Listed below are some suggestions and experiences  which may assist individuals and communities to develop a practice of review.

•      Start by saying 'thanks' - be thankful for the little things others have done.   Often I'm grateful when I start the washing; somebody else finishes.

•      Only share that which you feel comfortable in sharing.

·      Reviews are about listening - listening to God in our own journey and that of the others. Hence, we hear and accept what the other is prepared to share. Criticism, debate or disagreement with what another says is inappropriate. Each member should feel free to give his own perspective, which can be a very different view of the same event.

·      When there is a strong desire to disagree, criticise or debate, it is best to attempt to be connected with what is happening in oneself at the emotional level.

I was afraid to talk about that issue because I ...

•      Often at the end of a review, the leader might ask: are there any reactions to what has been said?

I was glad to hear that ...

I really want to support you in that endeavour

·       Do not take on another's emotions. Those emotions are caused by what is going on in him!

·       A review is not a detailed list of the events of the week.  Settle for two or three points. Settle for talking about the happenings to which there was a strong emotional reaction. Telling a story of my movement from some sort of desolation to a sense of consolation is a very appropriate review story.

·       Some of my best experiences have been listening to talk about another's prayer.

·       A leader needs to set up the situation by providing a structure  which will help us consider the week. It may be a piece of Scripture from which two or three points are made and members are asked to talk about their week in terms of those points.

Is it realistic to expect intimacy in community?

Br. Mick Leonard (SPA)