One afternoon, my four-year-old daughter came home from her Scottish Country Dance class. She bounced in, gave me a hug, and said, "I held the centre today!" Then she bounced out.

When I was able to get her to explain what she meant, I realized that she had been the person around which the group had danced, keeping their distance and form based on where she was. If she moved, so did the circle. If she remained in one place, the circle did, too.

As I played with the image in my mind's eye, I found myself recognizing how congregational leadership, including ministry personnel, often have the responsibility of "holding the centre" in congregational life. Sometimes it is an easy place to be... but, other times, the responsibility of holding the centre is much more difficult. I began to wonder, too, about the centre-point holders in our individual lives. Who are they? Why and how do we give them the responsibility and authority to "hold the centre" of our life's dance?

The Spiritual Care Network of BC Conference hopes that this newsletter will be one of the tools to help you recognize and keep in touch with that which holds your centre.

If you've got items you'd like to share - perhaps a bit of a review of a book you've found helpful, or a practice being shared in your neck of the woods - please email it to richard [dot] bott [at] gmail [dot] com. Every few months we'll ship it off in a package like this, for Ministry Personnel in the Conference to read and mull over and explore.

May Christ's peace and God's love dance with you in wonderful, tangible ways this Adventide!