Having undergone the workshop training with Mark Davis and Lynne Ling in January of this year, I began to use the ‘Glimpsing God’ pack for a new Cake and Conversation’ time, which we held monthly on Sunday at 5pm.
We began with 20-25 minutes to gather, and share tea /cake and social chat, which relaxed people in one another’s company, before moving across to a circle of chairs with a visual focus, for the conversation part of the evening.
The group over the 7 weeks was quite fluid, never less than 9, and sometimes as many as 22. The usual number of 14 or 15, drawn from various chapels around the circuit, was the perfect size to encourage sharing, and most knew and were comfortable with one another.
(Lynne enabled us to have the resource on a sale or return basis which helped the logistics of having enough packs for those who came. People were delighted with the quality of the resource, and most offered to pay for their own pack.)
Although some people said that it was very different from what they were expecting, all but two returned for further sessions. Initially some felt that the 15 minutes of personal reflection time was too long, but as the weeks went on, everyone appreciated the need for this length of time to ‘sit with’ the material. All said how good it was to be able to share spiritual experiences and thoughts in an informal setting.
At the end of the 7 weeks, I asked if people would like to look at another set of conversations, and the answer was unanimously affirmative. Because our next two months will be the beginning of December and the beginning of January, I am planning to put together an Advent-Epiphany set of two conversations, which will use the same reflective/conversational format.
We have loved using Glimpsing God, and look forward to beginning on the next set of conversations!
Report from Revd Deborah Kirk, Plymouth and Exeter Methodist District
