Busy times

This is an important week as we start to think through the journey that Christ made. It is a time to reflect on His journey and our own. This week our church has 3 services, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Sunday. This is not meant to be a comment on other people, just an observation. I have been surprised by the amount of minister and vicar friends who have 8 or 10 services in the next week. Its great to have variety, but there also needs time to rest and reflect. I fear that sometimes as church we pile expectations onto people to turn up to things and it always seems to be the same people that turn up. I want to try and encourage families to spend time together and church to be part of that, not the thing that causes the arguments and takes family time away. For those friends who have many services I am sure that they are in a situation that this is right, however, for the situation I am in I want to encourage you not to have to rush out to loads of different services this Easter, but experience Easter, the joys and the pain and then take time to reflect on how it fits and applies to your life.


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Weekend Away

It's that moment when you wake up and are still tired. That was Monday morning for me, and it was fine, because we had just had the Church Weekend Away to Sidholme. It was a great weekend where Iain Hoskins led us in "Daring to Wonder", asking us to dream dreams, to become like children in our wanting and desire for God to work. It was a great time in getting to know one another better, and I hope this weekend has an impact on everyone, not just those who were there, but the whole community. How can we dare to be different and what does that look like? and how do we achieve it?
I was reminded this morning of how sometimes adults can be so reserved, to their own detriment. I had arranged to meet a friend for breakfast, as I got there I looked in but could not see him, so I waited outside. I waited and waited, sent him a text, but no reply. Then, after 15 minutes, he rang to ask if I was lost. He had been inside the whole time, I had not seen him as his back was to me, and the text never got to him.
If I had been more daring and more childlike and rang to say "where are you?" or not been nervous about going into the restaurant. A child would have enquired straight away what was going on, or ran straight in to find what they wanted.
It's amazing how even a few days after the weekend the practicalities of what was said hit home. Have they for you?