Although I was giving out for much of my time at Lee Abbey, I did make time for some reading and reflection. There are plenty of competing demands and stresses in my life as in yours. When there are too many they have a big impact on my creativity and I need to make space for it to re-emerge.
One of the books I have been reading – or rather listening to as it is in audio format – highlighted the link between rest and creativity. People, including me, rarely have their best ideas at work. They come at surprising moments such as when gardening, showering, or simply relaxing. No wonder we speak of re-creation.
I have recently taken up cycling after a doctor told me I need to give up running. Hopefully those hills will be opportunities for nuggets of insight and not just bursting lungs!

Arrived at Lee Abbey on Monday evening to lead 5 sessions from Tuesday to Thursday on ‘Enjoying the Angles’ – looking at each of the gospels in turn for the particular portrait of Jesus each evangelist paints.

A number of people currently or formerly in our Diocese are also here for the week. Great to see how many people from Bristol, lay and ordained, are involved and contributing to the mission of this significant centre of creativity and renewal for the Church. This morning’s time of worship included a powerful modern version of 1 Corinthians 13 which I will endeavour to put on the microblog.

If you have not yet visited Lee Abbey it is a terrific place for restoring spiritual vitality. Ask for a copy of their latest programme and book in. The website is http://www.leeabbey.org.uk

Synod was a good meeting with interesting input from Fr Nadim of Awareness UK, challenging Christians to be more confident about their Christian faith and culture. Also the two Simons, Bale and Topping challenged the Church to make greater efforts to use green energy.

This morning I went into the Dragons’ Den at the Lea. I should explain that this event was the culmination of a ten day focus on mission in the Woodbridge benefice. My task was to make a pitch for the Christian faith to the dragons – two actors from the Saltmine Theatre Company. It was an imaginative format and I think it worked well.

Did the dragons invest? Truth to tell, we decided beforehand that for them both to meeky capitulate would look a bit tame. In fact they took the position of a lot of honest seekers after truth. That is they declared themselves not ‘out’ but wanted to know more before they were prepared to make a decision.

This benefice is fast getting a reputation for risk-taking and innovation. It is hugely compelling and the leaders and people of this benefice deserve our congratulations and our encouragement.

All this on the back of defeats for the English Cricket team, the English football side and an erratic and narrow win over the Argentinians at Rugby Union.

Despite all, a weekend I enjoyed.

This has been a rich week for me with a great deal to digest and reflect on. Yesterday I was invited to Salisbury Diocese to attend a day that arose out of the recession entitled ‘Back to the Future? Taking Responsibility for a Shared Society.’ Leaders from business, local Government, education and other agencies across Wiltshire and Dorset met with Anglican Church leaders to reflect on how we can work together for the wellbeing of communities and wider society. (Echoes of our own Diocesan purpose?)

There were so many insights but one of them was this. If you were asked, “What is the greatest problem facing the Church?” what would you say? Not enough money, indifference, too many buildings, ageing congregations? What Martyn Percy suggested is this: “Coping with the overwhelming abundance of God!” In a culture where we have so much but continually complain of what we lack this is a powerful antidote. You and I need to take it frequently and administer it to others.

Very encouraging meeting with our Diocesan Board of Education last night, focusing on providing training for volunteer chaplaincy in FE colleges and schools. Very impressed by their approach.

Two days full of good meetings with colleagues including church leaders from other denominations in the area and lay leaders from our deaneries. Board of Education meeting tonight. Getting ready for Diocesan Synod on Saturday…

In London today House of Lords, ‘learn the ropes’ day. It’s all a bit intimidating as many of the procedural conventions are not written down. A bit like the good old C of E you only discover you have made a gaff when someone tells you!

Had breakfast with my son, Nick early this morning. Good to see his music career taking off. If success is down to effort then he certainly deserves to achieve

Trying to get my head around the ‘offer’ the Holy Father has made to traditionalist Anglicans. There appears to have been a surprising lack of consultation over this and one has the impression that the both the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Catholic Conference of English and Welsh bishops were caught a little off balance by the announcement.

How well, I remember a Roman bishop saying to me back in 1992 when Synod voted for women priests, that clergy who wanted to join the Roman Catholic Church would need more than simply a single issue to be accepted.

Does the Pope’s offer mean that times have changed?

Evangelists are vital to the life of the local church – but they are not the most comfortable people to have around! Their passion to connect with outsiders causes them to continually push at boundaries and challenge the status quo.

We need to remember evangelists feel the discomfort too. Quite often they feel isolated and discouraged. The Fellowship of Parish Evangelism (FPE) is a great group for encouraging them and helping them make their special contribution to the local church. Each year they hold a Conference at Swanwick in January and it has been a significant resource for me. FPE provides support and inspiration for evangelists of all types, lay and ordained, and offers a warm welcome to newcomers. If you know an evangelist who might benefit from this Fellowship point them to http://fpe-network.org/default.aspx

Just done an assembly at a fantastic CofE primary school in North Swindon. Wonderful example of excellent school with a distinctive Christian identity. Always an encouragement to me. http://www.stfrancis.swindon.sch.uk

A cold and damp day for the Remembrance Day parade this morning in the centre of Bristol. It seems as though the present conflict in Afghanistan and the ongoing violence in Iraq gave the service both extra numbers and poignancy. I was struck by the many young parents present with their children.

Listening to a researcher from Ecclesia on Radio 4 earlier (who sounded more like an evangelist for his cause than a researcher) who sounded hostile to the very idea of patriotism, it was re-inforced in me again that the parade has clear significance to the large numbers present.

It didn’t seem to me to be an occasion of unbridled patriotism and reinforced my view that a little bit of pride in our armed services and nation is not a bad thing.

We will remember them……