"Living waters, living church"

Tuesday 27th March 2012

River Rede running low during dry weather

When the river is roaring over the rocks and I'm a few yards away inside All Saints' Church, I often think that I can hear heavy rain.  It was a regular worshipper who thought up the phrase quoted in today's title: "Living waters, living church" for the Deanery leaflet in which every church in Bellingham Deanery is characterised by a "spiritual strapline" .
    I called into All Saints (between West and East Woodburn) to collect the baptism register on my way to a Lent discussion group at Otterburn.  En route I had planned to deliver six parish magazines to parishioners on the borders of Woodburn and Elsdon; but I managed only two in three quarters of an hour because I found myself engaged in interesting conversations about hermits, religious communities and living under vows at the first house and then about lambing, wedding catering and other practical matters at the second.