Posted Sunday 1 April 2007
Action Group for Spirituality Convenor Edith Report reports on the Group’s activities over 2006 and 2007:
Last year I finished my report by reflecting on the future and what the Action Group for Spirituality (AGS) planned for the year, writes Edith Thorp. Our intentions were to:
- Work with the Liturgy Group on regular Sunday Worship.
- Run workshops for regions and congregations.
- Build up the spiritual life of individual members of the church.
- Offer support. when funds allow, for the training of people to enable others in their spiritual life.
A year is a long time and sometimes plans don’t come to fruition for one reason or another - as this report shows!
However, let me tell you what the AGS has achieved this year. The group members are currently Sally Gorton, Shareen Potter, Rosie Rutherford, Beryl Scott, Clive Wylie and myself representing four of the seven regions. We have met four times.
We have organised and held two gatherings for Spiritual Directors within the Diocese. These gatherings have enabled this group of people (around twelve) to meet, to get to know each other, to share where they are and to look towards how they can support each other, and be trained in the skills that are needed to be equipped to be Spiritual Directors. We hope that the next meeting will be a training day in Supervision led by the Director of the Ignatian Spirituality Centre, Glasgow, to enable Directors to supervise each other individually or in a group situation.
We have given a presentation to one Regional Council and are about to give a presentation to another one - five Regional Councils still to invite us!
AGS has helped sponsor one person to go on a training course, has supported another to attend the Diocesan bi-annual retreat and helped sponsor a family to go on pilgrimage.
At the Bishop’s request we have taken on the compilation of the Diocesan Prayer Calendar. This is available now, - it is now in booklet format and has been expanded considerably to include daily prayer for Bishop Idris, and more frequent prayer for our twin dioceses, and the Diocese of Gothenburg. Starting in this issue we will have a monthly prayer corner in the Diocesan News Service newsletter.
In hand at the moment is the organising of a day for the tertiaries and oblates within the Diocese: to explore what support the AGS can offer, and what support they can offer each other and the Diocese.
Through the Diocesan News Service we have offered to host Quiet Days in charges/regions; please contact us if you would like us to arrange one in your church or region.
For the future, we intend:
- to plan a Prayer Workshop Day for the Diocese in 2008;
- to continue the support of Spiritual Directors and possibly tertiaries, oblates or Associates of Religious Houses or Communities;
- to be available to support and encourage regions and congregations in their spiritual life.
Category: Action Group for Spirituality
