by Nicola James

‘I’m that busy, I’m meeting myself coming back’

The image of ‘meeting ourselves coming back’ is a typically succinct, Glaswegian conceit of the internal split that occurs when we are overworked and multi-tasking.  We become two parts of one body hurtling towards our separated selves along a corridor. The image is one of imminent collision followed by a swift implosion.

Ecumenically speaking, Christian churches are also of one body – that of Christ. What can we offer as we move towards each other?  Where is the proverbial water cooler, the place of refreshment where we might meet, and collect ourselves? One such place could be the current lay decision-making processes found in both the Catholic synodal and the UK quietist Quaker movement.

Dr Nicola James is a university staff and NHS Counselling Supervisor. Her work as a Quaker chaplain in higher education led to a growing interest in the arts and spaces of spiritual restoration. In 2016 she graduated with a PhD in Theology & Religious Studies from Glasgow University.

Photo by Sincerely media on Unsplash