August 1st - which means I am now starting the second month of my sabbatical - it is sure as anything running away very quickly!
In terms of what I planned to do in this first month I have:
- visited two churches to find out about their ministry-and-mission in urban contexts
- visited two churches to attend worship as a 'normal' person (OK, 'normal' is debateable...)
- got about half way through looking at the results of my empirical research - this is less than I had hoped to achieve by now, but it has been richer than I anticipated
- visited some friends
I have also read four or five novels, which has been a wonderful extravagance, and which I think is also helping me strengthen my 'concentration muscles' which are still pretty weak and flabby.
In terms of 'work done' I have failed to achieve as much as I had planned, but I think I have gained more than I hoped for.
Today's PAYG was based on the Exodus account of how God's presence was symbolised by cloud and fire and in relation to the tabernacle (or 'God's gazebo' as my mind decided to label it). One of the questions was about how we hear/see/discern God... which for me includes the 'shove in the back', the 'I can do no other' and 'the things that make you go hmm...' The last twenty four hours have been a bit full of the last of these, not least the arrival of an email as I was typing this stuff advertising a theolgoy conference in New Zealand next February, entitled "Symposium on Theology, Spirituality and Cancer", and a suggestion that I might want to attend or even submit... hmmm... not sure it would be feasible, but it sounds amazing... maybe I do have something to contribute to this field? Much mulling needed!
Today I am going to take a day out from thinking hard about anything and pay a visit to the St Mungo Museum of Religious Life in town, a place I have visited many times, but which I enjoy. If the rain holds off, I will also have a lovely wander in the Glasgow necropolis with its fascinating memorials.
As month two begins, I am aware that I still have a lot of slowing down to do, but at the same time, I am getting better at living in the moment and going with the flow. I think that's positive!!