Following writing on Britain from above, and listening to yesterdays Thinking Allowed I have been pondering on the question of vocational living in any one of these places, rural, semi-rural, urban, city etc.
There must be a vocational element to living in each of these, I’ve always been drawn to the rural setting, I don’t seem to be built for the city somehow…
However after the illuminating picture of Britain from above, and listening to reflections on rural living, perhaps the real challenge is to live in a more heavily populated area and work towards reducing the footprint away from the centre of that geographical area, keeping money and travelling local rather than spreading it across a larger area. I think, rather than suggesting one lifestyle, (rural, urban etc is better than the other), the thing to focus on is locality. Following the reflections on Thinking Allowed, it seems to rural has as much to learn about community from urban centres as the perhaps idyllic rural images people may have are either not true or created rather than natural.
Those who seek the urban ‘pretty gardens and perfect lawns’ need to see the real rural life which ocasionally contains a little mud on the road, or perhaps a chicken or two and the idillyc rural seekers need to learn about small communities needing the involvement of each individual and of a life lived more in the open.
So where does that leave to vocation to a rural setting? Answers to that may be short, but certainly not closed. It may take on an altogether different style of ministry from the traditional rural…
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