Sunday, May 3, 2009

Introducing Margaret Silf, Retreat Leader

Those of us who have read Margaret’s books already know a little about her – but the biography that she is presenting to the participants was one that she terms “chatty”. One can hear her speaking in it. I was amused to realize the other day that I hear her speaking in my mind with a Canadian accent – so I probably need to start getting used to a British one.

Margaret tells us that she was born and educated in Sheffield, was an only child, and earned a BA from London University and an MA from Keele University. She served as a technical writer in the computer industry until 2000 when she left her job to devote her time to writing and leading retreats. She is a wife, mother and grandmother, - so she will probably have some of these in common with many of the participants.

Her faith journey is varied. Though her family was not religious, she was baptized as a Methodist, confirmed as a teenager in the Church of England and received into the Roman Catholic Church at the age of 20. From there she drifted for 10 years before returning to the church. She now regards herself as an ecumenical Christian, comfortable in many traditions, but at the same time a “boundary dweller” as far as the institutional church is concerned. As a life long Anglican who is heavily involved in the church at parish, diocesan and currently even national levels, I find this interesting and challenging. Even for those of us who remain within the institutional church, there are probably few who don’t also experience frustration with it – so this is an area where I am really looking forward to hearing what she has to say.

I am also interested in her views about our place in the wider scheme of things. She is keen to explore the relationship between what she terms the “Christic vision” and the unfolding story of science, that she explores so well in her book, Roots and Wings. This was one of the books recommended to participants to read in advance. The other was Wayfaring, a Gospel Journey in Everyday Life, which I am reading now. In the latter book, she does a wonderful job of encouraging us to imagine ourselves as participants in the Gospel stories – not to revert to first century Bible Land, but to try to come to terms with the issues of growing and moving forward both personally and globally.
Margaret loves travelling. Meeting people obviously enriches her. I hope meeting all of us will contribute both to her own journey and to ours.

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