Learning to Walk

coming up

Having more or less completed my exegesis last week it's onto a new assignment this week, one in which I will be comparing two different types of children's material on the same passage or theme.  I have been finding the 'Using the Bible with Children' course both interesting and enjoyable and am looking forward to the project.

Also coming up this week is preparation for next Saturday's 'small group leaders training day,' the first session of the Freedom in Christ course which a small group of us are starting tomorrow, the first session in a 6 week mentoring course that I am going to be helping someone through, an All Age planning meeting, and it is back to lectures on Tuesday.

All in all, quite a busy week.  At least I won't get bored!

choral evensong

Between the age of 8 and 13 I was a chorister at Coventry Cathedral.  Throughout my time in the choir we would sing evensong every Sunday, Wednesday and one Saturday each month but since I left (more than 12 years ago) I don't think that I have been at this service again.  Until today.

From time to time YKW and I visit other churches and decided, having not done this in Glasgow since before we got married, that tonight we would visit a different church.  Remembering my choir days I thought it would be nice if we went to St Mary's Cathedral for their service of choral evensong.  With the exception of the first anthem I knew all the music and it proved a great reminder of the diversity, in terms of style of worship, that the church has to offer.

Also, having come to faith since leaving the Cathedral Choir, tonight was a great opportunity to worship in a way that as a child was so familiar to me but never to the extent that I truly appreciated the awesomeness of God through it.

let the games begin

Glasgow has been chosen to host the 2014 Commonwealth Games.  I was lucky enough to go to the games when they were held in Manchester and the atmosphere was incredible.  It is a great opportunity for the city and for all of us who live here.  Let the games, or at least the work, begin!

exegeting

Yesterday I spent a long time on my exegesis of Ephesians 4:1-16 and got to the point that I had hoped to be at by the end of today.  That means that today I have a few options open to me: take the day off - this is half term after all; get on with some other work; try and plan for a meeting I have next week; a combination of the last 3.

It is most likely to end up being the combination option.  I came into college early and got on with some work looking at what it means to be a Christian priest today and how I will (eloquently and precisely) express my sense of vocation to ordained ministry.  I was then planning to see a couple of lecturers but they are both busy at the moment.  So it might just be off home now feeling somewhat less than satisfied with what I have achieved thus far...

chess boxing

We have a Chess Grandmaster in our church who also happens to be the reigning British Champion.  I came across this article in the news today; I wonder if he's ever considered it...

remember, remember...

A morning of exegeting was followed by an afternoon of meetings and then this evening I am visiting one of the few small groups that I have left to visit.  It is always great to meet with a group and to find out a little bit about them although, at the end of an already busy day, I am pretty sure that I will be ready for my bed by the time I get home!

There are a number of things that I am trying to get done for work at the moment and I was reminded today of one that I had forgotten.  I felt bad but the person involved was very good about it.  But it is a lesson to me to work even harder at keeping on top of things even when the time pressures starts to add up.  Perhaps it is time for me to get an electronic thing that beeps at me when I need to remember things rather than the cheaper and more reliable (or so I thought) notebook and biro solution!

glasgow green

Yesterday was YKW's birthday and so after a lovely (but cheap!) meal out together we went to the fireworks at Glasgow Green.  They were excellent and I think they will remain a 'fixture' in our calendar as long as we are based in Glasvegas.

all age

This Sunday is an All Age service at St Silas and I am preparing to speak at it.  Normally I try and spend time in the passage early in the week, praying and asking God to guide me, and then I put what I plan to say together a bit later.  All Age is a bit different because we base the whole service on the same theme and the talk is much shorter than in most of the other services.  This week I prepared the talk on Monday (as it is a day free from any college commitments) but I have come to it again this afternoon and lots has changed.

For All Age we also try to use PowerPoint with our talks so that people who learn better with visual aids will receive that benefit.  I openly admit that it is something I struggle with a little as (perhaps because I am a man) I feel pressurised speaking and operating the slides all at the same time!  I am toying with the idea of going over the outline of the talk with YKW and asking her to be my 'slide operator.'  I wonder what she'll say... 

Those of you who will be at St Silas for the 11am service this Sunday will find out soon enough!

next month

Is Christmas.  Mental.

tension

I just came across this story.  It astounds me that people who must take a very literal view of some sections of scripture seem so blatantly to be ignoring such an approach in other areas:

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.  The second most important commandment is this:  Love your neighbor as you love yourself.  There is no other commandment more important than these two."

There is of course a tension that we must live with; between showing love, looking at the log in our own eye, and using the scripture for pointing out the sin in the lives of others (as we should ask them to do for us.)  I would suggest that this last bit is something that we are not always very good at doing, especially in a culture where 'choice' is such an important concept; "I am free to choose how I live, you can't tell me!"

But I would also suggest that the approach witnessed in the above article has failed to handle the tension well because it is trying to tell people how they should be living yet also seems (and the motives may not be but the approach really is) lacking in love and, therefore, neglecting the second most important commandment as taught by our Lord.