Just another day
Actually there is no such thing! This morning I went to the assembly put on by the senior class in the local primary school. Every week there is a 'community assembly' to which all parents, and the local villagers, are invited...
Actually, that phrase 'local villagers' does have connotations of pitchforks and torches turning up late at night, not that i am at the stage of deserving that quite yet.
Anyway, lots of people turned out for today's assembly despite that fact that it had been moved from its normal Friday slot to a Tuesday in order to show the Ofsted inspectors (Government educational standards inspectors) just what we do in terms of opening up to the community every week. It was well supported, and a very good assembly put on by class 5. The only hitch was that everything they tried to project from the laptop came out blue for most of the assembly.
At coffee afterwards I got chatting to one of my fellow parents, and we found ourselves talking about 'religion' and 'faith' - not unusual when i wear my clerical collar out and about. It was a very worthwhile conversation, and i really enjoyed it - as i always do when anyone shows a desire to ask questions and consider important issues in life. It also makes me think about what I do believe and why I care about what I care about! Hopefully this conversation will continue...
Thanks to Dr John for comments on my last few posts, and for saying nice things about the sermon! Thanks too to Recovering Lutheran for the comment, I agree about pastors often being bad examples of christian living - recently on Jeff's blog he was saying how annoyed he gets at whining pastors (he's a minister himself) - and there are lots of reasons why pastors may 'distill disfunctionality' in terms of what being a Christian can mean. I do think, though, that the public nature of the pastor's office means that people will criticise ministers for being relatively normal: getting angry, not having all the answers, being tired etc etc in a way that isn't actually a reflection about a pastor's faith, but the expectations laid upon her or him.
But I know there are bad ministers too. And I do not pretend to be particularly good at this ministry lark, but by the grace of God I keep going and keep hoping that I'm doing the right thing some, or most, of the time. Other than that I keep in mind the magnet on our fridge 'if you can't be a good example - you have to be a terrible warning'
Actually, that phrase 'local villagers' does have connotations of pitchforks and torches turning up late at night, not that i am at the stage of deserving that quite yet.
Anyway, lots of people turned out for today's assembly despite that fact that it had been moved from its normal Friday slot to a Tuesday in order to show the Ofsted inspectors (Government educational standards inspectors) just what we do in terms of opening up to the community every week. It was well supported, and a very good assembly put on by class 5. The only hitch was that everything they tried to project from the laptop came out blue for most of the assembly.
At coffee afterwards I got chatting to one of my fellow parents, and we found ourselves talking about 'religion' and 'faith' - not unusual when i wear my clerical collar out and about. It was a very worthwhile conversation, and i really enjoyed it - as i always do when anyone shows a desire to ask questions and consider important issues in life. It also makes me think about what I do believe and why I care about what I care about! Hopefully this conversation will continue...
Thanks to Dr John for comments on my last few posts, and for saying nice things about the sermon! Thanks too to Recovering Lutheran for the comment, I agree about pastors often being bad examples of christian living - recently on Jeff's blog he was saying how annoyed he gets at whining pastors (he's a minister himself) - and there are lots of reasons why pastors may 'distill disfunctionality' in terms of what being a Christian can mean. I do think, though, that the public nature of the pastor's office means that people will criticise ministers for being relatively normal: getting angry, not having all the answers, being tired etc etc in a way that isn't actually a reflection about a pastor's faith, but the expectations laid upon her or him.
But I know there are bad ministers too. And I do not pretend to be particularly good at this ministry lark, but by the grace of God I keep going and keep hoping that I'm doing the right thing some, or most, of the time. Other than that I keep in mind the magnet on our fridge 'if you can't be a good example - you have to be a terrible warning'
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