Brilliant
Clockwise from top left; Daily briefing wordsearch; Prayer Journey; Dylan the Custos joins in the action songs with enthusiasm; Monastery Kitchen
When a new member joined the Priory congregation at Easter, it only took two weeks before someone mentioned Lifepath to her…
’Perhaps’ they said ‘you’d like to volunteer at Lifepath. It’s brilliant’
And so a new volunteer joined the team, of over 100 Christians from churches across Malvern.
She came to the volunteers’ evening, which was…’brilliant’… and today took the first step on her Lifepath volunteer journey, which was… you’ve guessed it… ‘brilliant’. The team work, the enthusiasm of the children; at lunchtime she would have done it every week. But by the end of day ‘clear up’ meeting, the ‘holy exhaustion’ described by our prayer leader had set in! Once a year is probably enough. We prayed for those who will be volunteering tomorrow and on Friday and for all the new volunteers on the team.
But what of the children? As enthusiastic as ever! Some arrived by train and hiked up the hill from the station, others arrived on foot. The morning briefing, complete with wordsearch to help remind the team of the key things (avoid ‘constipation’ around the toilets! spread out those visits!) had barely finished before the distant chatter of young voices could be heard.
Inside, and after the first joyous action song ‘Walking on a Lifepath’ a teacher turned to a Priory Pilgrim Guide. ‘Quite a workout to get us going!’ she smiled. And that was just the start.
In the Monastery Kitchen, as the children tasted the pottage eaten by monks in the days gone by, the Bishop of Dudley dropped in to share grace before the meal.
On the prayer journey, bracelets with beads telling the story of God’s love for us all, were as popular as ever. The world map was scrutinised and sticky notes placed where prayer is needed. Layer upon layer of prayers were woven into the loom of prayer.
The Lifepath Thespians delivered the message of Jesus’ forgiveness in ‘Zaccheus’ with panache, and a fully-functioning tree, to the amusement of the children and Priory visitors alike.
Under the welcome shade of the trees on the Glebe, the air scented by lime blossom, packed lunches were enjoyed and the morning’s experiences shared.
The afternoon whizzed by and soon the children were walking out through clouds of glistening bubbles to bid a tired and happy farewell.
If you’re coming to Lifepath tomorrow, we’re looking forward to seeing you. Just one more sleep to go!
