Being in the cathedral over the Dickens weekend has been an amazing experience.

I have chatted with people. Prayed with people. Wept with people.

I have been amazed by how people needed to be invited to enter the sanctuary and approach the high altar. Even with an invite many felt they did not wish to, but instead stayed behind the invisible rail (the rail had been removed to allow access).

In the waiting installation I have left two books with no instructions other than a title of ‘I am waiting for …’. Some of the writings have been ‘gifts from santa’, ‘the end of term’ which are important. Others have been deep and moved me to tears.

This weekend I have wept with and been moved to tears by a number of situations, and ask you to join me in prayer for:
the Portugese woman who is feeling lonely, missing home and feels God has abandoned her
the retired lady who did not wish to go home, but stay with God where she felt ‘alive again’
the young boy who wrote ‘I am waiting for my daddy to come home because I miss him so much’
The retired gentlemen who cried because he felt he was not ‘good enough’ to go near the high altar
The new dad who was ‘gobsmacked by God’ just by walking into the sanctuary

The last two days have been exciting and a privilege. There is a lot for me to think about. How do we support people such as this – should we support them? How can we enable people to share what they need to share. The big question for me – why were people so reluctant to walk into the sanctuary, why did they need an invite?
The young woman who wrote ‘I am waiting for my cancer treatment to end’