Community Is Not... The Rise Of The New Consciousness Is ...

COMMUNITY IS NOT ... Three days after my warranty expires my car breaks down on the A1 shortly before dark descends. The clutch has gone. I cannot move it. Danger! I wave down fifteen passing motorists. None stop. Somehow I get it into first gear, and drive thirty miles in first gear, with lights flashing, deposit it at the nearest Kwik Fit and pay for a taxi home.

COMMUNITY IS .. I have to drive first thing in the morning to the airport for a flight to Dublin. The car is not ready before the tide closes. A man I only met yesterday, when I spoke to his group about Celtic Spirituality, drove me to Kwik fit the moment the tide opened, and Dave, at Kwik Fit, stayed on ten minutes before returning home to his family. I got a huge shock The bill was over £1,000. 'I'll pay it' said the man. Penny leads a retreat at The Open Gate. I share in the meal-times.. They share in the joy of my car.

WHAT IS 'THE RISE OF THE NEW CONSCIOUSNESS?

The man talks about the rise of the new consciousness. He is a churchman. He meets many people with spiritualities which find no nourishment in church services. We discuss Christian spiritual patterns that connect with these. I put up two Canadian friends who have walked Saint Oswald's Way. 'I talked to our Diocesan Synod about "places outside church services where we meet God"' said one.

My soul friend arrives. 'A change of age does not mean the faith dies', he says, 'but it does mean that we must adapt. Our task is to connect the depth of memory with expansiveness of vision'. He tells me about his friend at Glasgow University who thinks that 19th century health issues were about clean water and sewage, 20th century issues were about good housing and nutrition, but 21st century issues are about obesity, addiction and depression. Look it up up on www.afternow.co.uk/‎