Learning to Walk

back in town

I got back into Glasgow just in time to make it to a friends wedding.  YKW and I will both be heading to the ceilidh tonight but, having not seen each other since Tuesday morning, won't be staying too long and will spend the rest of the evening catching up with each other.

I had a good time 'down south', apart from not being well on Tuesday and Wednesday, and I managed to spend some good time preparing for Sunday morning's sermon.  We are starting a new series looking at Jesus from John's Gospel and this Sunday the passage is John 1:1-18 with the title, 'Jesus is God on earth.'

I have been touched by a number of things during the week; two of the major ones being, firstly, the mystery of the incarnation and, secondly, the fact that it is so important for us to keep the basics of our faith in mind at all times as they are the foundation upon which we build.

I have also really enjoyed my time of preparation for Sunday (which included a couple of very enjoyable hours sat in a pretty busy pub writing out thoughts and wondering how most of the other people in there would respond to what I was thinking of saying), even if I have been singing 'Meekness and Majesty' to myself since Monday morning.  I bet they didn't have it on the karaoke list though!

training south

Today, for the first time in almost 10 months of marriage, I am leaving my wife in Glasgow and going down to visit some family in England.  It isn't the first time we will have been apart - she has been away 3 or 4 times - but it feels a bit odd that it is me doing the leaving.

I came to faith in Christ 5 years ago now, and at the time that I did my God Mother (also my Aunt) was living in the UK in between relocating their family from Pakistan to the US.  As a committed Christian her (and my Uncle) played a big role in those early months and I was gutted when they moved.  Last summer we were meant to visit them as part of our America trip but unfortunately, due to my mis-spent youth (or 1 night to be more precise), the trip had to be cancelled.  But she has come over to visit my Grandparents for a couple of weeks (with my two youngest cousins - making travel to Glasgow pretty tricky) and so I am going to go down to see them.  The only sad thing is that with the timing of the school holidays YKW can't come too so they will have to meet another time.

So I am off to the train station in a few minutes.  I booked in advance last week and got a first class ticket for £5 more than the normal ticket so I will be travelling in luxury with a table and a plug socket which means that I will be able to do some of my sermon prep for Sunday as well as getting a bit of a glimpse into how the other half live!

seeing the light

About 18 months ago I started wearing glasses all of the time; it's not that I can't see well without them, just that everything (especially smaller writing and faces at a distance) is harder to focus on and has slightly blurred edges without them.  But last summer I trod on my glasses and the frames (not surprisingly) didn't live to see the end of the tale.

Since then I have had an eye test and tried several times to pick out new glasses without ever quite making it to the buying stage.  But today the saga was finally brought to a close when YKW, tiring of the fact that I keep on moving the sofa closer to the TV, forced me into a shop and helped me pick out a new pair.

So no more blurred images and tonight we even watched a film without moving the sofa!

day in pictures (or not)

Happy Easter!

We had a great service this morning and the church was absolutely rammed.  A few of us had got there a little bit early in order to blow up 300 helium balloons and tie a message from St Silas to each of them.  Thankfully there were just about enough to go around (with a few stuck up somewhere in the rafters no doubt).  The sight of them being released is one of my favourite images of the year - a multi-coloured celebration on this special day.

On the way home we were caught in traffic due to the annual Easter Egg Run which involves lots of motor bikes making their way through the city.  I love watching it and was glad to find a good spot once again.

I took lots of pictures of both events but unfortunately still haven't figured out how to get them onto my computer; so if you want to see pictures (for now at least) you will have to look at last years pictures of the bike run and wait for someone else to publish pictures of the balloon release!

(GV has now posted some pics of this morning.)

star trek theology

One of the things that I have been very fortunate in since I became a Christian is the people that I have had around me; people who have looked out for me and been a source of encouragement, rebuke, advice and friendship.  Today I learnt a new lesson from one of these people and, despite the fact that I am not a Trekkie, the seriousness of the imagery was not lost on me.

There are exciting times ahead, potentially dangerous times too, but with the people I have around me and - in Christ - a source of guidance second to none, I am prayerfully confident of continuing in the truth until the day that I am 'beamed up.'

back to work

We had a fairly relaxing few days away, getting back late last night and being thrown straight back into action this morning.  I was away from the internet for more or less the whole time that we were away (2 minutes to check flight times being the only exception); I suspect that I am becoming slightly over reliant on the www.

I have had a busy day today although it might not have looked like it from the outside.  I spent an enjoyable couple of hours chatting about discipleship with a leader from another church this morning, and then spent several hours in a local coffee shop studying.  The reason for the study being done in those surroundings is simply that I have been finding working out of the flat during the day quite hard.  I think it may be something of an 'Extrovert' thing (or perhaps it's just me being weird) because tonight, with YKW around and working elsewhere in the flat, I have had a very productive time at home.

practical theology

Various scenarios and situations that I am aware of this week have once again highlighted a particular question for me; Can there be such thing as a theology that is not practical?

I have often thought about this as I have studied and, having read pages and pages written by countless authors throughout the history of Christianity in the course of my study, I can only conclude at this stage that theology does need to be practical.  An abstract idea is all very well, but when its strength to withstand scrutiny will come under the sharpest test will be when it is confronted by a 'real life' situation, and only then will we see if it is practical or not.  I am aware that this may sound as if I would suggest compromising on theological issues in order to make them practically workable, but I don't think that that has to be the case.  But there does need to be a way in which they can be worked through and worked out.

I wait to be corrected (and apologise if what I am trying to say hasn't come across - if anyone should choose to comment and my lack of clarity becomes obvious then I will attempt to explain further.)

where i'm at

It has been a strange old week so far; I have been gathering information and starting to write up my research project and have got a lot of work done for my job - to the extent that I probably need to scale back a bit next week - but I still feel that it hasn't been a good week so far.  Other things have been adding to a real sense of frustration and a feeling of the need for a bit of head space.  In short, I feel a little bit flat.

Some of the causes of this feeling I can identify: I'm adjusting back into the 'student' life following an extended placement in a 'work' environment, I'm nervous about next term which is going to be very busy (the busiest term I've ever had at college, module wise), I'm  aware of some troubling circumstances which give me concern for close friends, I'm spending a lot of time alone (a necessary requirement of intensive study - but not the best for an EFSP!), and as a couple we are also feeling a bit of stress at home with YKW beginning the process of applying for lots of jobs coupled with the uncertainty of where we will actually be.

I have the sense that a break may be good and thankfully a mini-break is coming tomorrow when we are heading to Northern Ireland for a long weekend and a friends wedding on Monday.  We have also been trying to put a trip to Italy for a few days skiing together in the one week that we both have off in the school holidays, until I realised today that my Provincial Selection Panel is a day later than I had thought!  We still might try though as we could have 4 days of skiing which would be great; but not quite sure.

So... I'm not really sure what I am learning from all of this - but there must be something.  Watch this space...

humble pie

I wore my England shirt to the synod today, it was even commented on by the Bishop.  But thankfully the synod finished in time for us to watch the final half an hour of the game at GV's, otherwise I would have been required to eat some serious humble pie.

diocesan synod

Today I am off to the Diocesan Synod.  It is the second year in a row that I will have attended, this time as the official lay representative for St Silas, but I am still not really sure what to expect although the agenda makes me think that most of it is probably going to go over me head.  Nevertheless it is a good opportunity to consider further whether (if selected) the Scottish Episcopal Church is where our future lies, and I will do my best to get as involved in the day as I possibly can.