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LYDIA

Canon Jeremy Davies, Precentor (Friday 26th January 2007)

The Lydians is the name of our Cathedral women’s group who have met month by month since their inauguration by Margery Morley, when her husband was Dean in the 1960s. Our Lydians, I am sure, will know where their name comes from. But not all of our community will know, grateful though we are for all the hospitality the Lydians provide for us on special occasions. Lydia appears in the Acts of the Apostles as a “trader in purple stuff”. She was one of the early converts to the Christian way and offered hospitality to St Paul and other apostles as part of her ministry. She has thereafter been identified with Christian welcome and hospitality and the Lydians carry on that tradition as part of our Cathedral witness; an encouragement to us all “to be hospitable to strangers” for in so doing “we may entertain angels unawares”. With such an iconic New Testament figure around, it is no surprise that Lydia has inspired many other Christian organisations apart from our own. One is the Lydia Fellowship network, which is an international prayer network that links women across the world in a praying community. Anita Cleverly is the Lydia England National Co-ordinator. She and her husband, Charlie, are based in Oxford, where Charlie is Vicar of St Aldate’s Church. Anita is coming to lead one of our evenings in February, when she will tell us more about the work of Lydia and lead us into new ways of praying. This will take place at 7.00pm in Sarum College on 19 February. All are welcome. This evening will begin our series of spiritual formation meetings for the Lent to Pentecost period. Lydia seems a good person with whom to begin our spiritual pilgrimage in 2007.

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