well i had a quick visit to croatia this week to visit irena, mihael and ruben who make up mzk working with young people, churches, and young leaders in croatia. having done some training with them earlier in the year i had been invited back to be an outside reflector – they have been doing the work for about 10 years and are taking a pause wondering where to head next. we had a good time – hopefully i was some use… (fortunately being there meant i missed england’s hopeless performance in football – looks like we will not be at the euro 2008 finals which is a depressing thought).

it made think that all work and things in life are seasonal, they ebb and flow. it’s important to stop and take stock, let go of some things in order to create space for newness. sometimes we are so activist that we don’t create space for rest, and letting go and waiting. i came across this article by anne lamott – it relates to easter but captures something important.

it also made me realise that although we can complain about church and the state of things in the uk, actually there is so much creativity, permission to do stuff, experimentation and other people to connect with. whereas in other parts of europe it can feel a lot more isolated. if you pray, pray for these guys. there’s also a get together in paris this weekend organised by témoins (which sadly i am not at – though i will be watching a certain rugby match on tv from paris) – l’innovation dans les Eglises. Le courant de l’Eglise émergente. in case your french isn’t too good, that’s looking at innovation and emerging church stuff.

on the subject of europe and faith, the book that everyone is recommending at cms (now we are having a more european focus) is god’s continent by philip jenkins that i noticed richard recommending as well.

i didn’t manage to take many photos in croatia but like how these cranes came out almost insect like.

on the subject of photos, joel’s friend bhav has been having fun with some long exposure shots of roads and traffic. and  i love this abstract…

and i have added another album (portugal pics) to my member’s page on the ealing LIP group site.