Post-Hiatus Update

Well, as the bishops have been on retreat for the past two days, I decided to take yesterday off from the blog in order to catch up on some much welcomed sleep. The past two days have been remarkably slow, what with the bishops down at the cathedral on retreat and all. Nonetheless, life does go on here, and the spouses' conference is getting into full swing. Last night, Jane Williams' (the Archbishop's wife's) new book, Marriage, Mitres and Being Myself was launched, with a free copy being given out to all of the spouses present at the conference (along with wine and fair trade chocolate!). The book describes the experience of being married to a bishop, from the perspective of numerous people from around the communion. I think I'll try to find a copy once the marketplace opens up. The portions that she read sounded quite interesting.

My duties over the past couple days have mostly consisted of pointing people in the right directions, giving tours of the campus, guarding gates and ushering bishops onto buses. It hasn't been highly stressful work, but it's been very active work, and I'm starting to recognize faces, which makes checking security passes that much easier.

One of the best experiences so far has come up twice in the past two days. This would be the daily compline service, which is the last service of the night, and generally happens here at about 21:45. I feel that at a conference like this, and being in the position that I'm in, there's a really strange tension between 'humanizing' the bishops and 'venerating' them. On the one hand, you see them eat and sleep and show up late to Eucharist, but on the other hand, you have the great opportunity to see what others saw when these men and women were consecrated bishops. The tension lies in drawing the line between these two poles. It's the question of what level of respect and deference is owed to the other who is fully human and yet in a position of much greater religious authority. In my experience of the past couple days, worship in the sacred space with the monks and nuns has served as the great equalizer. The chapel room is octagonal enough to be round, and there are icons and images up along all the walls, with a large cross in the centre surrounded by flowers. The brothers and sisters sit in a circle in the middle, surrounding the cross, and everyone else sits along the outside, either in the chairs set up or on the floor (of Course I picked the floor). The great thing about it is that people's humanity and fragility become incredibly evident when in such a subdued and relfective atmosphere, and one realizes that a sense of humility before God is inextricably linked with the witness of the church. When true worship happens in both spirit and in truth, the centrality of the self is destabilized and God alone is left in power and in glory. Furthermore, however, it seems to be the very act of divesting the self of prominence in deference to God that causes one to become a great spiritual leader, and this is what I see in so many people when I go to compline.

Well, I am off to the magical land of sleep in order to hopefully make the 6:30 morning prayer tomorrow.

Blessings, all.
Nick.

P.S. - I finally got to knit a bit tonight, I now have a prayer shawl that's over half finished! And even better, I've had someone agree to teach me how to knit socks. Score!