Seeker

It was no surprise that today, the 9th day of Christmas my true love did not give me '9 ladies dancing' as did the lover in the song 'The 12 Days of Christmas'. So I will be content with this beautiful image of Indian dancing instead. If you go along with the idea that the song  12 Days of Christmas was once used as an aid for basic Christian instruction , then the '9 ladies dancing' may represent the 9 attributes of Christian living that are the fruit of the Holy Spirit.  The 9 virtues, or aspects of the 'fruit of the Spirit' are listed by St Paul in his letter to the Galatians like this: "...the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things." Galatians 5: 22 - 23 (NRSV) There would be so much more joyful dancing in the world if that sort of fruit was cultivated. It is the work of the Holy Spirit to produce such fruit in those...

Not having grown up in a Roman or Anglo-Catholic tradition the idea of a 'Novena' is a bit of a novelty for me, although praying regularly at particular times or for special purposes is familiar. A Novena is 9 days of focused prayer. NovemberNovena website has 9 days of prayers for the General Synod of the Church of England which meets in London next week 19-21 November 2012. You can find links to the agenda and papers here . The business on Tuesday 20 November is of significant concern for the future of the church. The Draft Bishops and Priests (Consecration and Ordination of Women) Measure will be presented for final approval. Passions run high on this issue and it is unlikely to be an easy debate. Regular readers of this blog will know what my views are from previous posts such as the one 2 days ago .  Much prayer is needed for all members of the General Synod.   I'm not talking about prayer for a particular outcome, but, in words from the NovemberNovena website...