The last three Sunday evenings, it has been my turn to lead the joint services, and I decided to take the opportunity to share some reflections that had arisen from my experiences of being diagnosed with, treated for and living with, through and (thus far at least) beyond cancer.

Week 1 the title was "Within Our Darkest Night" and was a trio of reflections of the last verse of 1 Corinthians 12 - these three remain, faith, hope and love.  But what does that mean in the 'valley of the shadow' or the 'dark night of the soul'?  I chose to explore these themes 'in apophatic perspective' - the 'via negativa' saying more what they are not than what they are.

Week 2 the title was "God's Living Likeness Still We Bear" (Brian Wren and a bit of Genesis 1) and was broadly on the topic of identity and self-esteem, specifically in the light of altered body image due to surgery or injury, visible and invisible conditions, and all of this compared with my favourite resurrection image of Jesus - his nail scarred hands.

Week 3 the title was "In All Things God Works" (Romans 8) and included a bit of theodicy as well as exploration of what it might mean to make meaning in situations where the answer to our 'why' questions will never be found.

All three were well received, and even if it was exhausting, it was also exhilerating in a way, not "whoopee doo" exhilerating but that sense of a job well done.

I've had a couple of requests for the texts, and I am pondering the possibility of posting them here... however that needs some careful thought as out of context, and without tone of voice and facial expression, they may 'sound' different.  So maybe I will, and maybe I won't... but I will find a way to get them to those who have asked me directly.