Petra Griffiths
My main roles are coordinating Living Spirituality Connections, being Pastoral Care Coordinator at St James’s Church Piccadilly, and helping to run the Eco Church programme there, including monthly non-denominational eco liturgies in the garden and on Zoom. I am also facilitating a Zoom group working through Margaret Silf’s book Landmarks, and the Living Spirituality monthly group Journeying Together, involving discussions and liturgies.
In 2021 I designed an introductory course to Deep Abiding Prayer (a form of healing prayer that works well as a group activity), which has proved very fruitful. We will be running the course twice on Zoom in 2022 as partnership between Living Spirituality Connections and St James’s Church Piccadilly. Go to: https://livingspirit.org.uk/events/
Previous roles include being Coordinator of the Centre for Creation Spirituality in the UK, and directing a community based Cancer Support Centre in South West London.
Heather-Jane Ozanne
Heather-Jane’s qualifications and early professional life were in sociology, research, social and community work, in inner city London. When faced by the pressing concerns of human life in extreme circumstances she engaged with the question,’ what difference does spirituality make?’ She also developed her interest in ‘community’ and subsequently worked in a community setting where she began to explore the ideal of community life.
For more than a decade Heather-Jane has undertaken training and developed her work, in the areas of spiritual accompaniment and spirituality, peace and reconciliation. This includes: working in retreat houses, facilitating workshops and retreats, working with an organisation known as Jerusalem Peacemakers and setting up a charity called Spirit of Peace, of which she is CEO. (See www.spiritofpeace.co.uk.)
She is currently developing a training course – Pathways for Peace, based on her work and experience in community and social work and her partnership with International peace builders. Heather-Jane is also on the Core Group of CANA (Christian Awakening to a New Awareness) and co-authored with Janice Dolley the collection Stories of Contemporary Christians.
Linda Courage
Linda Courage is a retired nurse who was drawn to silence soon after coming to faith in her twenties. She values the monastic and Celtic traditions and helps to host contemplative and meditative services in Selby where she lives and learns from her cat, Molly, and her allotment, Lottie.
She has used different art forms to uncover insights for life and now runs workshops and series to help others do the same.
The Abbey of the Arts is her primary spiritual home.