大象传媒

Good morning.听 We were taking a group of pilgrims through Greece following one of the missionary journeys of St Paul.听 Strictly speaking the Monastery of St John perched high in the hills, wasn鈥檛 anything to do with him.听 But the people there we鈥檇 met were so delightful, we wanted to include a visit in any case.听 When we arrived, the bells of the monastery rang out in a joyful jumble to welcome us.听 Lunch was fresh tomatoes and salad and cheese provided from the monastery farm and garden.听 We sat outside on the grass in the autumn sunshine and one of the sisters talked about her faith and life.

Monastic life in my mind always seemed organised with set times for prayer, study and work:听 life regulated by bells.听 The sister outlined their hours of prayer, 鈥淏ut we鈥檙e not too strict about it.听 The odd five minutes here or there doesn鈥檛 make too much difference.鈥�
Our pilgrimage had been run like a bit of a military exercise. Accuracy of timing was important for the broadcasts we were sending back.听 Programmes had to be on time 鈥� and the Greenwich time signal 鈥� the pips 鈥� kept us in order.听

It was on this day last year that the broadcasting of the pips celebrated its 90th birthday. First an analogue clock produced them.听 Now an advanced system makes use of atomic technology.听 But these days they can be several seconds later on digital radios than on the old analogue sets.听 What irony that advances in technology have led to less accuracy!听 Perhaps, like that orthodox community, we鈥檙e beginning to find that sometimes the odd few minutes (well 鈥� seconds) don鈥檛 matter that much.

A prayer for today 鈥� not based on the pips, but on the Westminster chimes.
Lord, hour by hour,
Be thou my Guide,
That, by your power,
No step may slide.
Amen
听