New Kid on the Blog

Actually, this post could also be called 'Falling in love again' (sung in a sultry Marlene Dietrich voice, preferably) because my last week of retreat has been the cause of some enlightenment, some struggle and some joy as I have learnt to stop and pray in a way that I haven't addressed before - or at least not in the way I did last week! My immediate thought was that I must put a gratuitous picture of Marlene Dietricht here, just to add to the visual impact of the post.... even though The Blue Angel from which the song was originally taken is the story of a less then salubrious woman who specialises in seduction.... more details on  Lady Garfunkel's Song of The Day: Falling In Love Again .. Actually prayer being seductive isn't such a bad analogy - really entering into prayer is something that can consume and inspire, it enchants and it can become almost obsessive.  But this is part of a journey I have been on and I am getting ahead of myself.  So let's rew...

Hello folks, the sad neglect of New Kid on the Blog continues, I'm afraid - it's the old story of either not having enough time or having enough time but not being able to think of something to say, though definitely more of the former than the latter. When I moved from a thirteen parish Team to a five parish Mission Community I had this crazy idea that there might actually be less for me to fill my time with and I might have a bit more space to think in terms of Mission, Strategy, Innovation and the like.  This has not been the case - there's more goes on here in these few parishes than we ever managed to get going in our old patch.  It's not that my previous parishes were quiet, far from it, but the population was more transient, many people commuted and went away for weekends and the villages often didn't have 'centres' in which the communities met and shared. In these smaller villages in rural Devon there is still a significant feeling of community, an...

I thought I really should put some thoughts down on, um, virtual paper before the end of the year, as this one time obsession of a blog has been repeatedly neglected in the past year.  It has been a funny old year for all sorts of reasons and either for reasons of sheer busy-ness or because my brain has been full of other things I have been less inclined to put things on paper.  I've had a few things going on that have distracted my thinking, feeling and doing processes in the past year or so as well so all in all the blog thing has been on a bit of a ropey footing lately! I find myself in a strange position, there are lots of things I would like to say, and lots I can't because of the very public nature of a blog.  Not that there is anything negative to say, but just that of the thinking out loud aspect of blogging I might find myself saying something that is simply unhelpful!  I am not trying to be a 'man of mystery' but find that some of the things I am wrestling...

Phil Ritchie , over at Phil's treehouse , has posted a meme at his blog (at the time of writing this it was on the right hand side of the blog in my links) which caught my imagination!  It's a fifteen song meme, and I will cut and paste his intro here: First fifteen music meme 1) Turn on your MP3 player or music player on your computer. 2) Go to SHUFFLE songs mode. 3) Write down the first 15 songs that come up–song title and artist–NO editing/cheating, please. So here's my list (If the Song is highlighted, the link goes to the song on Spotify - though some of these may be linked to my own iTunes library and may come up blank - if so, sorry - , if the album is highlighted you can go and have a look at Amazon.co.uk's listing): It's The Sun – The Polyphonic Spree ( The Beginning Stages Of... .) The Last Time – Talk Talk ( The Collection ) We Declare Your Majesty – Kate Miner/Derri Doughtery ( More...Best Worship Songs Ever ) River of Bass – Underworld...

I am grateful for the feedback I've received on my post yesterday about ministry, and on reading it back (as you do after a bit of a rant) there was one statement I particularly wanted to say something about. Actually there are lots of parts I could expand on, but one thing I think bears a bit of scrutiny. I said that Clergy are 'defined by their education and the way they dress'. What I meant by this is that people often defer to me in 'matters spiritual' because they know that I have some kind of training for this ministry business. I also have a fair amount of experience, and have made my share of mistakes and hopefully learned from them. I think that trained and resourced members of the Church are crucial, though it isn't just Clergy that fulfil those criteria - we have gifted and dedicated Readers, and various members of our communities with oodles of training and experience under their belt. My experience of Readers in the three Dioceses I have worked...

I have a fondness for heavy rock - goes with the whole biker/guitarist/yobbo vibe that I succumb to every now and then (having spent day at Bishop's House in grubby jeans and clerical collar as I rode to my training day today). For me the epitome of well put together heavy music with a message is REZ aka Resurrection Band. They may have a somewhat different take on Christian Faith to me, in some ways, but the passion and the prophetic nature of their music and ministry inspires and challenges me, I love the music too - though I realise it probably isn't everyone's cuppa tea :-) This particular song is one of my favourites, with a very powerful message behind the slightly ropey 1990s video.... Just a little glimpse into my slightly odd, yet deeply committed to faith, world....

Ok, so I thought I would get back into the swing of this blogging business and after that wee flurry of postings earlier in the week decided to hold off a day or two before the next round - then the lurgy struck! I think I picked up the same sickness bug that my children had at the end of last week, whatever it was/is it has taken two days out of my week and I am still feeling grim and not eating - though my wife says the not eating is a good thing! I am disappointed that I didn't feel well enough to take the Ascension Day service this evening and grateful that I have a very able and gracious Associate Priest who took on those duties. I think that in the past sixteen or so years I have only missed one other Asc Day service, so am a bit glum about it, but not only did I feel a bit ropey, I didn't want to be spreading any sickness around! When I did finally make it out of bed today I made myself sit in front of my PC and wrote all the articles and bits and bobs I needed to sen...

I have said before, and I make no apologies for saying it again - that admin is the worst part of this job! If I didn't have such a capable and pleasant Administrator who takes on some of the tasks I think I would go crackers... This morning was a three hour meeting with my Administrator where we went through a whole load of different issues that needed addressing - made more tolerable by the fact that we can divert from the subject in hand and have a laugh as well as sharing some of the 'pastoral' issues that crop up around certain administrative tasks. I guess most people wouldn't know just how much administration and organisation goes into Church ministry. We are slightly hampered in the C of E by being the 'Established Church' which gives us certain responsibilities to the wider community, and also means that those who don't have anything to do with the life of the Church can make demands for Weddings, Baptisms, Funerals and Pastoral care which we are ...

This was the first of my thoughts for the week, you may be overwhelmed by these for the next few days then very rarely hear from me! These appear in a local East Devon newspaper called the Midweek Herald . It's a rather good local paper, though admittedly I have a vested interest in it! This appeared in the week before Christmas: God with us. When people ask me about what Christmas means I can easily start spouting about a hundred thoughts a minute to do with the often complicated ideas that we Clergy are prone to spout. But being a Devon boy reminds me that some of the most powerful truths in life are the most simple and straightforward, or as advertising companies say “K.I.S.S.: Keep It Simple, Stupid”. The one simple truth that stands out at Christmas is that God loved us, and loves us, so much that he sent his son to be one of us. Jesus is God with us – not up on a cloud, who can’t understand what it is like to laugh, weep, hunger, thirst, get angry or suffer. God with us, o...

There's a certain irony in the fact that I resolve to keep blogging and then leave it for weeks before blogging again. I don't have an excuse (not sure I need one) but I do feel the need to say something! It's been an odd few weeks, lots of bitty things needed doing, there were some significant funerals (as previously mentinoed) and life in the parishes of this Five Alive Mission Community has continued apace. We have also been in 'Harvest Season' - and though I've not been out in the fields with a scythe we do take Harvest Thanksgiving seriously in rural areas, so far I have clocked up Six harvest festival services and one harvest assembly - I still have two assemblies to go. My colleague and Associate Priest Anne looked after one of the school Harvest celebrations (having done them all last year). Because my mind has been so focussed on the harvest, along with just keeping things running, I've not really felt reflective enough to write anything. Life ...

Yes, it's good to be back though I had a very good holiday, but I have hit the ground running since return last week. As a minister you know you've settled in to a new Parish when you start to really love your Parishioners. Most of us would say (I think) that you come with high hopes and a sense of love and duty as priest and pastor but its when you start connecting, feeling, hoping, more than is strictly necessary that one is becoming the minister and priest of that parish (or group, or team, or Mission Community). I would certainly say I felt that of the last Team I was in, and made good friends and felt at home there. Even those who weren't friends (or even friendly in some cases) I felt a great deal of affection and care for. Those of a certain wing of the church might talk in terms of 'having your heart turned towards the flock' and actually that's not a bad image, of inclining yourself in a particular direction and facing up to responsibilities and joy...

Thought I'd start with a bluesy sounding title, not because I have the blues, or have had the blues, but because I like the sound of the blues... Anyway, my absence from blogging has had nothing to do with that, it's nothing more sinister than I have not got around to it. As someone prone to waffle it is something of a surprise, perhaps, that I've not been chuntering away on Blogger for some weeks, but having restated (below) my plan to keep blogging, it's just not been a priority in the past few weeks. Sorry folks, I know that there are a few people who faithfully return to check and chat and disagree and respond but I've not had the mental capacity to get around to blogging. Nor have I read the blogs I normally enjoy. I have been busy, yes, but not over busy. Admittedly we had a run of funerals from mid July and they do take a fair amount of energy to prepare for and to do, as well as the time taken to visit the families, talk through the services with them, c...

Been a while since I did one of these, thanks to Dr John for posting, in turn taken from Bill at the Old Fart's Blog Have Any Pets: Two Dogs Have Any Children: Two aged 7 & 4 - one of each kind.... Smoke: Ummmmm, yep Drink: Whenever thirsty, yes. Exercise: limited Spend Your Life On Facebook: No, but keep forgetting to exit before leaving PC so give the impression I am there all the time Play On A Sports Team: ha ha ha ha ha ha Belong To Any Organizations: Campaign for Real Ale, Rural Theology Association, Greenbelt Angels, Writer's groups, BMF, oh and the Church, tend to be quite involved in that, I also used to be CMA (Christian Motorcyclist Association), Love Your Job: Mostly Like To Cook: Yes Play An Instrument: Guitar, but not as well as I would like... Sing: Yes, in tune but with no finesse. Dance : 'The music moves me, but it moves me ugly'. Speak Multiple Languages: Passable French alongside my passable English. Ice Skate: Never really saw t...

I've been musing over the past few hours over the reasons I continue to blog. As many of you will know I continue to twitter frequently and I keep in touch with folk via facebook and though sometimes neglected I do keep coming back to this blog and waffling away, and when I have time I love to look around my friends in the blogsphere and to read opinions that inspire, challenge, disturb and confuse me - all of which keeps me thinking. Every now and then I do ask myself if this here blog is an exercise in narcissism or an ego massage for a cleric that wants to be considered slightly cool and alternative (as if!). Often these thoughts end up being voiced out loud and you have to put up with them so if I've said this all and you've read it all before I apologise, but here goes. I continue to blog because I think there is an unhelpful amount of mystery around what it is that Clergy actually do. There's the constant quip I hear about us working one day a week - each time ...

Today is the anniversary of my ordination, thirteen years ago I was a pale and trembling youth ascending the steps to St Paul's Cathedral to be ordained by the Bishop of London under the cross which sits upon the central dome of London's famous landmark. Actually, I wasn't pale, but I was trembling, and the weight of responsibility that came from that day, the 'cure of souls' shared with the Bishop, firstly of London (& Kensington), then Ely (& Huntingdon), and now Exeter (& Crediton) - the bracketed names are Suffragan/Area Bishops who work under the authority of the Diocesan Bishop - that weight of responsibility has never left me and I still feel hugely privileged to be serving the Church and the Communities in which I am set. I didn't have any particular 'celebration' of the day, but after doing an Assembly for the local school, then spending the morning doing admin, I went to visit a woman, aged 100, to share Communion with her and her h...

....since I last posted! It has been something of a rollercoaster over the past few weeks, a very very busy time which I wish I'd had time to blog about, but it seems one thing after another has cropped up and, as I have said before, when I've had energy I've not had time to blog, and when I've had time I've not had the energy. Anyway, after the marvellous George did his technomagery on my PC things I thought I would have lots of time (all those hours wasted watching little hourglasses on my screen, for instance) to blog and write, as well as catch up on some visiting and put my house, or rather study, in order. Unfortunately life has flooded in to fill the gap left by the hours of time saved, and a huge amount has been going on. There have been some marvellous events in these parishes, including a couple of weddings, and some rather difficult meetings/decisions/complaints/grumbles to deal with too. We also had a very big and moving funeral following the death of...

I have endeavoured to make this blog if not a place of full disclosure, then at least somewhere I've been honest about things which have gone on, without mentioning names or places usually as I don't want to be either pastorally insensitive or seen to be critical of people. It's difficult sometimes to know just how much to say about oneself on a blog, particularly being in a very public, very well known position. A position which carries with it some responsibility for the well being for the people and places in my care. So when I found a lump on my neck, where my lymph gland is, I was not only anxious that it might be something sinister, but apprehensive as to how much I should share with people. Hence my recent silence. It is natural, for most of us, to think the worst when something like this appears, and I didn't want to worry my parishes without reason. Whatever my own personal strengths and weaknesses, the people in our Church congregations invest a certain a...

Your Thinking is Abstract and Random You are flexible, adaptable, and creative. There's many ways that you can learn - and you're up for any of them. You relate well to other people, and you do well working in groups. You can help people communicate together and work with each other's strengths. You don't work well with people who are competitive or adversarial. You prefer to work toward a common goal... not toward conflicting goals. What Kind of Thinker Are You?

In the absence of time to get my thoughts together, I thought I would publish my wordle cloud - a graphic representation of the most common words on my blog, at least recently! Thanks to Steve Lawson for the tip!

It constantly amazes me how tasteless I can be! Worth explaining that opening statement, I think. No matter how much I have learnt, no matter how many different music tastes or styles or genres I have been exposed to, or how much theatre I have experienced, or books I have read, or art i have appreciated, some things never change. I still love REO Speedwagon's 'Roll With the Changes'. I finally got around to adding it to my iTunes library this evening, and my iPod will see it appearing with some frequency. But despite the flippancy, it does cause some reflection on those things which we cannot leave behind, or those experiences that make us what we are. In lots of ways I like to think that i have gained a certain measure of sophistication, that my life experience has left me wiser as well as older. That I have matured and grown - just this evening (in the pub, because the best conversations take place either there or in Church) we have talked on the theme of 'if I k...