Silence is golden

It's nice to see the Retreat Association presented so positively. We should take note of the trend for non-Christian people to go on retreat. This article is a nice account of how and why. It's a Suandy lifestyle article but has some thought-provoking things to say none the less. Including this: "According to Will Hutton, chief executive at the Work Foundation, research shows that for many people the message is: 'I don't want to give my all to employers. I want some part of me that's mine.'" And one interviewee siad, very significantly: "'We are endlessly reactive. Even people whose lives seem very successful are asking, "Where is the silence in this? Where is the space to confront mortality or who you are?"'"

I think that this opens up some very important things in terms of Christian mission in a post-Secular age. Especially as the Retreat Association comments are pretty positive and so is the visit to the convent described in the article. We have to be aware of this aspect though: "Buddhist retreats appeal to people who don't want to be preached at. Monique, who used to work for the BBC, says: 'Religious vocabulary puts me off.'"

There is clearly a place for hospitable guarded-against-intrusion space for people to find themsleves again without being subjected to any further messages. Poor talkative little Christianity will need to learn to hold her tongue in mission quite a bit more ....
The Observer | Review | Silence is golden:[:newagery::culture:]