On
my
bookshelf,
I
have
a
little
book
written
by
a
Carmelite
monk,
Brother
Lawrence,
entitled
“The
Practice
of
the
Presence
of
God”.
Lawrence
discovered
that
God
is
not
only
present
in
great
moments
of
celebration,
revelation
or
achievement,
but
also
in
the
quiet
rhythm
of
ordinary
life.
In
kitchens,
conversations,
routines
and
responsibilities,
he
learned
to
practise
the
presence
of
God
daily,
seeking
to
engage with God in all things.
Ordinary
Time
invites
us
into
that
same
awareness
—
to
recognise
that
discipleship
is
formed
not
simply
in
extraordinary
moments,
but
in
faithfulness,
attentiveness
and
love
expressed
day
by
day.
In
counting
the
ordinary
days,
we
may discover that none of them are ordinary to God.
Blessings as we live in the ordinary.
Revd Adam
Minister’s Letter
Living in the Ordinary
May,
this
year,
concluded
with
two
festival
Sundays.
The
first
was
the
“Day
of
Pentecost”,
from
the
Greek
word
pentēkostē,
meaning
fiftieth,
falling
fifty
days
after
Easter,
when
the
Church
celebrates
its
“birthday”
and
the
outpouring
of
the
Holy
Spirit.
The
second,
the
slightly
more
complex
Trinity
Sunday,
Jesus,
focuses
on
our
understanding
(or
attempts
to
understand)
God.
Then
we
enter
a
bit
of
a
space,
room
for
manoeuvre
if
you
like,
when
there
are
no
major
festivals
–
traditionally
this
is
known
as
Ordinary Time.
Ordinary here does not mean unimportant
or
plain.
The
word
comes
from
ordinal,
meaning
counted
or
numbered, because the Sundays are numbered in the lectionary.
Counting
the
days
of
ordinary
and
everyday
life
can
sometimes
seem
a
little
tedious.
The
routine
may
be
dull,
with
no
specific
highlights
to
look
forward
to,
nothing
special
to
fill
our
time
with
anticipation
and
preparation.
However,
when
we
reflect
on
the
life
and
ministry
of
Jesus,
there
was
a
great
deal
of
ordinary
and
everyday
life.
Yes,
there
were
miracles
and
powerful
teaching,
challenges
and
table-turning,
but
we
must
not
forget
that,
of
the
thirty-plus
years
of
growing
and
the
three
years
of
active
ministry, there is a great deal that we are not told about — the
ordinary.
The
colour
associated
with
the
season
is
green
–
representing
growth, hope, spiritual life and discipleship. These are significant
things:
counted,
but
not
mundane.
The
lectionary
draws
us
into
the
public
ministry
of
Jesus,
the
walk
of
discipleship,
the
parables
and
teaching,
the
gradual
growth
of
the
Church,
especially
as
we
find
in
the
Book
of
Acts
and
the
Epistles,
and
the
day-to-day
journey
of
Christian
living
–
perseverance,
commitment
and
service – step by step, steady and sure. The fact is
that
in
the
ordinary
we
may
find
the
extraordinary:
God
at
work
in us and in the day-to-day lives of others.
Minister’s Letter
Living in the Ordinary
May,
this
year,
concluded
with
two
festival
Sundays.
The
first
was
the
“Day
of
Pentecost”
,
from
the
Greek
word
pentēkostē
,
meaning
fiftieth,
falling
fifty
days
after
Easter,
when
the
Church
celebrates
its
“birthday”
and
the
outpouring
of
the
Holy
Spirit.
The
second,
the
slightly
more
complex
Trinity
Sunday,
is
a
festival
which,
rather
than
focussing
on
an
event
in
the
life
of
Jesus,
focuses
on
our
understanding
(or
attempts
to
understand)
God.
Then
we
enter
a
bit
of
a
space,
room
for
manoeuvre
if
you
like,
when
there
are
no
major
festivals
–
traditionally
this
is
known
as
Ordinary
Time
.
Ordinary
here
does
not
mean
unimportant
or
plain.
The
word
comes
from
ordinal,
meaning
counted
or
numbered,
because
the
Sundays
are
numbered
in
the
lectionary.
Counting
the
days
of
ordinary and everyday life can sometimes seem a little tedious. The
routine
may
be
dull,
with
no
specific
highlights
to
look
forward
to,
nothing special to fill our time with anticipation and preparation.
However,
when
we
reflect
on
the
life
and
ministry
of
Jesus,
there
was
a
great
deal
of
ordinary
and
everyday
life.
Yes,
there
were
miracles
and
powerful
teaching,
challenges
and
table-turning,
but
we
must
not
forgetthat,
of
the
thirty-plus
years
of
growing
and
the
three
years
of
active
ministry,
there
is
a
great
deal
that
we
are
not
told about — the ordinary.
The
colour
associated
with
the
season
is
green
–
representing
growth,
hope,
spiritual
life
and
discipleship.
These
are
significant
things:
counted,
but
not
mundane.
The
lectionary
draws
us
into
the
public
ministry
of
Jesus,
the
walk
of
discipleship,
the
parables
and
teaching,
the
gradual
growth
of
the
Church,
especially
as
we
find
in
the
Book
of
Acts
and
the
Epistles,
and
the
day-to-day
journey
of
Christian
living
–
perseverance,
commitment
and
service
–
step
by
step,
steady
and
sure.
The
fact
is
that
in
the
ordinary
we
may
find
the
extraordinary:
God
at
work
in
us
and
in
the
day-to-day
lives
of
others.
On
my
bookshelf,
I
have
a
little
book
written
by
a
Carmelite
monk,
Brother
Lawrence,
entitled
“The
Practice
of
the
Presence
of
God”
.
Lawrence
discovered
that
God
is
not
only
present
in
great
moments
of
celebration,
revelation
or
achievement,
but
also
in
the
quiet
rhythm
of
ordinary
life.
In
kitchens,
conversations,
routines
and
responsibilities,
he
learned
to
practise
the
presence
of
God
daily,
seeking
to
engage
with
God
in
all
things.
Ordinary
Time
invites
us
into
that
same
awareness
—
to
recognise
that
discipleship
is
formed
not
simply
in
extraordinary
moments,
but
in
faithfulness,
attentiveness
and
love
expressed
day
by
day.
In
counting
the
ordinary
days,
we
may
discover
that
none
of
them
are
ordinary to God.
Blessings as we live in the ordinary.
Revd Adam
