"If I can't run to the church with my sin. Where do I run?" This was the question posed by a visiting academic at our synod this week. The context was a discussion with ministers about addiction among clergy. It didn't take long to realise that although we are all sympathetic generally when it comes to the various forms of addiction that plague our world, some addictions have such stigma attached to them that we keep them hidden from everyone for fear of being judged and rejected.

Author and social scientist Adam Grant says that "it's more important to be good ancestors than dutiful descendants. Too many people spend their lives being custodians of the past instead of stewards of the future. We worry about making our parents proud when we should be focused on making our children proud."

If you're using the Lectio365 devotional app, you will know that Friday was the feast day for the 14th century English mystic, Julian of Norwich. Julian lived in permanent seclusion in a small room attached to St Julian's church (from which this anonymous woman of prayer took her name).