Taking you into quiet spaces to meet with God...Published three times a year, each issue of Quiet Spaces provides four months' worth of inspiration for your quiet time, presented in fortnightly sections. This material can be used in daily portions throughout the week or all in one sitting as a 'quiet day', perhaps at the weekend. Within each section there are twelve elements comprising reflections inspired by different traditions, creative activities, liturgy, Bible reading and ideas for meditation. Also included is a chapter taken from As a Child by Phil Steer, which explores Jesus' words about becoming like little children and what this means for our faith journey. The Editor writes Welcome to Quiet Spaces. After the bustle and busyness of Christmas and the New Year, you may be looking forward to some quiet spaces at the moment. We will soon be leaving behind the dark nights and the cold winter and the special cosy quietness inside that comes with the season, and heading towards summer and a different type of space and quiet. In this issue, after considering the theme of light, we begin to look towards Lent and Easter. Many churches celebrate Candlemas around 2 February as a time of leaving Christmas and the Incarnation and turning to face the Passion and the journey through Good Friday to Easter morning. It is also a time when Jesus' presentation in the temple is remembered. In this issue of Quiet Spaces we have divided Lent into three sections, each taking a different approach to the season. As with all Quiet Spaces material, please use these sections as appropriate to you and your circumstances. You may find you linger longer in one section and pass quickly through another, so be open to following God's calling through this time. Lent can be a good time for setting new habits, and maybe this year you will be looking at how and when you pray. After the emotional rollercoaster that is Holy Week, try pausing on Holy Saturday, sharing the disciples' grief in preparation for that most holy of nights between Easter eve and Easter morning when Christ rose from the dead. We don't know at what point during the night this happened, and I enjoy the mystery of not knowing exactly when. It happened silently; no crowds of angels or a large audience, no public declaration, simply a quiet time with Jesus, Father and Spirit, followed by the realisation by Jesus' followers that yesterday he was dead, and today he is alive. And so this night shares the honour, along with the night of Jesus' birth, as a holy night when God's work is done in secret, in the stillness, and is then shared with humanity. We also offer you three fellow companions on the way: St Teresa of Avila, James, and Joseph; each very different, but with something unique to teach us and experiences to share. You may also have your own fellow travellers to share the spiritual journey, whether that is in praying together or in sharing your stories and experiences. And so, as you journey and as you rest over the coming months, may you find those spaces where you meet with God and allow his story and your story to become entwined. Sally Smith Writers in this issue: Janet Fletcher is Team Vicar in the Rectorial Benefice of Bangor. She has contributed to Guidelines Bible reading notes (BRF) and Pathway to God (SPCK, 2006). She offers spiritual direction and enjoys teaching groups in prayer, spirituality and faith, and leading Quiet Days and retreats. Angela Ashwin is a writer and speaker on spirituality. She has written several books about prayer and life with God, including Faith in the Fool: Risk and delight in the Christian adventure (Darton, Longman & Todd, 2009) and Woven into Prayer: A flexible pattern of daily prayer (Canterbury Press Norwich, 2010). She and her husband live in Southwell, Nottinghamshire. Tony Horsfall is a freelance trainer and retreat leader based in Yorkshire, with his own ministry, Charis Training. He is an elder of Ackworth Community Church and has written several books for BRF, including Working from a Place of Rest (2010), Rhythms of Grace (2012), and most recently Servant Ministry (2013). Janet Lunt trained in music, composes, creates artwork and leads Quiet Days. She has designed several multisensory prayer trails, which have been used in Bristol, including in the cathedral, and beyond. With a colleague, she recently created a series of children's reflective corners for publication. Bridget Hewitt lives in Northumberland. She is a wife, mother of grown-up sons, and daughter of elderly parents, all of which form the background to her involvement in spiritual direction and group work, travelling the spiritual journey alongside teenagers and adults. She has a Masters degree in Christian spirituality. Sally Smith enjoys creating spaces that enable encounter with God through leading Quiet Days and creating prayer corners and stations. She has led prayer groups in her local church, works as a spiritual director and writes and produces education materials. Dorinda Miller has been leading Quiet Days and retreats in the UK and overseas, across denominations, for many years. She is currently involved in running Staying in the Vine, a six-week course on prayer and spiritual disciplines, in Nottingham. Claire Musters is a freelance writer and editor, mother of two, pastor's wife and school governor. Claire's desire is to help others draw closer to God through her writing, which focuses on marriage, parenting, worship and issues facing women today.