There were thriteen people at Holy Cross this morning, which was a great number to have at a communion table. I mentioned this in the service and pointed out that while Jesus was with us, we were all playing the part of Judas, Peter and the other disciples. We all betray him, open our mouth and put our foot in it and do all the other things that the disciples did...
Showing posts with label holy cross. Show all posts
Showing posts with label holy cross. Show all posts
Sunday, 7 June 2009
Thirteen at the Table
It was a very wet day toady and the rain was hammering down. Iona wasn't keen to go outside because she thought the drops of rain would be so hard that they would drill holes in her - turning her into a human teabag... Perhaps for this reason attendance was low in church this morning...
Sunday, 15 March 2009
Holy Cross AGM
We had the AGM at Holy Cross this morning. We met in a circle and went through the usual round of appointments and reports. The only main item of business was the decision to move the morning service from 9:00am to 9:30am in September - which was passed with one abstention.
Sunday, 9 November 2008
Holy Cross
Last week we had an incident with a tree at St Mary's. This week it was gas pipes at Holy Cross. Apparently a car hit the gas supply. No-one was hurt but the church needed to be evacuated and the service was cancelled.It's all sorted now, but we should be thankful for all those who responded so quickly, and helped make the building safe again. In the meantime, please pray for those involved.
Sunday, 2 November 2008
Jigsaw Saints
To celebrate All Saints Day I took communion at ASL and then at Holy Cross - preaching sermons based on my reflections on Corfe Castle, Studland Bay and Brownsea Island.
A slip of the key at 8:00am meant that 1 John 3 was transformed into John 3 - which meant that the first reading was about Nicodemus and being born again. This made me reflect on the way turning points in history - or our stories - can be either positive or negative - but it's how you approach them that can produce blessings...
Back at All Saints I was able to try out a Light for the Lectionary session on the Beatitudes involving a giant eight piece jigsaw an empty wallet and some chains...
A slip of the key at 8:00am meant that 1 John 3 was transformed into John 3 - which meant that the first reading was about Nicodemus and being born again. This made me reflect on the way turning points in history - or our stories - can be either positive or negative - but it's how you approach them that can produce blessings...
Back at All Saints I was able to try out a Light for the Lectionary session on the Beatitudes involving a giant eight piece jigsaw an empty wallet and some chains...
Sunday, 21 September 2008
Pitching the Tent
I took services at Holy Cross and St Mary's this morning. In both churches I put up a tent and talked about the challenge of dismantling our camp-sites (in this world) so that we can set off in the direction of the kingdom. This worked well with the baptisms...
Sunday, 17 August 2008
What do we want?
I preached at Holy Cross today. The reading for the day was Matthew 15:21-28 - the Canaanite Woman. This gave me an opportunity to speak about marathon running - having sat up during the night to watch the women's marathon at the Beijing Olympics. Paula Radcliffe did her best to finish even though she clearly wasn't fit enough. The winner was a Rumanian who took off and kept going even though everyone else thought she would grind to a halt... This provided a great link to the reading, picking up themes of persistence and constant re-thinking in the pursuit of an important goal.
In the second part of the service I decided to experiment and ask the congregation what they thought they might need from Church in order to pursue their own calling to be disciples. I pointed out that Church is a "school for disciples" rather than a "club for saints". If this is really true, what do we need? What should preachers talk about? What themes would be worth exploring?
I collected the results and would like to say that the most common suggestions were:
a. Sharing the Gospel
b. Being a Disciple
c. Being Christians in our local community
d. The Communion Service
e. The Background to the Bible
I was suprised to see evangelism at the top of the list, but there were refrences to "getting more people to come to church" so there may be questions about motivation to unpack. I would be interesting to know if other churches would produce a similar list...
The question for me know is to think about how I follow this up in my preparation for worship.
In the second part of the service I decided to experiment and ask the congregation what they thought they might need from Church in order to pursue their own calling to be disciples. I pointed out that Church is a "school for disciples" rather than a "club for saints". If this is really true, what do we need? What should preachers talk about? What themes would be worth exploring?
I collected the results and would like to say that the most common suggestions were:
a. Sharing the Gospel
b. Being a Disciple
c. Being Christians in our local community
d. The Communion Service
e. The Background to the Bible
I was suprised to see evangelism at the top of the list, but there were refrences to "getting more people to come to church" so there may be questions about motivation to unpack. I would be interesting to know if other churches would produce a similar list...
The question for me know is to think about how I follow this up in my preparation for worship.
Sunday, 20 April 2008
Back to Work
Today was my first day back after the Easter Holiday. I hope to insert some missing days soon to fill in some of the gaps...
I had to get up early for the 8 o'clock service, which turned out to be a good thing since I picked up a notice sheet which informed me that Ken had died on Friday. He will be greatly missed. It was certainly useful to know this before going to Holy Cross where he had served as church warden.
The mood was quiet and reflective at Holy Cross. I presided at the 9 o'clock communion and then preached at the 9:45. The hymns were strangely appropriate even though I'd picked them over a week ago, and the story of Stephen had wonderful resonance. Both Ken and Stephen were people who sought to serve in practical ways, reaching out to people on the edge - often with food. We gave thanks for Ken this morning.
It was a bit of a shock to the system to leave Holy Cross and go to St Mary's at 11am for a big baptism service - a high energy show! The church was packed with visitors who needed to be given a real celebration - which we seemed to deliver. At 2pm I had to do the same at All Saints - three families, four children. It was important to deliver a BIG event for the five baptism families and their friends - but a bit of an emotional rollercoaster after the two services at Holy Cross...
I had three hours at home this afternoon. We all sat down for dinner and I watched last night's Doctor Who with the girls. It was a fairly blatant story about the very human habit of slavery - in one form or another - but it worked pretty well. After all, you can't go wrong if the episode has Ood in it. We learnt today that Ood have three brains: one in their head, one in their hands and one that they share in a collective consciousness. This is a great image to play with! They must cooperate and trust each other because if you are holding your brain in your hands you are pretty vulnerable... To what extent are we like Ood? There's a question to think about...
Growing Disciples was at 6:30pm. Mike's away so I had to lead it by myself. We all missed Ken's presence. He had been really enjoying this course. We had a good discussion about the cost of discipleship and went home. It's now 10pm and I am starting work on Voices. I must finish by tomorrow morning...
Oh I am glad to be back...
(And my sabbatical starts in 11 days...)
I had to get up early for the 8 o'clock service, which turned out to be a good thing since I picked up a notice sheet which informed me that Ken had died on Friday. He will be greatly missed. It was certainly useful to know this before going to Holy Cross where he had served as church warden.
The mood was quiet and reflective at Holy Cross. I presided at the 9 o'clock communion and then preached at the 9:45. The hymns were strangely appropriate even though I'd picked them over a week ago, and the story of Stephen had wonderful resonance. Both Ken and Stephen were people who sought to serve in practical ways, reaching out to people on the edge - often with food. We gave thanks for Ken this morning.
It was a bit of a shock to the system to leave Holy Cross and go to St Mary's at 11am for a big baptism service - a high energy show! The church was packed with visitors who needed to be given a real celebration - which we seemed to deliver. At 2pm I had to do the same at All Saints - three families, four children. It was important to deliver a BIG event for the five baptism families and their friends - but a bit of an emotional rollercoaster after the two services at Holy Cross...
I had three hours at home this afternoon. We all sat down for dinner and I watched last night's Doctor Who with the girls. It was a fairly blatant story about the very human habit of slavery - in one form or another - but it worked pretty well. After all, you can't go wrong if the episode has Ood in it. We learnt today that Ood have three brains: one in their head, one in their hands and one that they share in a collective consciousness. This is a great image to play with! They must cooperate and trust each other because if you are holding your brain in your hands you are pretty vulnerable... To what extent are we like Ood? There's a question to think about...
Growing Disciples was at 6:30pm. Mike's away so I had to lead it by myself. We all missed Ken's presence. He had been really enjoying this course. We had a good discussion about the cost of discipleship and went home. It's now 10pm and I am starting work on Voices. I must finish by tomorrow morning...
Oh I am glad to be back...
(And my sabbatical starts in 11 days...)
Thursday, 10 April 2008
Thursday
Worked during the morning while girls were at a fun day.
Went to see Jessie's family this afternoon. We reflected on the changes that she had seen in her long life, particularly in Shenley. It feels like the end of an era.
Stewart rang this evening to say that Ken had been taken ill. Went to see him in hospital.
Am having an interesting break...
Went to see Jessie's family this afternoon. We reflected on the changes that she had seen in her long life, particularly in Shenley. It feels like the end of an era.
Stewart rang this evening to say that Ken had been taken ill. Went to see him in hospital.
Am having an interesting break...
Sunday, 6 April 2008
Sunday
Another Sunday in the snow! The world was completely white when we got up but began to melt later.I was at Holy Cross for communion first, followed by their AGM. Zipped across the St Mary's to lead them in communion after their AGM. Finished the morning (at 2:00pm) with a lunch time meeting with the St Mary's 11 O'clock team...
Took girls for an afternoon walk...
Managed to finish the Watling Valley AGM video in the evening...
Recognition
Jeff preached a great sermon at Holy Cross today. He spoke about the disciples on the road to Emmaus and about how they failed to recognise Jesus until he did his thing... To demonstrate this he preached with a paper bag on his head - we knew it was him!
Sunday, 30 March 2008
Second Sunday of Easter
Clocks jumped forward. I rejoiced that someone else was doing eight O'clock!
Not many people turned up at nine (Holy Cross), but there were loads of people at St Mary's for the 9:30 sung BCP communion. One choir member arrived at 10:00am...
Alastair Wood preached an excelent sermon.
The eleven O'clock service was a bit chaotic since we decided to move the pews five minutes before the start. We created a small "circular" worship space at the back which was more than big enough for the dozen people who were there at five to, but not quite big enough for the twenty people who turned up at 11! We had a good, if slightly informal, service which fitted in well with the reading about the disciples gathering in a room on the first Easter day.
One of the reasons so many people were away was that they were in Wembley for the big match. the Dons won 2-0, so there will be great celebrations in MK tonight!
Some of us had to work however, and I was with Mike and Liz at wedding prep - six out of seven couples turned up which isn't bad.
Not many people turned up at nine (Holy Cross), but there were loads of people at St Mary's for the 9:30 sung BCP communion. One choir member arrived at 10:00am...
Alastair Wood preached an excelent sermon.
The eleven O'clock service was a bit chaotic since we decided to move the pews five minutes before the start. We created a small "circular" worship space at the back which was more than big enough for the dozen people who were there at five to, but not quite big enough for the twenty people who turned up at 11! We had a good, if slightly informal, service which fitted in well with the reading about the disciples gathering in a room on the first Easter day.
One of the reasons so many people were away was that they were in Wembley for the big match. the Dons won 2-0, so there will be great celebrations in MK tonight!
Some of us had to work however, and I was with Mike and Liz at wedding prep - six out of seven couples turned up which isn't bad.
Wednesday, 26 March 2008
Wednesday
I had a meeting with Alison in the morning to plan the team's spring away day.
I then met with Margaret and Veronica to plan hymns for St Mary's. It's always a mind bending exercise but has enourmous value: it means that the choir, organist and pewsheet editor get the hymns before Saturday night; it reduces unnecesary repitition and it releases creativity since we can be more adventurous. In theory we can now relax for the next five months - except I'm only taking two of the services and will still need to choose hymns for other churches... such is life...
I had a long hard mind bending afternoon trying to put together some draft proposals for the DPC. Our deployment working group can't meet before the end of April, so we will be doing it all by email. This is never ideal and means you need to produce thorough drafts and then ammend them several times before everyone is happy...
In the evening I attended the Holy Cross Church Council at Ken's. This was the first time I've seen the great marmalade maker in his own house. We had a fairly good evening and finished at 9:10 which I consider a win!
I had intended to work when I got home, but got drawn into the Apprentice. All I can say is, I would have fired him...
I then met with Margaret and Veronica to plan hymns for St Mary's. It's always a mind bending exercise but has enourmous value: it means that the choir, organist and pewsheet editor get the hymns before Saturday night; it reduces unnecesary repitition and it releases creativity since we can be more adventurous. In theory we can now relax for the next five months - except I'm only taking two of the services and will still need to choose hymns for other churches... such is life...
I had a long hard mind bending afternoon trying to put together some draft proposals for the DPC. Our deployment working group can't meet before the end of April, so we will be doing it all by email. This is never ideal and means you need to produce thorough drafts and then ammend them several times before everyone is happy...
In the evening I attended the Holy Cross Church Council at Ken's. This was the first time I've seen the great marmalade maker in his own house. We had a fairly good evening and finished at 9:10 which I consider a win!
I had intended to work when I got home, but got drawn into the Apprentice. All I can say is, I would have fired him...
Sunday, 16 March 2008
Palm Sunday
9:00am Holy Communion at Holy Cross
10:30am All Age Worship at All Saints' with ring blessing for Margaret and Len
Went to Shenley Leasure Centre for an induction session for the gymn. Enjoyed the rowing and running machine, but still suspicious of the various instruments of torture associated with stretching and pulling... Had a good twenty minute run on a treadmill.
10:30am All Age Worship at All Saints' with ring blessing for Margaret and Len
Went to Shenley Leasure Centre for an induction session for the gymn. Enjoyed the rowing and running machine, but still suspicious of the various instruments of torture associated with stretching and pulling... Had a good twenty minute run on a treadmill.
Sunday, 9 March 2008
Passion Sunday
It was a long day today, but here are some of the highlights...
8:00am: Holy Communion at All Saints' Loughton - I preached on Lazarus with an emphasis on the place of the story in journey of Jesus towards the Cross
9:00am: Holy Communion at Holy Cross Two Mile Ash - I preached a similar sermon, but with an emphasis on resurection which I extended to the rest of the service
10:30am: Holy Communion at All Saints' Loughton - We rejigged the service so I could preach before the reading. I spoke about Rolland Allen, making links to the journey of our churches towards Local Ministry - with references to St Mary's Worship Leaders and the new experiment at St Frideswide. The link with the Lazarus story is the way Jesus chose to take the risk of "retiring" (pinching Allen's phrase) from the events in Bethany for the long term good of the Gospel... I left them listening to the reading with Tim Hadden to preside at Communion.
11:00am (actually 11:10am): AGM at Water Eaton - got to Water Eaton ten minutes late having torn down the A5 at 70 (which is legal on the dual carriageway). I was supposed to be chairing their AGM, but it was inevitably a team job since they knew how they do things better than I ever will. It was good to be with them, and the whole meeting was very positive. It was good to affirm what they've achieved during the past year. The discussion about Malcolm and Gail's proposal ("Toward a Local Shared Ministry") was positive but thoughtful. There is a general feeling that this is the right thing to do at the moment, but a concern that we have contingency plans and are open to other possibilities in the long term. The vote was nearly unanimous, with one person voting against, but it turned out he really wanted to make sure there were sensible checks and ballances included, which we agreed to require.
And so the next stage of the Water Eaton experiment begins. We will now need to make sure proper guidelines for the team and the reviews are set up. We will also need to speak to Bishop Alan. In the meantime, they can continue with a bit more stability and confidence.
Afternoon: Izzy needed some attention. Long walk. Lunch.
6:30pm: Growing Disciples part 7 - I hadn't had any time to prepare for Growing Disciples so it wasn't the smoothest of sessions. This was the session on Groups and Teams that we had issues with last year. The CPAS Growing Leaders material makes an artificial distinction between Groups and Teams which we suspect was motivated by their desire to use concepts from "Five Disfunctions of Teams". Unfortunately, we think there is a difference between groups and teams and buy into the idea that in a Team your work has an effect on the work of the whole, but a Group can meet without mutual responsibility.
On the other hand, it was a good evening.
Mike and I are beginning to think about next year and are starting to consider names of people to invite. Years one and two have been so significant as we have seen people grow, develop networks and find new confidence. This has been an important programme for us as a Partnership and is clearly a key part of our discipleship strategy.
One of our next thoughts is to do more with our "Alumni" - we will have 22 by July. One idea that we're considering is to organise a trip to the Willow Creak Leadership Conference in the UK - and to get hold of the videos. This would give us a way of continuing to build up and develop our leaders...
8:00am: Holy Communion at All Saints' Loughton - I preached on Lazarus with an emphasis on the place of the story in journey of Jesus towards the Cross
9:00am: Holy Communion at Holy Cross Two Mile Ash - I preached a similar sermon, but with an emphasis on resurection which I extended to the rest of the service
10:30am: Holy Communion at All Saints' Loughton - We rejigged the service so I could preach before the reading. I spoke about Rolland Allen, making links to the journey of our churches towards Local Ministry - with references to St Mary's Worship Leaders and the new experiment at St Frideswide. The link with the Lazarus story is the way Jesus chose to take the risk of "retiring" (pinching Allen's phrase) from the events in Bethany for the long term good of the Gospel... I left them listening to the reading with Tim Hadden to preside at Communion.
11:00am (actually 11:10am): AGM at Water Eaton - got to Water Eaton ten minutes late having torn down the A5 at 70 (which is legal on the dual carriageway). I was supposed to be chairing their AGM, but it was inevitably a team job since they knew how they do things better than I ever will. It was good to be with them, and the whole meeting was very positive. It was good to affirm what they've achieved during the past year. The discussion about Malcolm and Gail's proposal ("Toward a Local Shared Ministry") was positive but thoughtful. There is a general feeling that this is the right thing to do at the moment, but a concern that we have contingency plans and are open to other possibilities in the long term. The vote was nearly unanimous, with one person voting against, but it turned out he really wanted to make sure there were sensible checks and ballances included, which we agreed to require.
And so the next stage of the Water Eaton experiment begins. We will now need to make sure proper guidelines for the team and the reviews are set up. We will also need to speak to Bishop Alan. In the meantime, they can continue with a bit more stability and confidence.
Afternoon: Izzy needed some attention. Long walk. Lunch.
6:30pm: Growing Disciples part 7 - I hadn't had any time to prepare for Growing Disciples so it wasn't the smoothest of sessions. This was the session on Groups and Teams that we had issues with last year. The CPAS Growing Leaders material makes an artificial distinction between Groups and Teams which we suspect was motivated by their desire to use concepts from "Five Disfunctions of Teams". Unfortunately, we think there is a difference between groups and teams and buy into the idea that in a Team your work has an effect on the work of the whole, but a Group can meet without mutual responsibility.
On the other hand, it was a good evening.
Mike and I are beginning to think about next year and are starting to consider names of people to invite. Years one and two have been so significant as we have seen people grow, develop networks and find new confidence. This has been an important programme for us as a Partnership and is clearly a key part of our discipleship strategy.
One of our next thoughts is to do more with our "Alumni" - we will have 22 by July. One idea that we're considering is to organise a trip to the Willow Creak Leadership Conference in the UK - and to get hold of the videos. This would give us a way of continuing to build up and develop our leaders...
Sunday, 2 March 2008
Mothering Sunday
Today I was also at Holy Cross, where Jeff preached an excelent sermon, which was well structured, thought out and delivered. He preached about "getting out of our comfort zones" and put his message across very well.
I had the joy of providing music today, which I don't often get to do. The only fly in the ointment was that we had selected hymn number 1022. It was only when we came to this point in the service that we discovered that our copies of Mission Praise finish at hymn number 1021! We sang it anyway - "Above all powers" from memory. It actually sounded quite good.
I had the joy of providing music today, which I don't often get to do. The only fly in the ointment was that we had selected hymn number 1022. It was only when we came to this point in the service that we discovered that our copies of Mission Praise finish at hymn number 1021! We sang it anyway - "Above all powers" from memory. It actually sounded quite good.
Tuesday, 26 February 2008
Tuesday
Team Meeting - Talked about Priesthood
Holy Cross Team Meeting - Planned Services for next two months
Liz Baker Sepervision - Looking at October 12th Evening for first communion...
Isla out in evening. Watched Star Wars 2 with kids...
Holy Cross Team Meeting - Planned Services for next two months
Liz Baker Sepervision - Looking at October 12th Evening for first communion...
Isla out in evening. Watched Star Wars 2 with kids...
Sunday, 24 February 2008
Back to Work
Back to work today...
I dragged myself up for 8:00am - which felt challenging having sat up till 1:00am planning the day... Preached on the Samariton Woman at the Well.
Went to Holy Cross for the 9:00am Communion - Samairiton Woman again... (shortened version - the sermon not the woman)
Popped back to the house for my guitar to play "Be still" for the 9:45am service at which Liz was preaching - she also needed to borrow some sandles and a baby blanket - something about Moses...
Then back to All Saints for the 10:30am service on the theme of Spiritual Gifts. All in a days work...
Home for bowl of soup.
Visited Tim and Julie. Julie is looking better, but still feeling awful after her car crash.
Then popped in to see Paul and Molly at the Hospice. Delivered copy of Voices.
Service Planning Meeting at 3:00pm: We worked through the plan up to Septmber/October with some thought about Christmas and the Silver Jubillee celebrations in October 2009.
Went home to cook tea - Chiken Tikka Masala with coliflour.
Gils had cooked cake - yum.
Watched Wife Swap in the evening. Pastor's wife swaps with smoking, gambling, boozing fellow Christian. Great to see that we have all sorts in the Church(!) The highlight was when the slightly up-tight pastor blew £63 on the dogs... and then his wife found out... oops...
Bed and sleep. ZZZZZZZ
I dragged myself up for 8:00am - which felt challenging having sat up till 1:00am planning the day... Preached on the Samariton Woman at the Well.
Went to Holy Cross for the 9:00am Communion - Samairiton Woman again... (shortened version - the sermon not the woman)
Popped back to the house for my guitar to play "Be still" for the 9:45am service at which Liz was preaching - she also needed to borrow some sandles and a baby blanket - something about Moses...
Then back to All Saints for the 10:30am service on the theme of Spiritual Gifts. All in a days work...
Home for bowl of soup.
Visited Tim and Julie. Julie is looking better, but still feeling awful after her car crash.
Then popped in to see Paul and Molly at the Hospice. Delivered copy of Voices.
Service Planning Meeting at 3:00pm: We worked through the plan up to Septmber/October with some thought about Christmas and the Silver Jubillee celebrations in October 2009.
Went home to cook tea - Chiken Tikka Masala with coliflour.
Gils had cooked cake - yum.
Watched Wife Swap in the evening. Pastor's wife swaps with smoking, gambling, boozing fellow Christian. Great to see that we have all sorts in the Church(!) The highlight was when the slightly up-tight pastor blew £63 on the dogs... and then his wife found out... oops...
Bed and sleep. ZZZZZZZ
Wednesday, 30 January 2008
Using the Book
Today I had was involved in a visit at St Mary's, handled some tricky emails, met Ross and Tim C to talk about Areas 10 and 11, and attended the Holy Cross Church Council. A fairly average day.
One of the more fun things I needed to do today was to visit Ron and Joy Cramp for Communion. This gave me an opportunity to use the Book of Common Prayer they gave me for Christmas. It's a really super edition, with reproduction engravings in the margin. They appreciated me using it, and we had a good time - in the best sense of the word.
One of the more fun things I needed to do today was to visit Ron and Joy Cramp for Communion. This gave me an opportunity to use the Book of Common Prayer they gave me for Christmas. It's a really super edition, with reproduction engravings in the margin. They appreciated me using it, and we had a good time - in the best sense of the word.
Sunday, 27 January 2008
Fourth Sunday after Epiphany
We were really tired after the trip to Kent.
Didn't sleep well.
Got up - All Saints' then Holy Cross then All Saints again...
Absolutley shattered!
Didn't sleep well.
Got up - All Saints' then Holy Cross then All Saints again...
Absolutley shattered!
Sunday, 20 January 2008
Second Sunday of Epiphany
This morning I took the 9:00am Communion Service at Holy Cross. Numbers were up again, which was good and there was a very good atmosphere. I spoke about Growing Disciples and shared the story of the peanuts...
Since (or so I thought) there was a gap before my next service at 11:00am. I stayed at Holy Cross longer than usual. This enabled me to pop in on their Sunday Clubs and have a chat with the young people - something that I'm not able to do very often.
I was impressed by the standard of the teaching - top marks all round! The older group (the teen-agers) are rapidly becoming a junior ministry team, rather than junior church. It was an encouraging visit - although the helpers may not have appreciated having the vicar drop in...
Unfortunatley, I was wrong about having free time! It turned out that I was booked for a 9:00am, a 9:30am and an 11:00am! I'd spotted the 9 and 11, but missed the 9:30 - oops... Never done that before!
The good news is that Ted wasn't fazed and held the service together - even preaching an impromptu sermon that had rave reviews! I must appologise and investigate this sermon a bit more....jpg)
The 11:00am Service at St Mary's went very well this morning. We had a blessing for a little girl called Emily who sang through the reading and turned round to face me when I said her name... We had fun with the SU material, which included a game about emotions. It was a tie between "Colin's Team" and "St David's" (A name chosen by Arwell with obvious Welsh influence...)
After the service we had a very productive 11:00am planning meeting. We discussed Christmas, Children and Music. This is a great group who really have a good sense of vision and team work. I fully expect this congregation to grow...
Since (or so I thought) there was a gap before my next service at 11:00am. I stayed at Holy Cross longer than usual. This enabled me to pop in on their Sunday Clubs and have a chat with the young people - something that I'm not able to do very often.
I was impressed by the standard of the teaching - top marks all round! The older group (the teen-agers) are rapidly becoming a junior ministry team, rather than junior church. It was an encouraging visit - although the helpers may not have appreciated having the vicar drop in...
Unfortunatley, I was wrong about having free time! It turned out that I was booked for a 9:00am, a 9:30am and an 11:00am! I'd spotted the 9 and 11, but missed the 9:30 - oops... Never done that before!
The good news is that Ted wasn't fazed and held the service together - even preaching an impromptu sermon that had rave reviews! I must appologise and investigate this sermon a bit more...
The 11:00am Service at St Mary's went very well this morning. We had a blessing for a little girl called Emily who sang through the reading and turned round to face me when I said her name... We had fun with the SU material, which included a game about emotions. It was a tie between "Colin's Team" and "St David's" (A name chosen by Arwell with obvious Welsh influence...)
After the service we had a very productive 11:00am planning meeting. We discussed Christmas, Children and Music. This is a great group who really have a good sense of vision and team work. I fully expect this congregation to grow...
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