New Kid on the Blog

I had most of today off and got lots of bits done, bits around the house, looking after a poorly little man (gorgeous son has had a bug for a few days, has spent some time conked out on the sofa). I also got to ride for a bit this afternoon (yesterday turned out to be too busy after all). Just an hour or so out on the bike, a quick blast to clear away the cobwebs and take some perspective time! This evening was enjoyable but also quite hard work! It was an Art & Craft show preview at the village hall next door. There is an incredible amount of extremely high quality art, some (much) of it moving and profound. The display is on all weekend, mainly comprised of artworks by local people and was a reminder of how many gifted people there are in these villages, if not every community. As part of the evening some of us were asked to share our favourite poems, I shared two, one by Gerard Manley Hopkins and the other by John Betjeman. It was a great evening, but a lot of people wante...

A piccie of my lovely motorbike.... Won't be riding tomorrow, as monsoon predicted - but hope to be out and about on two wheels on Thursday...

Thought I would point towards this excellent thought by ' Liturgy ' about saying sorry , and to remind you of some thoughts which contain a similar point here ... A good day, despite a ridiculous amount of admin - a reminder though that the organisation of certain services is crucial to meet the needs of certain people. I am in the process of arranging two funerals, which need time and effort to make them appropriate to the two important, special people we are saying farewell to. I am also putting together a service for Pentecost which will, for a good number of people, be an important observance of the birth of the Church and a reminder of God's promise of sustenance, life, comfort and joy through the gift of the Spirit. As the Archdeacon of Cambridgeonce said to me - don't think of the admin, think of the people who will benefit from your planning and preparation. A day of admin (with a couple of visits, including a deathbed visit that, through the grace of God, tu...

We had a great service on Thursday evening at the little parish Church at Shute. It was a beautiful evening, the sun shining and the sky clear, the view of the valley from there was lovely and as I drove to the service I could see the sea down the Axe Valley. I did get to do that drive twice, as I left my sermon at home in my study, fortunately I had arrived half an hour early, and as the Vicarage is only five minutes drive away had time to get back and pick up the aforementioned sermon. I think it was worth driving back for! The full text is as New Kid Deep Stuff, my companion blog to this one, and here is the starter... Ascension Day (2009) Eucharist Ephesians 1.15-23 Acts 1.1-11 Luke 24.44-53 Goodbye, God bless Ascension day seems a funny day to celebrate. A strange time to have a feast (which of course our Communion is here this evening)! Because, if you think about it, it’s a celebration of something quite difficult. Have you ever had that feeling of saying goodbye to someone ...

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...

I was very struck by a talk by John Bell as I listened whilst driving through the lanes of Devon today, it has influenced greatly my thought for June for our local Parishes Magazine - known as 'the Parishes Paper' it serves the whole of the Five Alive Mission Community. I wondered whether this might be a bit heavy for a Parish mag editorial, but submitted it anyway - and this is the first time I have posted something before it is properly published, so let me have your feedback in the next few hours and I can send out a corrected/amended/highly altered version if necessary... Though probably not. Faith in the Church? [more]

There are various reasons why I've not been blogging for a couple of weeks, but just to keep you all in suspense, the likelihood is that I won't be doing much for the next few days either, sorry. Something has cropped up that is preoccupying me, but that I can't quite say anything about yet. When the time comes I suspect you won't be able to shut me up, but for now I am afraid that this all consuming thought isn't for general consumption... So, here's sermons that I should have posted before... One from last Sunday, now I must confess this to be a rewrite, I was poorly last week, and didn't have time or energy to write a full sermon, so used the shape of a previous one and built on it. Easter 5 (2009) Year B RCL Principal John 15.1-8 Pruning & Growing As anyone who has talked to me about growing, sowing, weeding and reaping will know, I am not a gardener – and one of the attractions of moving to the Five Alive Mission Community was a generous offer by...

Trying to catch up a bit! Here's last Sunday's evening sermon... Jesus is Gospel…. In my first weeks here we had our first Gospel service with the Kroft Originals in Dalwood. It was a great service, as this one is, and I had two instructions regarding the sermon – keep it light and keep it short! Funnily enough on my way out of Church this morning I said I needed to work on this talk and a certain Churchwarden who shall remain nameless said ‘not too long!’ – I can’t make any promises, but hopefully no matter how long this it will speak to us. The difficulty I have is that I have so much to say! Just as I took the opportunity it introduce myself at the first of our Gospel services and to say a bit about my belief in the Good News – which is what the word Gospel means – I am keen now to reflect a bit on my first six months in our parishes, and to say a little more on this ‘Good News’ business which we Christians make so much fuss about! [more]

I've been thinking about blogging for a week or so since I returned from my Post-Easter break, but to be honest have either been short of time or energy to make it happen. I have kept up the twittering, until today, but the idea of sitting down and making order from my thoughts has been somewhat beyond me! I didn't really talk about Easter Day itself in my last post, which was a great day and at which many good things happened. It wasn't any easy day, though, and a couple of conversations (nothing to do with Easter itself) which took place meant I felt very much that the 'honeymoon' which goes with the first few months of being in a new parish or, in this case,Mission Community was very much over. But more of that in a mo We started Easter Day overlooking the stunning Devon Countryside from the top of a hill on which stands the Armada Beacon - the warning beacon used many years ago as part of a series of beacon fires to warn of impending invasion by sea. The bea...