ST
PETER & ST PAUL, SEAL
Life
Balance
Lent
06
Constantly
rushed off your feet?
Do you wish you had …
time to pause
time to celebrate
time to rest
time to play
time to liberate?
This year we are following a five session course written by Sue Mayfield and Robert Warren looking at ways of finding a better balance in our lives. In particular we will explore the idea of the Sabbath – Sabbath days, Sabbath moments, Sabbath attitudes – and how they affect our use of time. You can follow the course online week by week here. Just click on each week's link above.
Sue Mayfield, one of the authors of the course, writes….
“ Sabbath is about so much more than having a proper day off… It cuts right to the heart of my self-perception, my relationship to Creator and Creation, my understanding of the point and purpose of life, my response to poverty and injustice. Sabbath - in its fullest, most Biblical sense – challenges my workaholism, my need to appear busy in order to feel important, my tendency to define and justify myself in terms of what I’ve done or achieved, my self-sufficiency and control-freakery. Scary stuff!
There is currently a lot of talk about work-life-balance. As a society, and as individuals (stressed-out and overworked ones at that) it seems we need to grasp afresh the value of Sabbath rhythms and Sabbath attitudes. Sabbath-keeping is a commandment and a spiritual discipline. But much more than that, Sabbath is a gift and a treasure. What better time than Lent to learn and relearn patterns for healthy, God-focussed living? And what better time to stop… and be refreshed?
Life Balance is a five-session study course… It explores the Bible’s picture of Sabbath, focussing across the five weeks on the themes of Pausing, Celebrating, Resting, Playing, and Liberation. Course sessions give a mixture of Bible input from both Old and New Testaments, talking-and-thinking time and interactive exercises to help group members get to grips with the challenges of Sabbath and its everyday implications. “
Do you wish you had …
time to pause
time to celebrate
time to rest
time to play
time to liberate?
This year we are following a five session course written by Sue Mayfield and Robert Warren looking at ways of finding a better balance in our lives. In particular we will explore the idea of the Sabbath – Sabbath days, Sabbath moments, Sabbath attitudes – and how they affect our use of time. You can follow the course online week by week here. Just click on each week's link above.
Sue Mayfield, one of the authors of the course, writes….
“ Sabbath is about so much more than having a proper day off… It cuts right to the heart of my self-perception, my relationship to Creator and Creation, my understanding of the point and purpose of life, my response to poverty and injustice. Sabbath - in its fullest, most Biblical sense – challenges my workaholism, my need to appear busy in order to feel important, my tendency to define and justify myself in terms of what I’ve done or achieved, my self-sufficiency and control-freakery. Scary stuff!
There is currently a lot of talk about work-life-balance. As a society, and as individuals (stressed-out and overworked ones at that) it seems we need to grasp afresh the value of Sabbath rhythms and Sabbath attitudes. Sabbath-keeping is a commandment and a spiritual discipline. But much more than that, Sabbath is a gift and a treasure. What better time than Lent to learn and relearn patterns for healthy, God-focussed living? And what better time to stop… and be refreshed?
Life Balance is a five-session study course… It explores the Bible’s picture of Sabbath, focussing across the five weeks on the themes of Pausing, Celebrating, Resting, Playing, and Liberation. Course sessions give a mixture of Bible input from both Old and New Testaments, talking-and-thinking time and interactive exercises to help group members get to grips with the challenges of Sabbath and its everyday implications. “
- Life Balance Course Prayer
God
of eternity, teach us to pause.
God of creation, teach us to wonder.
God of Sabbath, teach us to rest.
God of delight, teach us to play.
God of the poor, teach us to share in your work of liberation.
God of love, reconciling us through Christ Jesus,
fill our lives with your perfect peace. Amen
God of creation, teach us to wonder.
God of Sabbath, teach us to rest.
God of delight, teach us to play.
God of the poor, teach us to share in your work of liberation.
God of love, reconciling us through Christ Jesus,
fill our lives with your perfect peace. Amen
Adapted from “Life Balance” Copyright © Robert Warren and Sue Mayfield 2005 Church House Publishing.