Shaking off the mud and dust

At the beginning of the week I had written into part of our peace liturgy the idea of shaking the violence of the world off our feet. At church in Ferney this morning Charlotte Gérard, the ERF minister in Annecy, preached on shaking the mud and dust off our feet, Mark 6.11 "And if any place will not receive you and they refuse to hear you, when you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet for a testimony against them."
With mud (wet dust!) stuck to our shoes it is hard to continue walking - it's also hard to get your shoes back on again if the shoes or boots haven't been cleaned. Since putting the peace prayers together at the beginning of the week I've also come across this powerful shaking off the dust liturgy.
Listening to Charlotte's sermon, participating in new roles in my former parish, helping to induct the newly elected elders to their ministry and receiving the laying on of hands with all the others who teach children and young people, I reflected on how far I had come since to some extent shaking the dust off my feet. How for me personally over the past two years memories have been healed. I also recognised how far the church had come since I left: of the 12 elders now serving only three had served in my time. My leaving was part of the process that led to this positive change. But it was for me sometimes a painful journey, five years of shaking the dust before I went back.
Thinking about this text I began to wonder about how hard we sometimes try to make unworkable situations work. There are times when we need to stop knocking at the door, remove ourselves from the situation and take time for the heavy mud to dry to something lighter that can be more easily shaken off.
So what is the heavy mud that is making it difficult for me to go forwards at the moment, what is the dust that needs to be shaken off? Where will healing lie in this part of my story?
Today I was blessed to be able to glimpse how the the ministry I was part of for seven years is bearing fruit today. It is rare for ministers to have that privilege and I give thanks for it.

Congratulations to Margot Kässmann -10 years Bishop of Hannover

Margot Kässmann turned 51 this week and on June 5th she will mark 10 years as Bishop of Hannover, the largest of Germany's regional Protestant churches. epd wrote a profile about her last week.
This autumn the German Protestant churches will elect a new Council chair of the EKD when Bishop Wolfgang Huber retires. It is just possible that Kässmann might be elected to this role which would be in addition to her position in Hannover. She is someone I have long looked up to and admired. I'm not sure whether to hope she will replace Huber or not, it's like wishing more stress onto someone who already has a terribly busy lifestyle.
I know from meeting many pastors and members of her Church in Hannover how widely respected and liked she is, what a great job people think she's doing. My congratulations come with heartfelt wishes for her continuing good health and all that her ministry of oversight may bring in the years ahead. the epd article quotes her as saying "There's a lot of water to go under the bridge before the autumn, I am happy with my life as it is now". Long may that continue.

Margot Käßmann: Mit Herzen, Mund und Händen. Spiritualität im Alltag leben. Gütersloh 2007, ISBN 978-3579064420; English translation: With Hearts, Hands and Voices: Spirituality for Everyday Life. Geneva 2007, ISBN 978-2825415221
Links to WCC Publications and to Amazon.