The Hildegard Lecture, Holy Rood House

It has been an absolutely beautiful late summer weekend in North Yorkshire. Liz and I have spent it at Holy Rood House, in Thirsk, a place (and people) we have come to love. Holy Rood House is the kind of 'safer space' I spoke about in my address to the Conference. It's a place for retreat, a place of healing, a place for quiet reflection, a place to meet interesting people. It's also the base for the Centre for the Study of Theology and Health.

I had been invited to deliver the annual Hildegard Lecture, on 'Living with Difference - Life on the Edge.' The lecture was on Friday evening at Sowerby Methodist Church. We explored the theme further in workshops on Saturday morning. And the weekend closed with lunch, after a morning eucharist at which I had been invited to preach.

Holy Rood House has a website, which is well worth visiting - as is the House itself.

The weekend also provided the opportunity for the launch of Barbara Glasson's latest book, 'A Spirituality of Survival'. (The picture shows Barbara at the book launch, hiolding the book with it's very striking cover illustration, provided by Laura Wild.) Like her previous books, it's an excellent read, though on a difficult topic. It explores the depths of the experience of abuse - but it also speaks of hope. I thoroughly recommend it.