Thanks to everyone who participated in tonights worship service, it was really beautiful. The service was inspired by John O Donohue’s take on ancient Christian practice The Examen, and asked a series of questions which invited the individual to reflect on their day. Each person had found a different way to present their question and invite a response to it. So Summer presented the question “What dreams did I create last night?” by setting up a tent with cushions and blankets where you could lie down and think about your dreams, and a big sheet of paper outside where you could write them down or draw a picture of them. Lily presented the question “Where did I allow myself to receive love today?” by providing a life size poster of a person onto which we could stick post it notes saying where we had experienced love and how it made us feel. There were so many creative ideas – including origami from Charlie and bread making from Gwyn – it was really rich and varied.
Gwyn introduced us to a book about the Examen entitled ‘Sleeping with Bread’. It begins with a story about the many children who were made homeless and orphaned in the war. Their carers discovered the children could not sleep at night because they were afraid that they would wake up to discover they were homeless and there was no food for the day. Eventually they came up with the idea of giving each child a piece of bread to take to bed. It reminded them that they had been fed that day, and guaranteed they would have food for tomorrow. Thus reassured, the children were able to sleep again.
Fears often hold us back in life – physically, emotionally, spiritually. As adults we don’t always find the reassurance that enables us to move forward. So this is my question for you: Where is fear holding you back in life? And what might be the ‘bread’ that enables you to put that fear aside?

