Sunny greetings from Spurgeon's College South London, in Holy Week 2014. I'll be blogging from time to time while continuing on a 'permission to study' year based here. The first submission of a PhD thesis on the inspiring mission and ministry of the Revd Dr Colin Morris has been done and its many words are being read by wise and learned people during this month so they can offer much needed feedback before final submission mid-May. Praise God for wise and learned people! I'm also going through the whole text minutely with a red pen, wincing and tutting, as you do. We strive for perfection but....
After final submission I'll start preparing for service as a Methodist Mission Partner again - read about World Church relationships here - but this time at Pacific Theological College (PTC) in Suva, the capital of Fiji. My first appointment in ministry 1993-98 was with the wonderful United Church of Zambia, and I've since served in Circuit ministry at Wolverhampton and Dorking, and as tutor in global mission education at the Selly Oak Colleges, and then the Queen's Foundation in Birmingham. PTC has invited me to become Director of its Theological Education by Extension programme, so I look forward to learning much more about that and preparing as best I can.
But in the present moment, it's Holy Week with its pain, poignancy and all the anticipation of resurrection joy to come. The window shown here is from Spurgeon's College. I pass it on the staircase frequently and the College crest and motto never fail to inspire.
Et teneo et teneor
I both hold and am held.
