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About the Ring

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to throw away; a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace. Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 (NRSV)

A "web ring" or "net ring" is a collection of websites with a similar topic, theme, or other identifying feature, which are "joined" on the web via the use of a ring host (we use RingSurf) and a special bit of HTML placed on all of the pages in the ring (such as you see above, or at the bottom of this page, which is the actual code for this ring; the title above works but is mostly for effect).

This ring has been in operation since August 1997. In October 2000, the ring was moved from its previous host to RingSurf due to changes made at the previous host which were unacceptable to the ring managers and some ring members.

The ring managers are Andrew James Bromage and Bonni Elizabeth Hall. They are husband and wife, and work as professional web developers (Bonni working freelance from home so that she can be with their daughter, Zoë). Andrew is a programmer and system administrator. Bonni is a web designer and digital artist (and will often take on projects for qualified ministries or other non-profit groups for a minimal fee or for free; see Alicorna for more information).

This ring was started because Bonni is an abuse survivor and has had to battle mental illness and deal with many issues of faith, healing, and having a relationship with God. It hasn't always been easy, but she has found encouragement and hope in the words of others who have also had to make this journey of recovery. Thus was the idea for A Time to Heal conceived.

Andrew and Bonni are dedicated Christians with a statement of faith online if you care to read it. They are both moderate (as opposed to conservative or liberal), educated, somewhat intellectual Protestants, and they own a full library of books on faith, healing, theology, and Christian philosophy, along with more than a dozen different English translations of the Bible, one Esperanto translation, and a few volumes in Greek and Hebrew. In other words, they take their Christianity seriously, intellectually as well as emotionally and spiritually.

As for the ring, it is open to Christians who are in recovery or who minister to those in recovery from addictions, abuse, trauma, and other deep wounds of the soul and who have websites that reflect that. It has been said that healing is a spiritual journey. This is a ring about that journey, including the people who have travelled the long, difficult road from dysfunction to wholeness. It has consistantly had high traffic and been quite active, and has been a blessing to its participants and those who have followed the ring's circle of sites.

The ring logo, the flame, is symbolic of several things. First, and probably most obviously, it is a symbol of the Holy Spirit, as it appeared on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:3). However, recovery and healing can be painful and difficult, and very trying. The Bible speaks many times of how God refines and purifies His people in the crucible. The Psalms are full of the anguished cries of a man being tested by trial and tribulation, and Job, himself, the very model of a godly man who is tried by fire said of his ordeal, "But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I shall come out like gold." (Job 23:10). Other examples of the "trial by fire" metaphor may be seen throughout the Bible, both in the Old Testament and the New.

about the ring :: join or edit info :: contact managers

A Time to Heal is part of the Shoshanna ministry site
and is made possible by RingSurf.

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Graphics, content, and design copyright © Bonni Elizabeth Hall, 1997-2000.
All rights reserved. No unauthorized use.
Web design by Alicorna.