Yesterday evening, I went with my family to a dinner party to ‘celebrate’ my first year in Bro Cybi. The food was fantastic and the conversation rich. The topics of UKIP, immigration, europe, and same sex marriage were covered. I am afraid I was rather silent. I struggled to get into each topic. Sometimes it was because, as with any dinner party, the conversation hopped about and was therefore a little jagged.

This made more acute for me, because I do have definite views on issues like immigration and equal marriage. Those views, which are not the topic of this blog, are opposed by others.

This leads me to note something else about Lent. It is a time for entering the world of the other. I come from an Evangelical camp in terms of church tradition and am centre-left in terms of British politics. Most of my exciting discoveries about God and life have been a meeting of minds and hearts with those who come from a different perspective.

Lent would be exciting if it allowed for meetings across a variety of divides. This will involves lots of listening, and give space for gracious speaking to happen as well.