It has been an interesting 4 years and if you are like me, as I begin to recount where we were at the last BGM, you may feel as though I’m describing events from a very long time ago. So much has changed, but many of the things that matter remain. We have had the opportunity to learn a great deal about ourselves, about our priorities and about our mission.

Even when our freedoms are limited, we have the power to do good. In this month’s blog, CPW Chair Anne Dixon reflects of freedom (with the help of camper vans, Reith Lecturers Law Lord Jonathon Sumption and Mark Carney, and writer and theologian Teresa Forcades I Vila) to ask: What does our faith teach us about the meaning and purpose of Freedom? And what is our response?

Of all the experiences we have missed during our period of extended lockdown, the slow, shared meals with family and friends to celebrate special occasions must be among the most poignant. This is when good food is prepared with love, and the cares of the normal day are set aside to create a hallowed time of sharing, of being together, of making memories. The words of Rowan Williams’ poem awaken a longing in us for those times and occasions to return.

Change is something that happens when we’re not looking. We think that we’re doing one thing, but it turns out to be something completely different. After a January that felt interminable, two things happened at once - I began reading the Salt Path and I started a new project. As the month of February now races to a close, I realise that, like Raynor and Moss in the Salt Path, I too have walked out into a new freedom - ‘a new season has crept into me’.

Last Sunday, after several weeks of grey colourless days which ran into each other and were barely distinguishable, the snow came, softly, suddenly, and the world was transformed. It was as though we’d all been let out to play, just for a day. And we seized the opportunity and ran, skated, slid and slithered with it wherever it would take us. Suddenly Winter wasn’t so bad after all.

“Christmas is all about God doing whatever it takes to be with us”, said Louise. We may not be with all the loved ones we hoped to see this Christmas, but God is with us, so who are we to despair? Merry Christmas everyone and may the Christchild fill your hearts and dreams always.

I’m being ‘bothered’ by trees at the moment. Two of them are real, two of them are literary and one is metaphorical. This Advent, may the ‘season of right doubt’ connect us through prayer and preparation, and with the greenery of Hope and Right Doubt entwined around our advent wreaths, let us move forward to the joy that awaits us.

“In the space of an instant a tiny community had formed. We stood looking at each other, nodding slightly sheepishly” - Sometimes community is formed by accident, not by design. In this month’s Chair’s Blog, Anne Dixon reflects on a community brought together by the instinct to protect themselves and those they love.

At CPW we embrace this rediscovery of the symbols of Eucharist. We celebrate, give thanks and share with exuberance. For many of us it is one of the most authentic experiences of the sacrament. We are truly a Eucharistic Community. At the moment, our community has never felt more scattered. Though we can see beloved faces and hear each other’s voices, watching others eat is not shared food. So what is to be done?

“As the last sounds of appreciation for the concert piece died away and we began to prepare for our final night prayer, one young girl turned to her mother and said, “Where are the Thank You’s?” When I heard this story I knew we needed to act. So I’d like you to imagine we are all gathered in the lounge/hall of Malvern, Penmaenmawr, Kintbury or Hyning. We are all in high spirits. The week is ending, tomorrow we go home. I just have a few thank you’s to say…”

Jesus told his disciples to “Let Our Light Shine Before Others”. Do our faces really make such a difference? One day we will see each other face to face again. And we will have learnt to read faces better, to appreciate the gift we are to each other, to feel the warmth as you shine.

Peter and Paul were no strangers to the experience of being under lock and key, but their responses differed. Presenting themes of Release, Readiness and Transformation, the readings offer us an initial focus for our own reflection as we come out of lockdown.

The word, Abide', often translated as ‘stay’ or ‘live,’ is richer than both. It carries echoes of faithfulness and relationship. It suggests a depth of encounter which requires more than our fleeting and fractured attention.

Slowly at first, and then gathering momentum, beloved, familiar faces began to fill my screen. We talked over each other in a cacophony of voices. It was just like that moment on the first day of a CPW when everyone starts arriving. We were so excited to see each other. How would we ever be able to make this prayerful? 

When it became impossible for the icon commissioned for CPW’s 75th year to travel to the homes and parishes of our CPW community, the icon was placed in a place of prayer. Each evening the candle is lighted and prayers are offered for all members of our CPW family. The thoughts which follow were inspired by these prayer times.

Our tradition tells us to seek wisdom. CPW, when gathered, can be part of our discernment process. For those with ‘ears to hear’, there is wisdom in abundance in the words, thoughts, actions and experiences of those who gather and give generously of themselves.

It is possible to find the divine hidden in the smaller lights only visible when the main stage lights are extinguished. May your Christmas be filled with starlight and may the Christ-child ‘bring you home.’ The wait is over. Christmas is here. God is with us. Merry Christmas.

It's not easy to be out of step with everyone around you. They’ve all started the party and we’re still getting ready. Now is the time to hold our nerve. Take some time, just a little, to reflect on where we are.