February is #MonthOfMinistry, the month when OneSpirit Interfaith ministers get to post each day following a series of prompts. It’s a chance for us to share and explain more about ourselves, our beliefs, and what we actually do under this strange label of “ministry” A big thanks to fellow ministers Jo Royle and Sass Adams for setting this up! I don’t promise to write for all 29 days, but let’s see what emerges!
Day 1: This is me
This is me, in typical pose, on the beach, seeing the world upside down! I’ll be jumping in that water before long, as wild swimming keeps me going as well as yoga. The photo is taken at the north end beach on Iona, a special wild and holy place (of which Scotland has many). I am probably trying to identify the seaweed and work out what the tide is doing.
As well as being an interfaith minister (of which lots more will be revealed through the month), I run a small web design business. I sing with the political street choir Protest in Harmony: we’re singing tomorrow at a vigil calling for a ceasefire in the current horrific war in Israel/Palestine.
I live in a lovely old house in Portobello, Edinburgh’s seaside suburb, with my wife Jane, housemates Olga and Margot, and Our cat Hobbes (named after the Calvin and Hobbes cartoons of course). We’re hosting a celebration for Imbolc tomorrow evening, so I need to find some poetry to read and work out what seasonal food we’re eating. We really like to mark the festivals around the year, and January has been pretty busy with New Year, Three Kings Day, Burns Night, and several birthdays.
I’m currently learning Gaelic (on Duolingo, but starting a class next week). I love digging out the meanings of words in any language. Oh, and I got an official confirmation just last year that I am autistic, which kind of helps explain where some of my quirks and peculiarities come from!
I hope that’s enough to give you a flavour of who I am – stay tuned if you want to know any more…
#WeAreROSIM #InterfaithMinister