Not much to report as far as the sabbatical is concerned so far. Since 1 June I've been down to my brother's 50th birthday party, watched a lot of Diamond Jubilee telly (as is my duty since the Queen is Governor fo the Church of England) and caught up on some much needed rest. Because it was really busy just before I went off, with Radiance, the confirmation and everything.

Wasn't that confirmation special? We had a barbecue for our 6 newly confirmed people and their families, and everyone was still glowing! It was a wonderful evening of worship, witness and commitment. And as for Leanne's testimony - you really put us through the wringer Leanne. Sorrow, joy, pain and love all mingled together, just like the Gospel. Thank you! Huge thanks too to the Church Hill Praise Band, the technical team and the office because we couldn't have begum to do it without you.

What about Radiance? Not all the feedback on the poets was positive because not everyone likes poetry. But a quite a few people said they enjoyed my piece called Living Water, so it's copied out below. Others said they would like to order our book Five Squared. Well you can find it on www.Lulu.com: go to buy, then type in Five Squared in the text box. It's £12.50 + p&p. Enjoy!

Anyway sabbatical things start seriously soon. Off to Queen's College in Birmingham on Thursday for some induction, then a week at Harnhill near Cirencester to learn more about healing...

Living Water

Little bottle at my elbow,

can it be that you have shared

in the world-encircling surf and surge,

that you threw yourself on the shore

to break cliffs and drown cities

that you danced with the moon your lover

and beat with the steady breathing of the earth,

that you were home to shark and sponge

and Beryl in a bikini?

O can it be that the sun your father

warmed you and called you higher,

that your brother the wind chased you

rapturously round the skies

to make diamonds together, swifter

than Superman and more gaudy?

Did you invent a billion new shapes

as you drifted over the mountains

and hardened into the monsters that grind them away?

Or did you fall as swift rain

that quickens the earth and spurns it

as you spurted through its valleys

to surge in the seas again?

How can it be that we caught you

and moulded you to our plastic will?

That you wait, servant-like,

in the shape we assigned you

until the time comes to pour forth again?

If it be that I may taste of so holy a thing,

then may the tide of the universe in you

flow through this body

and live in every cell.