A personal reflection

Although these reflections will not appear until 2025, I am in fact writing them in February 2022. This is my 94th year and I realise that I may not be here when they eventually come to be sent out … which prompts me to offer a reflection to those approaching old age. We are told to respect the elderly. This does not, however, mean we should be unduly subservient to them (to us I should say.) I am fortunate to have as a lodger a friend who, while keeping a watchful and caring eye on me, does not hesitate to challenge me occasionally. I try to be grateful for such feedback; but occasionally I am piqued! My ego has been pricked! But that is good, for one is still learning, right up to the end. As T.S. Eliot says in the Four Quartets: Old men should be explorers still’.

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A personal note

When I applied to be ordained as a non-stipendiary priest, I wrote on my form that, as far as I could see anything, I saw my ministry as being a bridge that would unite opposites: it would be less a matter of doing than of simply being. It was my task to be what I had always been – a catalyst.

People pass through a threshold into new territory; it is both a departure and an arrival. A threshold is not necessarily a door, rather it is a frontier which calls for decision and commitment. Do I cross or not?  Each of us is a pilgrim and like all true pilgrims we are here to help each other on the journey. 

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11 December 2022

James’s funeral took place a month today, on his 95th birthday, 11 November 2022. It was a perfect occasion.

We have added a section to his website in which you will find:

  • The Order of Service
  • Reflections on James’s life
  • Newspaper Obituaries
  • James speaking his favourite Psalm.

We will continue to send you James’s fortnightly blogs and continue to update the website.

Warmest Yuletide Greetings!

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