Colourful Dreamer

Sunday was a gift of a day. I trained back into London, and had planned to stay with the sisters at St Alphege's. But they had COVID, so I booked a fairly cheap place on Hotel.com. The Euro Hotel is one of quite a few guest houses/hotels on Cartwright Gardens in a pretty central part of London. They are on a curve, and each one has a slice of the what looks like one building around one edge of the garden. I had a private bathroom, which meant my bathroom was at the other end of the passageway and I was the only one with the key. Not what a older male who has to get up during the night wants. Hei aha! But is was quaint, old and lovely. The staff were super helpful. I enjoyed my stay. Initially I was going to spend the day with Rebekah, but she had a work trial, which was awesome for her, so I ended up with this quiet gift of an afternoon to rest, do some work on the computer, stroll about and enjoy some coffee. I did some of the things I had not finished for IPTOC. I sorted some pho...

Sabbatical 2023 - let's crack on reflecting on that. I arrived on Friday 11 August. I was staying at a friends place in the Isle of Dogs. Thanks Caroline for your amazing generosity. I stayed there three times. It was a great place to be based, once I worked out how the public transport worked. A quick bus ride into Canary Wharf, then the Elizabeth Line into central London. The Elizabeth Line also runs to Heathrow, so all good. I did get lost in Canary Wharf a few times, but that is the fun of large underground malls, especially at night. London was all about spending time with Rebekah - our youngest. London was and is tough going. You can read some of how tough here . Lots of young Kiwis and Aussies. No jobs with hard to get accommodation. It has not been the great time she hoped for. But she can escape to Europe, and has whenever the money allows. So it was so good to spend those first few days with her. I have blogged about that here . My rule was - you choose what we do, I'...

It is just over a year since I went on my three month sabbatical last year. I cannot believe how fast that time has gone. I am enormously grateful for that time away. It was a life saver really. It gave me space to reflect on life and I made some big decisions while I was away, like stepping down from being an archdeacon and retiring this year. Looking back I was pretty exhausted. The COVID years were tough. While some of that time was exhilarating: working out how to be church in lock-down, how to be church when we came back, how to gather safely, how to help people reflect on that time in a healthy way, how to navigate the restrictions and vaccine passes and all the raruraru  around that; it was also draining. And then people changed their attendance habits in the middle of all that, so the numbers attending church dropped by a third. We were not unique in that. But it was hard seeing all that work over 10 or so years undone. and people were left tired, and it was hard to get thi...

Part Three Bright and early, Tim and I set off for Bangor, and the trains back down to London. Once in London we met up with John Wotherspon from the TSSF Central Fund. I met John about 7 years ago, when he was in NZ with his wife. They came to St Georges for church on Christmas Day. Over the last few years we have been talking regularly and emailing, but it was good to meet up in person. We then found where the Central Fund meeting was to be held. It was a pretty standard meeting, but it was good to be together in the same room. The last time was four years ago. I was supposed to come over for one in 2020, and strangely that did not happen. Once the meeting was finished Bishop Martyn returned to the other bishops at Lambeth, and the others scampered off to their trains, and I checked in into Premier Inn Euston. And is was time for some more shopping. At least that was the plan. I could not find linen trousers anywhere. So much for that plan. But it was fun getting lost on the undergro...

I was a little worried abut the flight over, being in a full plane all masked. But so far so good. Lets face it, having access to the lounges makes flying much more pleasant. I got to watch some good movies, got some sleep, and read some of Hirini’s book, and my dragon book. And Heathrow was a breeze really. It took a while to get through the e-gate, but not too long. And my bag awaited me on the luggage thingy. I had arrived with my bag. What more could I want? I have had 2 and a bit days to enjoy London. Saturday I cleaned up and chatted with Sr. Sue, then had a wee nap. Later in the day I ambled down to Black Friars Bridge, and walked along Southbank towards London Bridge, and then back the other way towards Westminster Bridge, supping on a cup or two of nice lagers and enjoying the vibe. I went over the bridge to see the Houses of Parliament, which are now uncovered and gleaming. And through the deserted streets around the back of the Abbey crossing Lambeth bridge and ambling back ...

I will not be posting reflections on te readings for the coming Sunday, or a sermon, for the next few weeks. I am off to the UK to enjoy sweltering heat waves and how to not deal with Covid. And I am there for a number of Franciscan obligations including meeting with some of the bishops at the Lambeth conference. And I am spending some time in North Wales, if the trains let me get there. If all goes to plan I will offer reflections about what I am in the UK for and life on the other side. Or I might not.  We shall see.  If you could keep me in your prayers. And if you want you could pray for Lambeth as well.

I have just been away for 16 days on TSSF business in my role as Minister General – 6 days in Brisbane attending the Conference of the Asia Pacific Province and then their chapter meeting; and then  8 days in England attending the chapter meeting of the European Province at Ely, then a meeting of Franciscan Aid , and finally a meeting of the Central Fund, which I now chair as Minister General, and which funds our inter-provincial life as an order. So here are some reflections, begun as I sat slightly sleep derived, waiting for my flight home to Tauranga, and finished some three weeks later. Personally this was a really helpful journey. It has really helped me get my head around what it might mean to be Minister General. To be honest I have struggled a bit with this. I was struggling to get my head around how to do this, and even what to do. I was struggling with what my role was and who am I in this role. I was not really seeing myself as Minister General. Sure, I was slowl...