Posted Thursday 29 May 2008
Edith Thorp, convenor of the Diocesan Action Group for Spirituality, reflects on the group’s work.
The group members - Sally Gorton, Caroline MacKillop, Rosie Rutherford, Clive Wylie and myself - represent four of the seven regions.
Most of us come from the Ignatian tradition and we are inviting a Franciscan to join us. Shareene Potter is moving to other pastures and Beryl Scott has retired from the group. We have met seven times.
As convenor I travelled to Gothenburg with a party to visit a youth centre that the diocese hopes to make into a retreat centre.
Grants of £300 were made for three retreatants. The balance of funds at the end of the year was given to the Walsingham Pilgrimage Fund.
There were 22 participants at the bi-annual retreat led by David Balfour at Cumbrae.
The Diocesan Prayer Calendar was updated, and feedback has been favourable.
We made one presentation to the Ayrshire Regional Council.
A day planned for Tertiaries, Oblates or Associates of Religious Houses and Communities had to be cancelled, but an afternoon was hosted on 5 May, when Philip North, from Walsingham, was the speaker.
Two days for spiritual directors took place. The Bishop led the first. Ruth Holgate, Director of the Ignatian Centre, Glasgow, led the second, focusing on aspects of supervision – something that is essential to maintain the professionalism of this particular ministry. The aim was to enable group supervision to be part of the diocesan framework for directors. One group has already met again with Ruth, and plans to alternate its own group supervision with supervision with Ruth.
ACTS is promoting a quiet day around the weekend of St Andrew’s tide. Although we are not actively promoting that, the diocesan Advent Quiet Day will be run on that same weekend, as it was last year.
Three of the Group participated in the Prayer input on the Diocesan Journey in Faith Programme.
There has been great encouragement for the promotion of Vocation Sunday which had fallen into neglect over recent years.
The Group has recently produced a leaflet to help people to find a spiritual director if they so wish.
DNS Prayer Corner has been introduced, to enable the diocese to pray for each other in a more immediate and focused way than the Prayer Calendar can accommodate.
Finally, among events planned for this year is a Tapestry of Prayer day, hosted at St Margaret’s Newlands on Saturday 13 September. The threads throughout the day are eight different aspects of seeing ‘Prayer Through…’.
Leaflets with more information will be distributed to churches soon. Contact me, Edith Thorp, on 01556 610816, or email .
Category: Action Group for Spirituality
