Snapshots from Ask & Imagine

As I try to write about my week at the Ask and Imagine programme, I find myself wondering the best way to share such a rich learning experience with those who weren't there. Stories and pictures and an overall reporting won't nearly do justice to the relationships and nascent community that were formed. At the very least, I don't think I can overstate how valuable and important this kind of professional development is for someone in my position. The opportunity to connect with other people working in this challenging field is necessary for our growth as professionals as well as our mental and emotional health. At programmes like Ask and Imagine, we are able to share our struggles and successes and build relationships with our peers - all of this contributes greatly to the ministry in which we are involved.

So, here are a few snapshots of significant moments from this past week. I hope you are able to get a glimpse of how wonderful this programme actually is.

On the first evening, one of our first spiritual reflections involved each of us studying our own rock with our eyes closed. The rocks were then collected and passed around until, still with eyes closed, we found our own rock again. Then we opened our eyes and saw our rocks which we gathered in the centre of our worship table, along with a foundational Ask & Imagine rock for the rest of the week. At the end of the week they were returned to us and we got to bring them home as a reminder of this temporary community.

One of my favourite classes of the week was a Bible study taught by Huron College Chaplain, Bill Cliff. Before Ask and Imagine, I had only read what he said about the Bible, but having the chance to learn from him in person was even better! Bill Cliff is so entertaining that he has become a facebook meme as well. Some of you may recall this saying from my reflection on baptism in last week's update. It is one of my favourites.







One of the best aspects of Ask and Imagine is the chance to live together in community for a week at Brough House on Huron Campus. An important part of community life is sharing meals together. Ask and Imagine works hard to nourish us spiritually and physically and to help us appreciate the value of that which doesn't nourish us, because it might nourish someone else.

We had a visit from Archbishop of Capetown and Primate of the Anglican Church in Southern Africa, Thabo Makgoba who had a conversation with us about ministry with young people in our various contexts. We also took this snazzy group photo.



On Thursday we had a guest speaker from Encounter World Relgions. His introduction to World religions brought me back to the years of my undergraduate studies at Saint Paul where I studied Interreligious Dialogue. One of the most interesting parts of this presentation was when volunteers from the group were dressed in clothing associated with different religious traditions. Above is a picture of me dressed as a Tibetan Nun in meditation.

One of the most challenging and rewarding parts of the programme for me was the afternoon and evening we spent learning about the theory and theology of games. In the evening we had the chance to try some games in small groups and then debrief our experience, thinking about how we might be able to use them in our own ministry contexts.



The Ask & Imagine programme was a wonderful professional development opportunity. The leadership of those running the programme was thoughtful, enthusiastic and superbly executed. I hope to have opportunities to collaborate further with those I met at Ask & Imagine and I wish them success with their summer theology programme for teenagers.