cream. The next day we went to Assisi - a fantastic day.)