iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Rachel Summers @curiouswilds.bsky.social · 23/04/2026

I have loved sharing what Being English means with those who have travelled from overseas to claim asylum in this place and become part of our story. It's often been their hope in this country that has kept the flame of pride for it from flickering out in my heart, and for that I'm grateful.

030

Rachel Summers @curiouswilds.bsky.social · 23/04/2026

England is a place with a strong history of democracy, rule of law, education, fairness, tolerance, social action, courage to question the status quo and change things- and we forget these facets of our nation's legacy at our peril.

130

Rachel Summers @curiouswilds.bsky.social · 23/04/2026

We have a patron saint who stands up for the weak and those without power. A patron saint venerated by Christians and Muslims alike. A patron saint who's chosen rather than home-grown, and no less valid for that.

100

Rachel Summers @curiouswilds.bsky.social · 23/04/2026

It's a country built by people from all over the world, historically there, and more recently here, so although it's small it never feels stifling.

100

Rachel Summers @curiouswilds.bsky.social · 23/04/2026

Happy St George's Day! England is a stunningly beautiful country, with so many landscapes squeezed into such tight geographical space. Every direction you turn there's the sea, in all its moods.

131

Rachel Summers @curiouswilds.bsky.social · 19/04/2026

Exploring the Emmaus road at Forest Church, with labyrinths to help us reflect on how Jesus walks alongside us. We baked communion bread on the fire, used one loaf for the Eucharist, and ate the rest with wild garlic butter ✝️🕯️⚓

2110

Rachel Summers @curiouswilds.bsky.social · 08/04/2026

Ice creams, pizza from pizza vending machine, a sunny spot by the swimming pool, pottering round a French town centre. We love a cheap cheap caravan site for post Easter break.

010

Rachel Summers @curiouswilds.bsky.social · 06/04/2026

Some of our family are setting off on the high seas (to a French caravan park!).

000

Rachel Summers @curiouswilds.bsky.social · 05/04/2026

Plus walk in the forest and cousins playing monopoly 😊

010

Rachel Summers @curiouswilds.bsky.social · 05/04/2026

My church has this glorious tradition of busking the Hallelujah Chorus at the end of the Easter morning service. No rehearsals, just the organist, a couple of copies of the music, and enthusiasm. We wouldn't win any choral prizes but gosh it's fun.

110

Rachel Summers @curiouswilds.bsky.social · 05/04/2026

Happy Easter! 🐣🐰 My day started with storytelling salvation round a fire before dawn, then the absolute joy of celebrating this marvellous mystery at the altar- second Easter as a priest and I'm still pinching myself. Our oven decided to break so we cooked lunch for family in the church hall! ✝️🕯️

1100

Rachel Summers @curiouswilds.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

Garden of Repose. The Maundy Thursday liturgy is such a powerful emotional journey. ✝️⚓

0140

Rachel Summers @curiouswilds.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

I ran it once in a church hall maybe ten years ago, and again on zoom in 2021. So this was its third outing. I think it may be something I need to write up and get published somewhere so it can be used. It's so great.

110

Rachel Summers @curiouswilds.bsky.social · 01/04/2026

We loved it so much that tonight we squeezed in a Holy Week bonus week, cooking with friends in Palestine, and @sgcjerusalem.bsky.social kindly joined us as well. I really recommend this as a concept. It's brilliant.

040

Rachel Summers @curiouswilds.bsky.social · 01/04/2026

We have had a wonderful Lent Cookalong zoom (how very 2020), fasting from our regular Weds night dinners to eat in solidarity with friends from Iran, Sudan, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines. We've been joined each time by people from each country to laugh at our cooking attempts and pray for us. ✝️

251

Rachel Summers @curiouswilds.bsky.social · 01/04/2026

Behind the scenes in Holy Week. Burning the leftover holy oils before Chrism Mass tomorrow. ✝️⚓

190

Rachel Summers @curiouswilds.bsky.social · 29/03/2026

Brilliant to spend time on the streets yesterday at the @togetheralliance.bsky.social March. Felt like the perfect way to prepare for the story of Holy Week, which after all starts with crowds on the streets. 'Christian people, what are we for? A bigger table, an open door!'

030

Rachel Summers @curiouswilds.bsky.social · 29/03/2026

A whole herd of hobby donkeys joined our Palm Sunday procession round to church, where we took part in a dramatised reading of the gospel, and made bracelets to remember each part of holy week (can you guess which colours represent which day?).

030

Rachel Summers @curiouswilds.bsky.social · 29/03/2026

My late March London woods say hello.

030

Rachel Summers @curiouswilds.bsky.social · 05/08/2025

I'm looking forward to speaking about 'Mud and Wonder: how we can explore our spirituality in nature', at this conference run by my friends as Grund School, Oradea, Romania, focussed on outdoor education and pedagogy. Booking link here: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

0111

Rachel Summers @curiouswilds.bsky.social · 03/08/2025

Looking forward to @greenbeltfestival.bsky.social 🙌 If you're coming, pop these two things in your diary. Come and make kites with me as an act of worship, and listen to stories about hosting refugees with @refugeesathome.bsky.social

Winds of Hope
Greenbelt is a place where, like it or not, we are much more aware of the weather than usual. Join Rachel Summers to explore what God has to say about the wind, to play and create together as we make and fly kites as an act of worship.
Sun 12.30 Shelter

The Hosts with the Most
Join our partners Refugees at Home to hear stories from hosts who've volunteered with them to offer short-term stays for refugees.

Fri 6.30 Hot House

0122

Rachel Summers @curiouswilds.bsky.social · 31/07/2025

I couldn't run my usual family retreat week this year, coz appendicitis 😭. My lovely friends all pitched in and got it done 🥰 Would just like to note that 1 Rachel carries the force of five people. ADHD ftw 💪

Message reads, 'we all missed you. We're shattered and that's between 5 of us running it between us'

040

Rachel Summers @curiouswilds.bsky.social · 31/07/2025

Huge thanks to Allan for writing the background stories to my childhood and my children's childhoods. My favourites to read to my children were Peepo, which is a work of warm human genius, and Each Peach Pear Plum where the rhyme gallops along to a satisfying plum pie finale.

bbc.co.uk

Allan Ahlberg, celebrated children's author, dies aged 87

He wrote more than 150 books, including The Jolly Postman and Each Peach Pear Plum.

020

Rachel Summers @curiouswilds.bsky.social · 28/07/2025

There may well be reasons someone is overweight. Multiple ACEs show a 46% increase in adult obesity. Recovering from surgery is not the place to have this conversation 😂

030

Rachel Summers @curiouswilds.bsky.social · 28/07/2025

📢 Would also once again like to remind health professionals that yes, I have eyes and know I'm overweight. Yes, I have a brain and know how to eat healthily. My weight didn't cause my appendicitis so we do not need to discuss it.

130

Rachel Summers @curiouswilds.bsky.social · 28/07/2025

Spent my weekend having appendicitis. 💯 do not recommend. It's good to be home, hoping for a boring and uneventful recovery.

Feet back home in a comfortable bed with the forest outside the window.

930

Rachel Summers @curiouswilds.bsky.social · 24/07/2025

Meanwhile in the Church of England... (Full time is one day off a week. In my diocese we're encouraged to take *two days* off once a month 🙌)

110

Rachel Summers @curiouswilds.bsky.social · 20/07/2025

Fruit of the earth and work of human hands (our hands, we collected grains of wheat from ears of corn, threshed them, ground them, made dough and cooked it). Fruit of the vine and work of human feet (we stomped on grapes in a ziplock and added to wine). Blessed be God for ever!

Chalice with wine and paten with very rustic flat bread!

050

Rachel Summers @curiouswilds.bsky.social · 19/07/2025

Have I told you you are wonderfully made? Enjoying Waltham Forest Pride with local inclusive churches.

Hand holding a postcard with pride flag and words 'You are wonderfully made'.

0121

Rachel Summers @curiouswilds.bsky.social · 17/07/2025

Was just sitting drinking my cocoa when Daphne jumped up on my lap for a cuddle 🐔

3301

Rachel Summers @curiouswilds.bsky.social · 15/07/2025

My kid picked Swithun as his confirmation name 🕊️ 🌧️

040

Reposted by Rachel Summers

Dan Sohege @danielsohege.bsky.social · 10/07/2025

Look, when it comes to reducing channel crossings you have two main options: 1) Invent a time machine and stop Britain colonising half the world so that people do not have strong ties to the country 2) Provide safer and simpler options to seek asylum without having to use irregular routes. #r4today

724580

Rachel Summers @curiouswilds.bsky.social · 08/07/2025

I'm so excited about this. ✝️⚓

190

Rachel Summers @curiouswilds.bsky.social · 06/07/2025

Great for @stpeterintheforest.bsky.social to be able to host a screening of The Nettle Dress and nettle themed activities thanks to the London Forest School Association. What a varied day- I started with an 8am BCP communion service!

Backs of heads in a church, film on a screen.

Collage of photos of activities with nettles

Collage of photos of nettle based food items!

030

Rachel Summers @curiouswilds.bsky.social · 05/07/2025

They just mean, tell me a thing. Mindblown. 🤯

120

Rachel Summers @curiouswilds.bsky.social · 05/07/2025

Oh and you probably know this but just in case- when NTs say 'tell me the most/best/worst', they don't literally mean the actual most/best/worst 🤷, you don't have to rank all your experiences ever and make sure you haven't lied by sharing what might have been the second or third ;)

130

Rachel Summers @curiouswilds.bsky.social · 05/07/2025

I think this is something that NT folk manage naturally- they'll reveal the relevant bits of themselves in each situation. But I needed it spelling out.

120

Rachel Summers @curiouswilds.bsky.social · 05/07/2025

Not a snack, but a friend told me when I went to mine- everyone always says be yourself. You can't always do that. Just don't be someone you're not. As a ND person, I found this really clarifying- it's fine to only show parts of myself some of the time, I don't have to be entirely exposed.

120

Rachel Summers @curiouswilds.bsky.social · 05/07/2025

A pack of those almonds in dark chocolate. And Urban Fruit mango and pineapple. I always take snacks to things as sometimes when meals aren't when I'm hungry I get ravenous late at night, plus all that peopleing makes me hungry.

320

Rachel Summers @curiouswilds.bsky.social · 29/06/2025

In one of those strange quirks of life, last night I picked up E, my equivalent baby's small sibling, from that no-longer-small sibling's party. They'd befriended each other entirely outside of their parental influence. Isn't that a bit nuts? And more than a bit cool?

020

Rachel Summers @curiouswilds.bsky.social · 29/06/2025

Twenty years ago I was a member of an internet message board (remember those?) of mums with new babies. One of those babies had the absolute coolest small sibling, one of those awesome internet babies, toddlers, children, teens who you never meet but you think are absolutely brilliant.

100

Reposted by Rachel Summers

Jen @ladyjenpool.bsky.social · 22/06/2025

Computers used to scream every time they connected to the Internet. They knew. They tried to warn us. We did not listen.

56109363684