On the pilgrim way: ‘I still find myself talking about “us” and “our” with reference to the present’

29/01/2024 | Reform

Sheila Maxey is finding confidence without being a couple

My daughter Mary, while missing her father very much, confessed to me that she had been unprepared for the sadness she also felt at the loss of the unit called ‘Mum … Read More

On the pilgrim way: ‘All this clearing out raises questions: What I am getting ready for?’

12/12/2023 | Reform

Sheila Maxey finds pleasure and pain in remembering

‘For everything there is a season – a time to keep and a time to throw away.’ (Ecclesiastes 3:6)

I have just been to Germany again to visit my ailing 88-year-old cousin, … Read More

On the pilgrim way: ‘The blessing of living through others is that it can bring self-forgetfulness’

30/10/2023 | Reform

Sheila Maxey finds there is value in living through others

At present I seem to be doing a lot of living through others rather than for others and wondering whether it is a cop out or a gift.

My daughter, … Read More

On the pilgrim way ‘What I am finding in the emptiness is something else – a new gift’

26/09/2023 | Reform

Sheila Maxey finds inspiration in empty spaces

‘Empty’ feels such a negative word and yet I am beginning to question that. I have a very dear housebound friend whose diary and calendar are almost always empty. That means that whenever … Read More

On the pilgrim way: ‘I handed in my keys and walked home with tears streaming down my face’

29/08/2023 | Reform

Sheila Maxey clears out and finds lost treasures

Last Saturday I went into Brentwood United Reformed Church for the last time. Men from the two other churches in the pastorate were loading things into a hired white van – the … Read More

On the pilgrim way: ‘We stood quietly, craning our necks’

26/06/2023 | Reform

Sheila Maxey learns lessons from the birds

As 8 July – the date of the closing service for Brentwood United Reformed Church – approaches I seem to become more and more detached, at least on the surface. Last Sunday, my … Read More