“Can you lead a peace session for our teaching staff of 180 people?” I had been asked. A great degree of trust had developed over the past few months with many staff members at a secondary school. So I was happy to agree. Due to the intense heat, the conference was organised as a digital event at short notice. So there I was, sitting in a room with the school’s leadership team in front of a laptop. As I clicked through my PowerPoint slides, I couldn’t see any of the audience’s faces, only my slides. So I couldn’t pick up a single reaction. I felt that my trust alone was being put to the test. I spoke into the darkness, in a very personal and encouraging way. When I finished, a feeling of uncertainty remained. The following day, I received a voicemail saying: “Thank you also for your guest presentation at our whole-staff conference yesterday. It generated a great deal of interest and enthusiasm amongst us teachers. We’re very much looking forward to our next meeting.”
