I’ve just spent the weekend at a Conference of our Lay Readers and a remarkable event it was. I think it was a first for them. They succeeded in gathering 60-70 people and persuaded Dr Christina Baxter of St John’s, Nottingham, to come and speak.
What was most interesting was that many of them didn’t know one another. Even more refreshing was the fact that some of them had successfully avoided contact with the church at provincial level – and they seemed none the worse for that!
I found them greatly encouraging to be with. Not at all wedded to the structures and patterns and very happy to talk about new approaches and new challenges. I gave them my usual ‘Our Time will Come’ speech.