The Workshop
“Welcome to the workshop” muttered the cheeky priest as he entered the chapel for morning prayer. The greeting had come to me unbidden and unprepared, but the symbolism can be pushed around and out in a myriad of ways.
What are our implements in this ‘workshop’, here in the chapel? Our tools are psalms, prayers and readings. Things that we need reminding of and lessons that need to be learnt… again! There are surprises and sometimes the ‘projects’ turn out quite differently from the way we had intended.
One of the most powerful tools in the workshop is silence. Dollops of quiet where things are just simply allowed to be resolved and ideas can mature in their own time and in their own way. A time to listen to what the Master Carpenter wants to say to us.
The projects that we thought would be difficult and involve much angst and grist are often quite easy and those that should have been a cinch are far more complicated and tricky with lots of gnarly bits that no one could have foreseen.
We also use bread and wine to sustain and nourish us as we ask the Master Carpenter to fashion us into the instruments that will be most effective and useful for him.
Often we need to be planned and sanded back. Our rough edges smoothed away. None of this is easy, and none of this is a quick fix. Quality work needs patience and time.
The workshop is available to everyone. All are welcome. It is a place of enhancement and enrichment. At the end of it, we come out just a little smoother, a little better, and a little more effective.
Welcome to the workshop where nothing much seems to happen and yet everything is happening. It’s that type of place.