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Vicar's Blog
CREATING COMMUNITIES OF WHOLENESS WITH CHRIST AT THE CENTRE
Blog Archives: April 2008 - March 2008 - February 2008 - January 2008 - December 2007 - November 2007 - October 2007 - September 2007 - August 2007 - July 2007 - June 2007 - May 2007 - April 2007 - March 2007 - February 2007 - January 2007 - December 2006 - November 2006 - October 2006 - September 2006
31 October, 9.50am
Following the scan yesterday we told the children that we're excepting another baby - you heard it here first! [And just one thankfully!]. We had had moments of panic, Jane has been significantly sicker though the first months of this pregnancy than an of the others. That could either have been because she's just a little bit older, or [moment of panic] because there were twins - and there are twins in the family. The news that we were expecting again was enough of a surprise, I think that we'd both of cried if it had been two. But its one and as far as we can tell healthy and whole and bouncing about in the womb and currently about 6cm long, and due on 9th May 2007.
The children were over the moon when they heard the news [WE'RE GOING TO HAVE ANOTHER BABY]. But they very rapidly came down from those exalted heights and expressed almost equal amazement and excitement that mummy had reached chapter 20 in 'Emma' and hope that we could soon re-start their new 'Lazy Town' DVD.
29th October, 9.45pm
I'm signing back on again, and not much more than that for now, seeing that I've now been at the computer for an unknown/unremembered time [but far too long] updating the website, sorting and answering e mail and sending a fair few as well, and beginning to work out a scarily long list of jobs to do over the next week.
But we had a great holiday in Minehead, I did swim in the sea, Alice paddled, Adam fell in by mistake, Anna climbed on the rocks and we just about got Jane onto the edge of the beach - as far away from the water as possible. For the rest, we really didn't do much at all - which is my kind of holiday - by far the best kind.
19th October 4.55pm
Its five minutes to the hour again - bizarre!
This is a signing off note - at least for a week; and I'm ready for a break. In some ways I have been all week, I tend to want to go AWOL and just sleep some time before I actually finish work.
For those of you who've been following the story of the soup, it did get the lentils and a few tomatoes and they combined [with the chili and lots of other mixed veg] to make it quite decent - hot and sweet - people at the Swindon Mission Network did at least eat most of it! There's still a bit left [currently in our freezer] so you might even get a chance to taste it at some future event.
I'll be back at work on 29th October, having run [Exmoor Stagger] swum [yes I'm mad enough to swim in the sea in October], and generally not done very much. So I'll probably have loads of energy and perhaps folk should avoid me for a while!
Have a good half term!
17th October 6.55am
Why do I always start blogging at five minutes before the hour?
I've just come back from something approaching a run [as my knee slowly, slowly, ever so slowly, heals] - and it was great. There's something very wonderful about running in the dark. Half the time, and especially across the fields you have no idea [apart from instinct] of where you are and no surity of where you'll end up, or what you'll fall into on the way - and falling flat on your face is a fairly big part of running in the dark. [Perhaps that's a decent analogy for mission in North Swindon at the moment!] But you sense everything differently and more acutely and its great to be running again.
I also have the Exmoor Stagger coming up on Sunday 22nd - 15[ish] miles and 3,300' so my knee really does need to get better.
Last night was our combined deanery chapter. Its the kind of event that in theory [and last night, in reality] makes me groan [with apologies to my colleagues, if any of you are reading this!]. But then George Kavoor stepped up to speak... [For those of you who don't know he a Chaplain to the Queen, a Director of the Kairos Foundation and Principal of Trinity College, Bristol - among many other things.]
Its not just what he says, its the way he says it. Here are a few quotes: The Church of England is a minority church with a majority syndrome. The balance of the church has shifted from the north to the south and so, for the first time since the third century the church of Jesus Christ is the church of the poor. The gospel [good news] is Jesus, not information about Jesus.
That's just a tiny part of an hour's talk which could have gone on for a whole day and night - an possibly would have done if Rob [our Area Dean] hadn't metaphorically sat on George. And then it all needs to be unpacked and that's a process that'll be going on in my head, in this blog and elsewhere for many weeks.
Oh - and soup - the pot of mixed vegetable that I made last night could cope with just two ladles of the chili! And it still needs some lentils to soften the blow!
16th October 2.55pm
Saturday night in Old Town - it sounds really sad [and probably is] but I think that its my first Saturday night out for twelve years! But it was a great evening - and almost uniquely for a church related event I don't think that we mentioned church once!
And then Sunday at St Francis was astounding! Sunday Club and communion. Nothing radical, but a first for us and it worked really well and had a great feel - as if the community is growing and beginning to be a community. For those of you who don't know we now start with coffee, tea, juice and croissants and then move into worship, before returning to the remains of the breakfast table - come along and experience it. I made a few comments about doing things for the first time and being slightly chaotic and saw some wry smiles around the church, but for all the change and development and creative chaos its been a good month and there are still two weeks to go!
11th October 3.55pm
I've just managed to get Adam to Little Ninjas, with his card and punching thing, but without his drink [in returning to pick up his card he put down his drink - hey ho...!].
I had Beth and Rob [our Area Dean] for a working lunch here today. I made soup as I often do for such lunch meetings [one of my idiosyncrasies is that I can't stand shop brought soup - even the extra special varieties]. But one of the issues with cooking as I do [throwing everything in my instinct and hoping that it works] is that although usually it does just occasionally its a disaster.
We were running late, because I'd had to take Alice for a vaccination at the doctors and they, predictably, kept us waiting, and then by the time we got back home Alice felt [with some justification that she deserved lots of attention to make up for the two horrible injections that she's just endured with no more than constant protests! So I was trying to make soup fast and not concentrating. That's usually OK. Except when there's a chili in the fridge and you don't notice it and chop it with the peppers and tomatoes! The soup was and is so way too hot that even the idea of a second taste was beyond us!
Next week I've got to make soup for 40 for the Swindon Mission Network, and I might try using one portion of the chili soup to ever fifty portions of the new stuff and use some of it up that way, come along to the Mission Network [Christchurch, Old Town, 6-9.40pm, 17th Oct] and taste the results.
10th October 10.05pm
Bishop Mike [and others - going back quite a long way] has spoken about how God's grace is sufficient. But I realized today, while I was praying with a small group, that I wasn't actually expecting God's grace to enter into, let alone transform, a whole load of situations, or indeed me. I was/am approaching them in my own strength, with my agendas, strengths and weaknesses, hoping to find the right way forward, for everyone. But the idea of God's grace being sufficient and of us being made perfect in our weaknesses, well I know the words - but actually living them is going to take a lifetime. Which is fine, because I've got one and the idea that seeing and understanding God 'face to face' rather than 'though a glass darkly' would be easy has never been high on my agenda...
Looking back [with the right lens] I can see God's grace in so many things [a fair few of which I've taken the credit for myself] but looking ahead is harder. Faith doesn't get any easier. Please pray for me and bring me down to earth, or perhaps into the grace of God, whenever [frequently] necessary!
8 October 7.55pm
The children are now in bed, with their hair washed - I managed Alice without a screaming match - quite an achievement after recent weeks - and I'm now getting ready for next week.
One final thought for now - it constantly amazes me that people actually read this blog - and I know that some of you do. Why else should I write, here or in the Adver or the Link, if people aren't going to read it? But I'm still surprised when I get comments and even more so when people comment that I haven't done any blogging for a while - as if they are actually waiting for the next post!
In reality there's so much that fills my life that can't be written anywhere where anyone else can read it that all this blog is about is my musings and the activities of my children - and any work related stuff needs editing - even tiggers can be restrained when appropriate!
8 October 5.50pm
I'm watching Strictly Come Dancing with the children [who are massive fans] but were asleep by 9.50 last night when the results came out so this is the video shown one day later. So its a good time to update the blog [SCD can't honestly claim my full attention!] although I want to run away whenever Bruce comes on screen!
At a baptism this afternoon one of the parents said to me as they left: 'You're not at all like a Vicar, you're like an ordinary guy.' Its one of the better comments I've had. I've been aware recently that I'm becoming more and more of a tigger, which is quite something considering how much of an eyore I used to be [as those who've known be a while will testify].
One former colleague said [after we had finished working together] that there were times when I terrified him - too much energy, enthusiasm and far too direct! So the challenge is to turn Tigger into Christopher Robin when necessary!
And for those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about I'll now stop talking about the 100 Acre Wood and suggest that you really should go and read A.A. Milne.
This time last week we heard that Bishop Mike and Anthea had had a car crash on the M4, that Mike had briken his shoulder and that Anthea had broken her neck. Its been a week of waiting and praying, one colleague said that walking around Bristol this week it felt as if the whole city was praying. Anthea is now showing signs of significant improvement [Thank God]. Last night +Mike posted a short video on http://bishopmike.wordpress.com watch it yourselves, but in it +Mike says two things, 'Thank you' and then something that he has said so often before 'God's grace is sufficient for us'. That he can not only say that but so obviously express and live it within such a week shows an amazing faith. Please continue to pray for +Mike and Anthea.
And just in case anyone is still worried although I was up again at my computer at 6am on Friday [my day off] after Alice woke me up and got me to change her wet sheets, on Saturday I did have a real day off and took the children to the Forest of Dean. It was wonderful.
BLOGGERS NOTE
You'll notice in this blog that I use clauses and sub clauses and square brackets and lots of other grammatical aberrations! Also that I can't spell. Jane sometimes compares my sentence structure to St Paul, going on and on and on... I'm afraid that you're going to have to live with it. I try to edit it all out when I'm writing for print, but I'm going to indulge myself here.