In this issue
Features
Perspectives
Teetering on the edge of the Anglican Church
Margaret Evans explores how the Anglican聽Communion鈥檚 attitude towards gay people has聽affected her both personally and professionally
Practice
The sublime and the dreadful:聽engagement and indifference
Edwin Salter considers the therapeutic challenge聽of working within the polarities of individual聽experience and involvement
Research
Mindfulness-based therapy:聽a tool for spiritual growth?
Edo Shonin, William Van Gordon, and Mark D Griffiths聽consider mindfulness in relation to counsellors and聽psychotherapists who have a spiritual focus to their聽professional practices
People
Counselling and spirit?
Ruth Bridges explores how she integrates spirituality聽into her therapeutic practice
Special focus
Spirituality: 鈥榓 way to live, a way to heal鈥�
Fevronia Christodoulidi shares her experience聽of involvement with Omilos Eksipiretiton 鈥撀燭he Servers鈥� Society
Regulars
From the chair
Lynette Harborne: A year of change
Lead advisor update
Salma Khalid: The road to life is always under construction
All articles from this issue are not yet available online. Divisional members and subscribers can download the pdf from the Thresholds archive.
Welcome from the editor
I write to you again from the little town of聽Machynlleth.聽By the time you read this, hopefully we will聽have passed through the eye of the storm聽and the trial will be over and the press gone.聽At the moment, writing words of any kind聽to describe what is happening here seems聽an impossible task. How, I wonder does a聽community live through something like聽this and survive? How do we retain our love聽and trust of humanity? As counsellors and聽pastors of all persuasions how do we offer聽unconditional positive regard and love聽when we are also often deeply affected by聽the issues?
In October of last year, when little April first聽went missing, the local church opened its聽doors to literally thousands of people. Now聽it seems empty. Burning anger related to聽the inhumanity of one person against聽another continues outside the doors;聽banners calling for revenge are swiftly聽removed from the clock tower. Facebook聽pages ask for the death penalty to be聽reintroduced and worse. What does聽forgiveness mean in all of this, I wonder?聽Supervisees arrive looking weary; as聽practitioners they are both coping with聽their clients鈥�, and also their own, reactions聽to the revelations from the courtroom.聽Curiously in the eye of this storm there is聽also a kind of flatness; people go about their聽normal lives; there is an acceptance that聽this is as bad as it gets.
As a community, since the beginning of聽October last year, we have been waiting 鈥撀燼 kind of waiting that is intolerable 鈥� for a聽child to return, for news reports, for聽searchers to bring news, for some kind of聽understanding of what has happened.聽During this waiting we have just had to get聽on with life the best we can. We have still聽had to go to the supermarket to shop,聽schools still teach, there are still activities in聽the leisure centre, and the tourists visiting聽the weekly street market. We are sustained聽by others who, from across the world, send聽messages of hope, and who wait with us.聽Ruth Burgess1 from the Iona Community聽sends a prayer which appears on notice聽boards, and even in the windows of some聽local shops:
In quiet and in sadness
We wait
With questions and anger
We wait
With friends and with family
We wait
We wait and we cry 鈥楬ow Long鈥�?
In the morning and the evening
We wait
As the world goes on around us
We wait
With an emptiness inside us
We wait
We wait and we cry 鈥楬ow Long鈥�?
With the town of Machynlleth
We wait
With our children and our聽neighbours
We wait
With all who are sad and exhausted
We wait
We wait and we cry 鈥楬ow Long鈥�?
It comforts us that others are standing聽alongside. Now with the trial well聽underway, we are beginning to get聽answers; perhaps not the answers we聽wanted to hear, but our waiting is finally聽coming to an end.
Within all of this comes another deadline聽for articles for Thresholds, and I am lifted聽again by the authors and their passion for聽the work they do. Ruth Bridges in her article聽asks, 鈥榟ow do I walk alongside my clients聽through such an exacting terrain without聽falling into despair at the tragedy of it all?鈥櫬燗nd this indeed is something very much聽on my mind, both for myself and for all of us聽who live and work in this place, or in other聽places where trauma or despair lurk.
This issue also welcomes an article from聽Edo Shonin, William Van Gordon and聽Mark Griffiths, who consider mindfulness聽practices in relation to practitioners with a聽spiritual focus to their work. Margaret聽Evans shares with us her experiences of聽teetering on the brink of the Anglican聽Church in respect of attitudes towards gay聽people and Edwin Salter shares case studies聽from his practice exploring the polarities of聽human experience.
You will also find, within the news section,聽details of the division鈥檚 new executive. I do聽hope that you will give them your support聽as they undertake, what I consider to be,聽valuable work on behalf of the membership.聽I would also like to take the opportunity to聽thank Lynette and the retiring executive for聽their support of Thresholds over the past聽year; without their enthusiasm and聽wisdom, I would have floundered! I hope聽that the new executive will continue to聽contribute to the journal聽both within reports,聽updates and articles聽and through聽promoting it within聽their activities.
Dr Susan Dale
Editor
thresholds.editorial@bacp.co.uk
Reference
1. Ruth Burgess. November 2012