Seeker

What do you do when you're dirty and sweaty? You wash.  What do you do when you're tired and stressed? You relax in a bath or pool. What do you do when you need a kick start in the morning? You wake yourself up with a shower. Wonderful gifts for those of us with the privilege of easy access to fresh, clean water. After a bath, shower or swim, one can feel like a new person, ready to face whatever comes next. Tomorrow is the Sunday when Christians remember the baptism of Christ in the river Jordan by his cousin John. It marked the beginning of his public ministry. Jesus didn't need to undergo John's baptism of repentance, but he wanted to be alongside those who did, fully immersed in being human. Without water we couldn't live, so it's not surprising that most of the world's religions use water in a variety of symbolic ways. This is certainly true in the Jewish religion in which Jesus was brought up. One of the blogs I follow is that of Velveteen Ra...

3 former 'flying bishops' in the Church of England were received (as lay members) into the Roman Catholic Church on 1 January 2011. They will be ordained deacons on 13 January and priests on 15 January . 2 weeks as lay members before ordination and 2 days as deacon before priesting!  Is this a record? I served 12 months as a deacon before priestly ordination. Many of my sister clergy who felt called to be priests served as deacons for 6 years (1988 to 1994) before being allowed to be ordained priest. By then the male colleagues with whom they had trained had been priests for 5 years. I can't help making the comparison, though I have to acknowledge that the 3 men to be ordained deacon (again) and priest (again) in Westminster Cathedral have considerable experience. I feel sad that Andrew Burnham, John Broadhurst and Keith Newton felt they must leave the Church of England. I hope they will find joy in their new calling and be a blessing to others. But I do wonder if this...