A short break August 25, 2009

I’ve been away for a few days now just taking stock and recovering some energy after the mayhem of the past few weeks. It has been lovely to have a change of scenery and to really be able to relax.

I really haven’t done very much – lots of knitting (my scarf is growing exponentially), jewellery making and reading Famous Five novels… it has been fab.

I’m staying in the countryside, and have loved how many stars I can see at night, and the novelty of being woken by cocks crowing – lovely!

Today I went to this beach:

It was very pretty. I had fish and chips in a little cafe, ate ice cream and walked along the shingle. Bliss!!

Two thousand miles later… August 25, 2009

Or 2540, if you believe Google maps, Road Trip is finally over.

It feels weird, when your life revolves around something, for it to finish. As I said before, I loved certain aspects of being out on the road. I loved the late night conversations and learning new geography and stuff like that.

Scarborough was fun, far away, but fun. We were a bit late getting there as I think everyone was travelling to Scarborough that day and there is only a tiny single track road to get there. The venue was nice and the food was yummy!

Next it was Wokingham and Belfast, which again were both fun trips.The best venue was saved for last though. This is Castlewellen Castle in Belfast – the most amazing castle. The food and hospitality of the Music Camp there was fantastic, we all felt very at home and very comfortable. The young people at the camp were lively and engaged and it was a really enjoyable time.

The next day we had some time to spare in Belfast before our flight home in the afternoon. So, we were introduced to Clements – a fab coffee shop, where we wiled away some time eating scones as big as our heads. Then we split up andshopped/mooched around/chilled out until it was time to fly home.

I felt a bit Road Trip bereft after it had all finished, kinda exhausted and glad to get a rest as well, but how often does one get the opprtunity to visit so many different places and meet so many young people in such a short period of time. I’m excited that we got to do it, and more excited about what God will have been up to in those young people, not because of what we did, but through the times they spent at summer schools, and everything that happened as part of them.

Now… for a well earned break!!

Road Trippin’ August 13, 2009

Over the past two weeks, I’ve had the real privilege to travel to a number of places around the country as part of the ALOVE UK Summer Schools Road Trip Tour.

ALOVE is the SA’s youthwork department, and this summer they, and us at 24-7/SA Prayer – along with representatives from the International Development department –  have been visiting every single one of the 16 Summer Schools taking place the length and breadth of the UK & Ireland.

We have been doing an afternoon of seminars (two each, one with the juniors and one with the seniors), and then an evening ‘gig’, with sung worship, games, testimonies and a speak.

So far I have been to Stourbridge in the West Midlands, Chingford in Essex, Milton Abbas in Dorset:

As well as the Wirral and Uppingham in the West Midlands.

I had mixed feelings at the beginning of the tour. I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about being away from home all that time, and I was nervous about all the speaking, but as we got started I soon found my flow, and even when it’s felt exhausting, I’ve still loved being out on the road.

It’s such a privilege to be able to spend time with young people, to hear their stories and to be able to get across that their prayer lives can be something they don’t need to feel guilty about – that their individual personalities will shape the kind of prayer they find most enjoyable and engaging. I have loved them coming up to me at tea and saying, ‘I’ve found out that I am a snorkeller’, much to the bemusement of other staff members. It has been fab to be at the evening gigs night after night too, to see young people responding to God – some of them for the first time.

It’s also been great to visit schools we’ve had some engagement with before, to see how some of the kids have grown and to hear some of their journeys.

Apart from all the spiritual stuff, some of my other favourite Road Trip moments have to be:

• Trying to lead a seminar whilst being attacked by wasps, managing to pause and time what I was saying around loud thumps as people attempted to squish them.
• Being given free-reign to plan a prayer room at one of the schools.
• Getting stuck in the most humungous traffic jam on the way home from Chingford and singing Westlife songs to pass the time.
• The luxury of staying in a Premier Inn for one of the evenings… sounds like a little thing but after lots of travelling and very little sleep it really did feel palatial. (It was also very amusing that they’d managed to book me in as Mr Ricky Adams…)
• My taxi journey to Milton Abbas with the most cheeriest and friendly taxi driver in the world.
• Getting to know the other team members better, chatting about our lives and experiences and dreaming about the future of the church.
• Realising the value of community even more as I communicated with my friends and Wandsworth-family by text whilst away. It can feel like a bit of a parralel universe being away for so long, but I think the friendly texts and emails kept me connected and sane.

I’ll probably think of some more and have some other tales to tell after the other tour dates:  Hastings tomorrow, Scarborough on Monday, Wokingham on Wednesday & then Belfast on Thursday.

For Sale August 4, 2009

As part of my mammoth fundraising efforts of present, I’ve put together a booklet of 30 meditations & poems, with some design work and photos too, and am selling them for £5.

If you would like a copy, or to see some examples, just drop me a comment and we can sort it out.

Thanks,

xx Vicki

Places & Projects August 4, 2009

It’s been a busy few weeks. In fact I’m not really sure how it got to be August… strange that. And the weather has turned distinctly autumnal, so I’m beginning to think that summer has entirely passed me by this year…

I’ve been to some lovely places recently. I went on a three-day retreat down to Penhurst, which is near Battle, in Sussex. I so needed some time out to think and process, and the retreat was perfect for this. There was a little bit of led teaching, and then lots of space for reflection. To begin with, I was like ‘How on earth do I fill all this space?’ but by the last day I had chilled out and was feeling like I could have stayed for another three days at least!

The other women on the retreat were all from missionary contexts, so I loved hearing their stories (I now know more about Ameobic Dysentry than I ever thought possible). It was so good to share meals and to share life together, and we built up a real sense of cameraderie and community. The days started and ended with prayers in the little chapel, following celtic daily readings, which I found a real blessing.

Getting back to London was a real culture shock. It was all so noisy and crowded after the tranquility of the countryside. I really wanted to try and hold on to that peaceful space inside of me, even though everything seemed to crowd back around.

A few days later I was heading south again to visit a friend. I got to see the sea again, to feel the breeze on my face (and to eat the yummiest raspberry meringue pavlova in the world). I had a lovely day.

And then there was Stourbridge (which is in the West Midlands). I was there to do some summer school teaching, for the first stop of what will turn into a bit of a scenic UK tour. The next few weeks see me taking in Dorset, Chingford, Scarborough, Hastings, Belfast, Uppingham and Wokingham… it’s gonna be fun!

Apart from the travel, there is much else to keep me occupied. I have a couple of cleaning jobs now, so I can regularly be found decked out in attractive tracksuit bottoms and rubber gloves regularly… so much for glamour!

Church has shut down for the summer, so there’s just prayer meetings and Sunday services going on… it’s all very weird, tougher than I could have imagined. We’re all still reeling. I’m wondering when I’m going to stop being in denial. So much is changing.

Work is a bit mad, we’re having a big move-around on our floor, with people from another office coming to join us, so it’s meant lots of cupboard sorting, and lots of shredding! I’ve learned I am bad at filing, bored by mandane tasks, but excellent at throwing stuff away (especially if it’s stuff that needs keeping but I don’t know where to put it… whoops).

I’ve been reading a lot too – I enjoyed ‘A thousand Spendid Suns’, which is about two women and their lives growing up in Afghanistan. I’ve also been wading through ‘The Time Travellers Wife’, which I found a little confusing. Oh, and someone brought me back a copy of Rob Bell’s latest book ‘Drops Like Stars’, from the New Wine conference… it really is amazing, in fact I think I should post seperately about it. It’s a big, hardback book, with beautiful design work and engaging content, all about the link between creativity and suffering – a pertinent theme.

Apart from all the mad travelling, the next few weeks involve some more cleaning, some inspiring meetings and some visits from friends I haven’t seen in a while. At least life isn’t boring!

Jo’s Funeral July 15, 2009

On Monday, about 500 people gathered in Holy Trinity church, Wandsworth to give thanks for Jo’s life and ministry.

It was a beautiful service. Tributes were offered by Janis Wigg – one of Jo’s peers from Sittingbourne corps, who had some lovely insights int0 the beginning of Jo’s journey of faith. Then the Territorial Commander, Commissioner John Matear, commended Jo’s ministry, with the obligatory ‘Well done, good and faithful servant’. Ben, Jo & Alan’s eldest son rounded off the tributes with a heartfelt, hilarious and touching tribute to his Mum. He reminded us of the little memories of Jo that each of us carry, we were reminded what a precious person she was.

Prayers were said for the family, and then Lyndall led the congregation in a responsive prayer based around Isaiah 61 and some words that Jo had written on the wall of the old hall. Anyone who knew Jo knew that the call to preach good news to the poor and freedom for the captives was something she lived unflinchingly to do. It felt right and fitting to pray that we would all carry on with that… not because Jo said, not simply as a memorial, but because that is the call on all of our lives.

The worship at the service was phenomenal. We started with the song ‘Great is thy faithfulness’, because that seems to have been anthemic in this whole journey. From the first prayer meeting, to Sunday meetings, and even in some of the more bewildering meetings recently, the lines from that song have been sung over and over, and have comforted us and reminded us of God’s promised faithfulness.

In the middle section of the service, we sang ‘Guardian of my soul’, which was one of Jo’s favourites. Joe Davison from Raynes Park led us through, and his fiance Nicky sang the first verse of this song as a solo. Her voice is truly beautiful, and I’m not sure there was a dry eye in the house at that point.

We then went on to sing ‘You Never Let Go’, and ‘Above All’, which again reminded us of God’s continued presence and constant, inexhaustible strength. The service rounded up with the song ‘In Christ Alone’, which was sung with more gusto and passion than I think I have ever heard it.

Russ Rook spoke using texts from Romans 8 and Psalm 91. It must have been really hard to know what to say in that context, but he did so so well, and was clearly inspired by the Holy Spirit. It was exactly the right mix of humour and hope; remebering Jo whilst at the same time pointing us all towards Jesus. He said some stuff I will be musing on in the days and weeks ahead.

At the end of the service people spontaneously began clapping, and the applause went on and on and on. It was such an incredible sound. It struck me that we were celebrating Jo, but more than that we were celebrating the triumph of Christ, we were declaring that death has lost its sting, we were stating our hope in his future plans.

After the service people stayed around for a long time chatting and remembering. There were so many people it was lovely to see, although we all said we wished it was a happier context. I was especially grateful for our friends from 24-7 prayer who came along. It was a blessing to stand alongside them and we felt their love and support.

The weather was warm and dry, so I spent a lot of time sat out on the grass, just thinking and chatting stuff through with friends. It was a beautiful service and I felt challenged again by the call to keep on, keep on pushing into the things of God, keep walking even through what looks like his plans flew out the window, keep hoping in his future where the promises of Isaiah 61 really do come true around us.

 

and so we keep going.

 

“This I call to mind and therefore I have hope:

Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed,

for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning;

Great is your faithfulness.

I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.”

(Lamentations 3:21-24)

Throwing Rocks in the Sea July 14, 2009

Grief is weird and horrid. On Sunday I happened to mention that I felt like shouting a lot and throwing rocks in the sea. I wanted to rage at something, and there isn’t a lot of sea or rocks in Wandsworth.

So we jumped on a train. Of all the spontaneous things to do on a Sunday evening after setting up for a funeral. We got to Brighton about eight o clock in the evening, all a little hyper from all the emotional intensity I think.

And, you know, we had the best time. We walked on the pebbles and paddled in the sea and I threw rocks and ranted at the Lord a little. Then we took lots of photos and I roly-polyed down the beach and we splashed around a lot. Then we sat on the pier and had seaside chips and threw a message in a bottle out to sea. It was one of our numbers’ birthday so we celebrated in style with present opening on the pier and raucous dancing. Then we stumbled back towards the station and got lost and nearly missed the last train home, but it was worth the late night.

We needed to do something that was reckless and abandoned and not about loss and pain and questions and intensity and confusion. For just a few hours we could step out of all the intrigue and complexity of the present and celebrate: celebrate life, each other, the world around us, the freedom to make such spontaneous decisions, simple things like chips and donuts, and I like to think in it all we were celebrating Jo also – the love and joy she brought into our lives and the memories we shared.

I also think Sunday night was about hope, that even though things are tough right now, we have a hope that is so much stronger than loss and death and bereavement. Things might not be the same, but God promises that he has plans to prosper and not to harm us, and I like to think some of those plans involve last minute dashes to the seaside and a whole lot of laughter.

Here we are sat on the pier (apologies for the flash bounce).

Thoughts June 29, 2009

I’ve been running through all the stuff in my head trying to work out what to say, it’s one of those times when there seems to be many thousands of words and then none at all.

Church yesterday was precious, painful and bewildered but overwhelmingly beautiful. We sang songs about the greatness and faithfulness of God; We meditated on the words and promises he has given us, we found that there is such comfort in drawing near to God, and to each other at times like these.

One of the six elements that make up Wandsworth Boiler Room is Community, and yesterday we all relied on that. After the service we stood in small groups, chatting or praying, laughing or weeping together, we talked about the depths of grief we are experiencing, but we also cherished good memories of what has been, and what is to come. Communing with each other, and with the Trinity will get us through these times.

Maybe the anger and questionning will come later, but a lot of us commented that there seems to be a real sense of peace surrounding us at the moment. Alan spoke words of faith about God’s enduring love, Matt preached a message of hope, encouraging us to remember the love, words, promises and eternity of God, many of us had come to a place over the week of praying ‘your will be done Lord’, with pain but with all the faith we could muster.

It feels too early to think about what is ahead, what is t0 come. To be honest, I’m still finding it tough to believe it actually really happened, I don’t think it’s sunk in yet. But I am sure of a few things:

Firstly, Jo would be encouraging us to keep focusing on Jesus, even and especially in the moments that seem bleakest and consuming. She’d remind us that, in all things, God works for the good of those who love him. Jesus is with us as we grieve, but in him we find the promise of a hopeful future.

Secondly, the story isn’t over. Prayer in the Salvation Army, the work of God in Wandsworth Borough, and the personal journeys Jo joined many of us on, will not stall just because she is no longer here with us. Its hard and it’s painful but I find myself feeling hopeful, I find myself still able to believe for unity and transformation in his church, for freedom for the captives and for a future that is brighter and better than anything we can imagine. Nothing can seperate us from the love of God, nor the plans he has to bring wholeness.

The third thing is about love. Jo had the capacity to love and love and love. Whatever your background and however you were struggling she was happy just to get stuck in and to believe for great things. She was patient, she bore others burdens and always pointed to the freedom that was possible in Christ. I believe the results of her faith and her ministry will be far reaching, and I find myself challenged to love like that – to love like Jesus did.

We appreciate your prayers as we work through this challenging time. Please keep upholding Alan, Ben, Sam & Ruth especially – that they would know God as their comforter, provider and strength at this time. Thankyou for walking this journey with us.

Sad News June 27, 2009

Most of you will have heard the news already, but tonights update is written with a heavy heart. Alan sent through the following text earlier:

“The Lord has seen fit to take his beautiful daughter Jo Norton in to his arms at 4.30pm today. He is good and his love endures for EVER! Bless you for standing with us through all this. Alan, Ben, Sam & Ruth.“

God is good, and we turn to him just now.

Please forgive the brevity of this update, too much in my head to write much more for now. Thanks for all the thoughts and love and prayers.

Saturday Update June 27, 2009

Yesterday was a day of little news – we prayed, Jo hung in there, she remained comfortable, although they added morphine into the meds she is being given as they thought she was in some discomfort.

Alan was able to have a break last night and some sleep – praise God for that.

This morning’s news is that Jo isn’t breathing too well just now, but seems to be quite peaceful apart from that. We continue to pray over her and call her into God’s life. Thanks for joining with us in that.