Free Range Vicar

Not quite so free ranging any more

2010-10-11T15:15:00.001+01:00

Yesterday evening was the harvest festival in the catheral and celebrated 150 years of RABI.

It was also my last "official" function as Agricultural Chaplain and now I'm not quite so free range any more. I'm roosting at Hanley Broadheath and am licensed next month as Priest in Charge.

Six and a half years as agricultural chaplain has been enormous fun, but parish minstry will also be great fun too.

After the service there were many kind words. I found myself not sure whether I recognised the person they were talking about! As a gift I was given a new camera. It takes high resolution digital photos, but is small enough to slip into a jacket pocket. It was charged up and ready to go and the photo is one of my first attempts with the camera. It's of Chris, the committee chairman and Phil, the vice chair. What's particlurly nice is to see Phil fit and well. He had a significant stroke just a few months ago.

Anyway, as I'm not a free range vicar I'm not going to continue with this blog, but my Teme Valley Vicar blog will continue.

COUNTY HARVEST FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS THE WORK OF FARMERS

2010-10-04T10:36:00.000+01:00

This Sunday (10 October), the County Harvest Festival is being held in Worcester Cathedral at 6.30pm. The service will give thanks for the farmers who ensure we have food on our plates and also highlight the achievements of the Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution (RABI) which is celebrating its 150th anniversary.
RABI helps farmers, their widows and children, who have suffered hardship through accident, disease and incapacity. For all its historic roots, RABI is a thoroughly modern organisation addressing the needs of agriculture today.Over the last couple of years they have initiated their “Gateway” project, providing training for farmers who need to diversify their business or find alternative ways of making a living. One of the beneficiaries of Gateway is involved in the service.The service is being organised by the Chaplaincy for Agriculture and Rural Life. It will be Chaplain Robert Barlow’s final event before moving to become Vicar of parishes in Teme Valley South. He said: “It’s easy in our country where food is abundant to overlook its importance. The harvest festival is a great opportunity to recognise the hard work that goes into getting food onto our plates and say thank you for farmers and other rural and agricultural organisations.”
The Worcestershire Young Farmers will play a key role in the service, bringing gifts to the altar to represent different areas of farming. The Rt Revd John Oliver, one of RABI’s trustees and chaplain to the charity, will be preaching about the work of RABI, highlighting the tough life faced by many farmers and the support RABI provides.
All are welcome to the service which starts at 6.30pm. Light refreshments will be available afterwards.

Harvest Festival is coming

2010-09-09T09:28:00.000+01:00

At a time when churches are planning their harvest festivals services, this briefing is intended to give the information you need.In your services please remember that above all else they need to be services of thanksgiving.

We are fortunate to live in a country with good food security and it is easy to take food for granted. The map (Maplecroft Publications) ranks countries for food security (green low risk to red extreme risk –grey no data). From our position of security it is easy to become complacent.

Farmers who produce our food face challenges of weather and world markets. This paper helps us understand how this affects local agriculture.

a. UK Harvest(Wheat, Barley, Oats...)
The dry spring resulted in slightly early development of the crop and farmers who had sown seed last autumn (oilseed rape, oats, barley) were able to get that harvested slightly earlier than usual. Spring sown wheat was much as usual. Quality was generally good as were yields except on lighter soils. Wet weather in late July and into August brought combines to a standstill. The dry week at the end of August & into September was generally just about long enough for most famers to grab what harvest remained, though quality of grain had deteriorated.

Cereal prices have been high. Extreme hot weather in Russia has devastated their harvest and their government has banned exports. Canadian wheat harvest is predicted to be 22.7Mt compared to 26.5Mt in 09/10. The widespread flooding in Pakistan has devastated farm land. This has led to increases in wheat prices and volatility in the futures markets as speculators get involved. One farmer said “There’s been more movement in the market in the last five weeks than in the last twenty five years.” Prices now for November delivery of wheat are around £165/tonne, though not all farmers will get that. Probably around a third of the crop has been sold forward earlier in the year for around £100/tonne.

b. Livestock
The dry spring reduced the amount of grass growing and the amount of hay & silage produced was down by about 20% at a time when lack of grass meant farmers had to feed livestock. That has pushed prices for hay & silage up by about 40% - good news for the few with a surplus, not so good for those who had to buy it. High cereal prices have a knock on effect with high cattle feed prices.

Prices for sheep have been (relatively) good, with the exchange rate between the pound and the euro favouring exports. Cattle prices saw a downward blip in July, but now have steadied.

Milk prices continue to be poor with the National Farmers Union joining forces with the Women’s Institutes to call for an end to “bully boy tactics” from the supermarkets. Earlier lobbying had led to an increase in the price paid to farmers for milk sold in supermarkets, but prices for milk that goes to make butter, cheese, yoghurt.... remain disastrously low.

TB in cattle continues to be a major source of stress for farmers. One dairyman in Warwickshire hung himself days after his beloved herd was found to be infected. Farmers generally are hopeful that the new government will take the necessary steps to bring the disease under control but are frustrated by the delays there were when the Welsh Assembly tried to bring in a wildlife cull.

c. Other farming issues
Costs – Fertiliser costs are dependent on oil prices and the NFU report they have gone up by about £20/tonne (roughly 10%) in the last month

Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) – Across Europe about 40% of farm income comes from CAP. Without it farming would collapse in Europe. The current CAP runs till 2013. Negotiations are currently ongoing about what should replace it from 2014. Farming is a long term industry. Not knowing what the CAP will require just a few years away is unhelpful.

Harvest Resources

Arthur Rank Centre

Christian Aid

Christian Ecology Link

Harvest Jokes

An agricultural joke.

A beautiful princess is going out for a walk when she meets a talking frog.

“I’m not really a frog”, says the frog. “I’ve been turned into a frog by the wicked witch. Really I’m the incredibly handsome son of the local farmer. All I need is a kiss from a beautiful young woman like you and I’ll turn back into the handsome farmer and we’ll get married and live happily ever after.”

“Really”, says the young woman, picking up the frog and putting it in her pocket, “The way things are with farming, I’ll settle for a talking frog.”

Another agricultural joke

A farmer turns up to evensong and discovers that he and the vicar are the only people there.

“What shall we do?”, asks the vicar.

“Well”, replies the farmer, “If I goes to feed my sheep and only one turns up, I feeds her.”

So after four hymns , two sung canticles, one sung psalm, two lessons, prayers for everything under the sun and a twenty minute sermon the service ends.

“If I goes to feed my sheep and only one turns up, I feeds her”, says the farmer on the way out, “but I don’t give her the whole bag full!””

And another.

A city banker is stressed out by his life and decides to adopt a simpler life as a farmer. He sells his docklands flat, cashes in his share options and buys a farm. He decides that as people like chicken, he is going to produce chickens.

He clears out a barn, orders a load of chicks, puts them in the barn, closes the door & goes to bed. In the morning he looks in on them and they’re all dead. He decides they must have been a defective load of chicks, so he orders in another load from a different supplier but exactly the same thing happens.

He decides to consult an expert so he writes to DEFRA – the government department that oversees agriculture. We writes;

Dear Defra,

I am a chicken farmer. I get a new load of chicks. I put them in the barn. In the morning they are all dead. What am I doing wrong? Do you think I might be planting them too close together?

Yours sincerely,

A Farmer

He gets a reply;

Dear Farmer,

We couldn’t possibly comment until we have taken soil samples.

Yours sincerely

DEFRA

Medium sized little church

2010-08-29T16:48:00.001+01:00

We might not have quite been big little church today, but we were certainly medium sized little church!
Celebrating the joys of being small on a bank holiday weekend when people were likely to be away always had a paradoxical sort of logic about it, and so it turned out.
But for those who were there, there was an experience of worship in something much larger than they usuall enjoy, an opportunity to discover something about what other small churches are doing, excellent music and a thought provoking sermon on the role of yeast - that small fungi (fun-guy) that transforms. The challenge is to be those fun guys and fun gals that transform the society around us.

Don't miss it!!!

2010-07-15T22:20:00.000+01:00

It was three years ago when church congregations from the Diocese of Worcester descended on the Three Counties Showground one summer Sunday for an event we called "BigLittle Church". Well, now we're going to do it again. On Sunday 29th August, the weekend of the August Bank Holiday, we're inviting you to cancel your normal Sunday morning worship and to come and join us at the showground and be part of something big.
Anyone can come; you can come as individuals, as families or as entire congregations. We'll get together a choir to lead our worship and there will be a range of activities through the morning. You can bring a picnic and make it a day out. As the name indicates, the aim of BigLittle Church is to let those of us who often worship in small congregations be part of something much larger, something that reminds us that the church to which we belong is a great multitude. And we can do it at the showground, not as guests at some bigger church than our own but as joint hosts along with everyone else.
We've chosen quite deliberately a Sunday when congregations often struggle with numbers and when many clergy may be taking a well-earned break. We hope for some parishes it will help ease the complexity of summer holiday worship arrangements. We know that many United Benefices already use the fifth Sunday of the month as a day to do something together. We invite you on this occasion to think even wider and join with others from across the diocese.
I don't want to suggest that "big is beautiful". It's really quite special that all across the diocese we sustain regular worshipping congregations in small communities, often reaching a level of Sunday attendance that is a much greater proportion of the local population than big churches achieve. We are able, if not always every Sunday or at the same time, to offer services in the places where people feel they belong, rather than requiring everyone to congregate in larger worship centres. I'm not suggesting that we abandon that aspiration - not least because I don't think that would work. But it is good to be reminded once in a while that the church of God is much larger than the visible congregation who gather week by week in any one place; and to be built up by our time together, so that we can better retain our confidence and our sense of belonging when we meet in our separate places.
Some come along!
Download publicity flyer

Pea Pickers

2010-07-13T19:07:00.000+01:00

The pea pickers in this photo are from Bulgaria, Rumania and other central European countries.
They are housed in accomodation near Stratford and bussed to the site to pick peas. Paid on a piece work basis they are garuanteed at least the minimum wage. With practice the better pickers earn well above that and earn around £80 a day. Many of the pickers return year after year often bringing friends or relatives with them.

The jobs are available through the jobcentre in Evesham but locals don't apply.

Archdeacon's Announcment

2010-07-11T09:48:00.000+01:00

Fred Trethewey, Archdeacon of Dudley is making the following announcemnt.
"I am delighted to be able to announce that the Bishop of Worcester has offered the appointment of Priest in Charge of the benefice of Teme Valley South to the Revd Robert Barlow, and the offer has formally been accepted.
Robert is well known in the farming community in Worcestershire having been the diocesan officer for Agriculture and Rural Life since 2004. In addition to this role he has been exercising a pastoral ministry as an associate priest in the West Worcestershire Team Ministry which includes Martley and Clifton.
Before coming to Worcester Robert was Rural Officer and Rector of several rural parishes in Peterborough diocese.
Robert has three adult children who have all established their own homes. He and Helen are looking forward to moving into the benefice in due course. A date for the licensing has yet to be considered."

I am delighted with the move. I've met a number of the people from Teme Valley South and I'm looking forward to working with them. I've set up a blog and as I move from being free range to roosting at Hanley Broadheath I'll keep it updated.

Here are a few photos to whet your appetite.

Why so unappealing?

2010-07-04T17:35:00.000+01:00

On Saturday I went to a performance of Guys & Dolls @ the out door theatre @ Kilworth Hall Hotel. An excellent performance with a very good cast. It was a musical that I didn't know & I enjoyed it immensely.

It raised questions.The story is set in 1950s New York with a Mission going round the streets full of sinners - mostly gamblers- singing hymns and banging drums.The Mission was very earnest, condemnatory, unattractive & dull. The drinkers and the gamblers they were set among had much more fun!

By the end of the story the "sinners" - the gamblers- had changed. But so had the Mission - and a good thing too.

How is it that Mission & Church have managed to become so unappealing ?

A star - well done

2010-06-25T17:39:00.000+01:00

I am the proud father of a star. Alistair has won the Craft Guild of Chefs Award for best Pub Chef 2010. - That's like the Oscars of catering. Click here for the ceremony. He's about 2.30 in

Sea weed in the midlands

2010-06-17T09:02:00.000+01:00

This field of cereal has had remarkably little conventional fertiliser, but it still looks healthy. The soil and crop have been managed with an application derived from sea weed - and sustainable resource- which works with the soil fungi to improve the crop's root system and therefor health and yield. It makes economic and envirnonmental sense

An opportunity not to be missed

2010-06-09T16:38:00.001+01:00

"Food and Farning - An Urban Perspective" is a photographic display by fashion photographer Kevin Foord and we have been fortunate enough to secure it for display at the Three Counties Show(18-20 June) in the Church Tent (near the South Gate).

The display has its origins in a friendship between Foord and author Richard Benson who lives in London but grew up on a family farm in Yorkshire. As they travelled the country together Benson became interested in the way Foord saw things and the photographer's interest in the objects and locations that the writer took for granted.

From this grew a unique perception of UK agriculture portrayed in the stunning photopgraphs that make up the display.

Ethically questionable?

2010-05-19T07:13:00.000+01:00

This slightly fuzzy photo is of a farm next door to one I visited recently.
Owned by a fashion designer & committed veggie it produces no food. In a world with 25k people dieing daily through malnutrition is this ethically acceptable?

Thought provoking and fun

2010-05-01T08:31:00.000+01:00

That was the comment about last year's Rogation Service and this year's will be just as thought provoking and even more fun!
It's on Tuesday 11 May at 7.00 at Haylers Farm, Hanley Castle. It's an opportunity to discover something about the dairy industry, to reflect on the challenges theyt face, to pray, to sing and to enjoy a pig roast.
More details here

More in hope than

2010-04-29T15:16:00.000+01:00

So far today I've sent 35 emails. When I receive that many I moan, so I hope I'm not the source of upset, that people read them and respond.

More from Countrytastic

2010-04-20T08:26:00.000+01:00

This clip shows just how busy it was

Countrytastic

2010-04-10T10:36:00.000+01:00

It's the third year that the Three Counties Agricultural Society have held "Countrytastic" - it's designed to reconnect children to farming and food production.

The Agricultural Chaplaincy was there. Children decorated eggs & hot cross buns. They milled grain into flour and cooked pancakes. They made easter gardens and played with compost.

The calm and order before the gates opened to the public quickly changed into a buzz of activity. We were "full on" from 10.00a.m. till it finished at 4.00p.m.
Children decorated close on 500 eggs, the same number of buns, made countlessgardens and ground large quantities of flour.

It was an exhausting but rewarding day.

New programme

2010-04-01T14:35:00.001+01:00

Googel have launched today this amazing programe spo we can communicate with animals! Take a look.

Europe briefing March 2010 - Common Agricultural Policy Reform

2010-03-20T13:43:00.000Z

When Bishop John asked me to take on the role of European Adviser it was not to involve myself with twinning (e.g. Magdeburg etc.) which happens perfectly well without any interference from me. It was to see where things coming from the EU would impact on life in the diocese and this fits with my main role – agricultural & rural chaplain – as agriculture is significantly affected by the EU. This is the first in what I intend will be a series of occasional briefings on how the EU is affecting us and the issues it is addressing. My hope is that better understanding EU will enable prayerful engagement.

1) History and current situation. The CAP is a major part of the EU’s budget. It originated with the memory of post-war food shortages and starvation in Europe and was designed to ensure a reliable food supply. It was too successful with infamous wine lakes and butter mountains of previous decades, so it was revised so that instead of guaranteeing prices to farmers the policy gives payment to farmers for providing environmental benefits. The current system runs till 2013. The debate is now on as to what policy should start on 1st January 2014.
The CAP at €53bn amounts for 40% of European Union expenditure but is only 1% of the total public expenditure by European governments and 0.4% of EU GDP. It covers 80% of the total area of the EU in which 40% of EU residents live. Without the CAP EU agriculture would struggle and in many areas stop. In 2008 roughly 40% of Agriculture’s income in Europe came from the CAP. Decline in prices mean that it will have been a higher figure in 2009. Without the CAP much of Europe’s agriculture would not be viable.

2)The issues being discussed include,

With a world population predicted to rise significantly between now and 2050 should the focus revert from environmental benefits to ensuring a food supply for all? Based on best estimates for world population growth, agriculture will need to increase output by 70%. European agriculture has increased output by more than that over the last 50 years but at a cost to the environment that wasn’t anticipated.
There is now greater awareness of environmental damage, degradation of soils, loss of biodiversity etc. In any future CAP should there be a greater link between payments and environmental benefits? Should the CAP be requiring greater environmental benefits?
Can the free market deliver a safe food supply using acceptable animal welfare and plant standards as well as environmental protection?
Farmers provide significant public goods - landscape management, carbon sequestration, water filtration, flood meadows, grazed moorland, amenity - for which the free market gives no financial reward. Should the CAP be rewarding this?
How much (if any) “wriggle room” should there be in the CAP so different member states implement the CAP to suit their own circumstances rather than being the same across the whole of Europe
If farming is not viable, what will be the knock on effects on

tourism?
communities – especially in remote areas?
If not farmers, who will manage the land and what will their priorities be?

3) The UK position. The British Government’s position is that the CAP should be scrapped. The argument is that food security is best delivered by having lots of trading relationships and buying food from wherever in the world it can be produced most cheaply. This argument takes the view that it doesn’t matter if our beef comes from Argentina, our chicken from Thailand and that it’s all been fed on GM soya from Brazil with different animal welfare standards and working conditions.
The Conservative party’s position is that they will press for a shift of existing resources (i.e. money currently going to farmers) to the rural development programme. More details here

4) The possible outcomes. The reality is that neither of these positions is likely to achieve agreement with the rest of Europe, and a cynical view would be that both parties only made those arguments knowing that the rest of Europe won’t allow anything so nonsensical to happen! Even in an enlarged Europe the French and German farming lobby have sufficient “clout” to prevent it. However there is likely to be pressure for a redistribution of money in the CAP which currently seems to depend more on the accidents of history than anything else. Thus Greece gets more per hectare than anyone else because in the past they grew a lot of tobacco and Latvia, Lithuania and Romania are getting least per hectare.

5) Faith Issues. CAP reform raises faith issues. It raises questions about ;

our role as stewards of God’s creation especially as weather patterns change.
food – bread and wine are at the heart of our worship and Jesus taught us to pray “give us this day…”
community
world poverty
justice

6) Actions. Christians will come to different views about the future of the CAP. I would hope that Christians & churches will;

Pray for farmers particularly in the UK & the rest of Europe but also throughout the world as they face political uncertainty that will shape their futures (or lack of them!)
Shop fairly buying food & products (whether local produce or not) that have a just reward going to all stages of the supply chain.
Pray for MEPs, MPs & Dacian Ciolos (EU Agricultural Commissioner) as they consider these issues.
Pray for the media as it reports (or doesn’t report) the debate.

If you have views on the CAP or other European matters and want to express them to MEPs the details of MEPs can be found here

7) And finally. If there are European matters you feel I have neglected then let me know.
Thank you for reading this. I hope it helps,
Agricultural & Rural Chaplain and European Adviser

What's a church council for?

2010-03-11T13:37:00.000Z

I've been surprised to meet a number of people who serve on Parochial Church Councils who don't know what they're for!

The Parochial Church Councils (Powers) Measure 1956 says
"The functions of parochial church councils shall include—
(a) co-operation with the minister in promoting in the parish the whole mission of the Church, pastoral, evangelistic, social and ecumenical"

Now wouldn't that be nice.

Events this year and Farmers Markets

2010-02-20T10:09:00.001Z

The chaplaincy committee have a meeting this week when we run thriough plans for events this year, including

Countrytastic 8th April - A fabulous event designed for children and the church will be there with all sorts of activities

Rogation 11th May at 7.00 Harcombe's Farm Hanley Swann Walk, sing, pray & pig roast

Three Counties Show 18-20 June The Church will be there offering hospitality, chaplaincy and training

Biglittle Church 29th August Churches are invited to celebrate in a big way the joys of being small

County Harvest Service Early October, date to be confirmed, celebrating 150 years of RABI

And we have Henry Wormington from Worcestershire Farmers Markets telling us about them and how the church can work with them.

God of suprises

2010-02-02T18:55:00.001Z

One of my interests is Formula 1 racing and on a discussion site about McLaren’s chances next season there was a thread about climate change. That debate led into a discussion about god and his existence or otherwise. Over the last few weeks it’s been an interesting debate with a couple of militant atheists. It’s sharpened up my debating skills and apologetics (to use a technical term).

To my surprise the following has just been posted;

Still a slow day....

I would like to thank all of the posters who have been so unpleasant towards RuralVic (That's me in case you wondered)(in particular, but also others who have supported a religious point of view). I was so appalled at what you were saying that for the last two weeks I have been attending church - something that I have not done for a very very long time. In addition, over the same period I have been attending a course called "Christianity Explored", so that at a minimum I will come to know what I have been rejecting, in order to be able to make an informed decision whether to continue rejecting or to change.

So thanks once again, I hope you continue to find pleasure in the "hateorade".
Another of God's surprises!!

Food

2010-01-13T14:11:00.000Z

There is a conference on food at Redcliffe College on 6 March. I can't get to it, but previous conferences they've done have all been excellent

Mixed blessings

2010-01-07T12:27:00.000Z

So far this glorious weather has, for me, resulted in three cancelled meetings and an in tray that is nearly empty! It seems that many people have been enjoying an enforced break from work and a chance to catch up.
Spare a thought for farmers with this weather. Animals still need to be fed and watered. Drinking troughs freeze. Transport is difficult or impossible and if the milk tanker can't get to the farm then milk will be lost. You can't turn cows off!

No one ever sits at the front

2009-12-15T22:04:00.001Z

The three empty chairs in the photo were the only seats not taken at the carol service at Worcester Market. Why people don't sit at the front I don't know. They were crammed in like sardines at the back!

The evening was done jointly between Worcestershire Young Farmers and Farm Crisis Network. We dared to include a carol written by the Iona Community

Once in Judah’s least known city
stood a boarding house with back-door shed,
where an almost single-parent mother
tried to find her new-born son a bed.
Mary’s mum and dad went wild
when they heard their daughter had a child.

The service raised just under £360 for FCN

Busking for FCN

2009-12-11T08:52:00.000Z

This Sunday (13/12) and next (20/12) there's an opportunity to busk some carols for FCN at Farmers' Markets.

This week it's at the Teme Valley Market at Knightwick. I've done it there before in previous years and stallholders and shoppers have been appreciative of the Christmas feel it gives.

The week after it's at the Angel Place Farmers' Market in Worcester. We held a Harvest Festival Service there when it was the first Farmers Market in the site in October this year. Henry Wormington, who organises Worcester Farmers Markets says "Group Members will be making an effort to give the Farmers Market a Christmas atmosphere."

If anyone wants to join in, then you're welcome.

St Nicholas in the Shire

2009-12-06T20:31:00.001Z

I had the delight of preaching at Dormston Church. Tolkein used to stay in the village and there is a farm called Bag End Farm.
Dormston seems to have been part of the inspiration for "The Shire", that content tranquil home from which Bilbo Baggins and Frodo went off on their adventures.

The church is dedicated to St Nicholas, perhaps the world's best known and most misunderstood saint. Billions of people world wide have heard of Santa Claus but few know that Father Christmas was a bishop in ancient Turkey who loved children and was generous with his gifts.

This morning we thought about God's generosity in the people he gives to the church - Ephesians 4 is about that - and the ways in which we all can be God's gift to His church.

Ironic??

2009-11-26T15:00:00.000Z

I was sent a link to the CofE on-line Advent Calendar. The site is called "Why are we waiting" and is about a positive attitude towards waiting.
It was ironic that as I clicked in the link my commuter went into a strop and sat there doing not a lot till it had been shut down and restarted. A lot of waiting!!!!

We'll clean it up for you

2009-11-25T15:58:00.002Z

That was the kind reassurance from McCartneys, the livestock auctioneers, about the cattle ring. They would make sure it was clean for the carol service there on the 15th December.
Thanks but it doesn't need to be spotless, was my response.
The carols are to celebrate the birth of Jesus and that event took place with the animals. I dare say the stable hadn't been scrubbed within an inch of its life. So a cattle ring is probably a better place to celebrate the birth than most churches!
If you want to join us it's
at 7.30 p.m.
on 15th December
at
McCartneys
Nunnery Way
Worcester
Worcestershire
WR4 OSQ

Learning and the rural church

2009-10-30T17:05:00.002Z

The Arthur Rank Centre is trying to find out how good training is for people involved with rural churches. Are there skills/understandings that people need that they are not being provided. Is the training that is there giving people what they need?
There is a short survey here. Do fill it in.

Nuturing Rural Faith

2009-10-23T16:35:00.001+01:00

I'm speaking at the Nurturing Rural Faith conference. My notes can be downloaded from here

clutching at straws or real hope?

2009-10-22T08:53:00.004+01:00

Last night I was with a local NFU group which is in the centre of one of the Government's badger vaccination areas. To try and reduce TB in cattle there is a project to inject badgers against TB to try and stop the spread of the disease in cattle.
It's going to be a slow process and a long time before anyone knows if it will do any good.

between now and next May Defra are going to recruit landowners in the target areas and survey where the badger sets are, and train contractors in how to inject badgers.
between July and November next year their contractors will vaccinate some of the badgers
between October next year and May the year after Defra are going to recruit some more landowners in the target areas and survey more badger sets
from May 2011 to November the contractors will vaccinate
and repeat vaccinations next year....

Badgers typically live 5 years and because the programme doesn't remove any infected badgers it will take that time before there is a reduction in disease in badgers - always assuming that the vaccination programme works. It's not guaranteed!

So a long wait for an uncertain benefit

Useful resources from Arthur Rank

2009-10-15T11:04:00.010+01:00

This is to bring to your attention some of the worship resources related to harvest and other seasonal themes for the next month-and-a-bit that can be obtained freely from the ARC website. Some of them may help you as you prepare to for your own worship or as you resource others.
Remembrance Sunday
This falls on 8 November this year. We don’t have any resources ourselves specifically related to Remembrance although we can recommend the free material available from Churches Together in Britain & Ireland. (Click to access these)
However there are other material available from our website that bear on some of the themes of Remembrance Sunday, especially some in the category “Crisis & Loss”. The resources we have for this can be got from the Worship “search page” click here), by selecting “Creation & Loss” from the drop-down menu & clicking “Search”.
Stir-up Sunday< “Stir-up Sunday” is traditionally the last Sunday before Advent (this year 22nd November). Rather than spoil your surprise by explaining what it is here, you can see the material from Woodlands Junior School by clicking here.

You can download a full liturgy for a Stir-up Sunday service - including a mystery recipe revealed as the service unfolds – from our website Word version

There are a few free resources for the season of Advent available to download from our website. In particular, we have the full liturgy for a procession & service for Advent Sunday itself (this year 29^th November), which lends itself to all-age involvement.

(Word version )

Other resources we have for Advent can be got from the Worship “search page” (click here), by selecting “Advent” from the drop-down menu & clicking “Search”.

Befriending the wolf

2009-10-05T12:00:00.004+01:00

With Harvest Festival falling on St Francis' day and with the preacher being Bishop David - a Franciscan- there was a certain inevitability that Francis would feature in the sermon!

We were told of Francis visit to the city of Gubbio, a walled city that was suffering famine not because of drought or flood but because the townspeople were frightened to go out of the city to look after their fields because of a ferocious wolf that was attacking them.

Francis realised that what drove the wolf was hunger and he persuaded the people of Gubbio to feed the wolf. Loving the wolf brought reconciliation and a restoration of the proper created order.

Thanks

2009-09-30T20:59:00.003+01:00

The Three Counties Agricultural Society asked if I wanted any of the amazing vegetables that they had on display at their autumn show last weekend. I've said "Yes please" and a massive pumpkin, two enormous courgettes, a colossal cabbage and enormous celery are now in Worcester Cathedral as an advertising display for this Sunday evening's Harvest Festival.
Even in an imposing building like the cathedral, they still look spectacular.

Varying welcomes

2009-09-13T19:06:00.003+01:00

I took part in the Worcestershire Historic Churches Cycle Ride. Photos are here. What struck me was how some churches make a real effort to welcome visitors, even if they can't staff it. Others seemed to treat visitors as potential criminals!

Harvest Festival is coming

2009-09-03T11:13:00.002+01:00

and here is a briefing about what you need to know about this year's harvest in Worcestershire

An alternative reality???

2009-08-30T16:31:00.002+01:00

Somehow or other I have agreed to play the part of Feste in a local amateur dramatic performance of Twelfth Night. Feste is the the Fool. It's typical Shakespearean comedy with women dressed as men & all kinds of subertuges.
Feste, the Fool - though arguably the only character with any real sense - at one point impersonates a vicar. So this production will feature a vicar impersonating a fool impersonating a vicar.
One of the subtle bits of the script is that it has the fool saying "nothing that is so is so!" and when impersonating the vicar saying"that that is so is so...."
Is Shakespeare suggesting that reality is not what it seems, that there is an alternative, but that the church is too blind to see?????

On a more prosaic note, the performance is in Martley Village hall on the afternoon and repeated in the evening of 26th September - tickets £5 for an unforgettable experience!

On yer bike

2009-08-25T09:08:00.003+01:00

12th September sees the Historic Churches Cycle ride and I shall be seeing how many churches I can visit by bike.
If anyone wants to encourage me, then you can sponsor me. Proceeds are shared between the local church (Lower Teme Valley) and the Historic Churches Trust.
And I should loose several pounds (of weight!!)

Can you help?

2009-08-08T13:18:00.002+01:00

How are the psalms used today in rural churches' worship? There is a letter here explain how this question is being researched and a questionnaire here

Stress and Loss

2009-08-08T09:07:00.004+01:00

“I feel there is a constant dark cloud of uncertainty over me, causing stress, anxiety and fear. I feel weary, mentally and physically which results in pain in my body"

Farm Crisis Network have just published "Stress and Loss" - a report on research into the human and emotional cost of bovine TB. It's is available from the FCN website
This disease, which is endemic in this area, brings with it an enormous human cost along with the financial cost to both farmers and taxpayers.
Bovine TB is a disease in cattle and wildlife. There are stringent controls in cattle. Nothing is currently happening to tackle the disease in wildlife - it's endemic in badgers in this area. Government hopes are pinned on the hope of developing a vaccine. There is currently nothing available for cattle but the hope is for an injectable badger vaccine next year (though how it will be injected poses problems).
Cattle suspected of having TB are killed.
“The worst thing was that cows very close to calving had to be shot on farm. We could see the calves kicking inside as they died."

Surely not again

2009-08-02T19:44:00.004+01:00

For the third year in a row rain is threatening to disrupt harvest. Talking to a farmer at Saturday's rather wet (though still excellent) Tenbury Show he told me that he had n't had three consecutive dry days in the whole of last month. The crops are standing ready for harvest and the quality is going down with each day that passes. Last year he had to abandon crops because he could gather them. It was the same the year before that.

Add to the equation that cereal prices have weakened and the cost of diesel, fertiliser and other essentials have gone up and it's a gloomy picture.

The old Book of Common Prayer from 1662 has a prayer for fine weather. It goes,
For Fair Weather. ALMIGHTY Lord God, who for the sin of man didst once drown all the world, except eight persons, and afterward of thy great mercy didst promise never to destroy it so again; We humbly beseech thee, that although we for our iniquities have worthily deserved a plague of rain and waters, yet upon our true repentance thou wilt send us such weather, as that we may receive the fruits of the earth in due season; and learn both by thy punishment to amend our lives, and for thy clemency to give thee praise and glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

I wonder if it might help.

Healing Soil

2009-07-17T20:27:00.003+01:00

Wednesday evening I (with others) visited Top Barn Farm. Along with "ordinary" agriculture they have an established training centre for people with learning difficulties. Trainees work with horticulture & agriculture. They vary in age from teenage to 70s.
Also on the farm is the "Good Soil" project, working with some of Worcester's most prolific offenders - many of whom are dealing with serious drug habits. A typical drug habit will cost around £100 per day in heroin. Mostly that is funded by crime and, because stolen goods usually realise about 1/10th of their face value a "typical" drug user will steal around £1,000 worth of goods per day. It costs significantly less than that to keep someone on the project, and a lot less than prison so even if the project made no difference to any of them in the long run, it still represents excellent value for money.
The most recent innovation on the farm is a unit for excluded pupils.
For all these different people working with God's creation helps bring healing.

That concept of contact with the earth bringing healing is the idea behind Care Farming. More information about Care Farming here. This lunch time saw the launch of the West Midlands Care Farm Network. Money from Advantage West Midlands is being used to try and develop another 20 care farms in the region.

The launch took place at The Fold at Bransford and the photo is of the farmer explaining the cropping plans for the vegetable and how the order of horticulture will bring order into the lives of those who participte in the project

How does that add up?

2009-07-02T14:59:00.004+01:00

At a recent meeting of diocesan synod (the body that governs the church) I outlined some figures in respect of parish share- the amount parishes pay towards the cost of ministry.
Since then I have been asked for the figures by a number of people, so here they are.

Last year rural parishes were asked to contribute just over £48,500 per paid post. Urban parishes were asked for just under £34,000.

There is no "rocket science" in them. I have simply allocated parishes as "rural" or "urban" (mainly following government descriptions). I have added up the amount paid by rural parishes and the amount paid by urban ones.
I have used the electronic diocesan database to add up the number of stipendiary (paid) posts in urban and rural. I have divided the amount paid by urban parishes by the number people paid to work in urban parishes and likewise for rural.

The difference is significant and thought needs to be given to where stipendiary posts are allocated. That's not to say that only parishes that are rich enough to pay should have a vicar, but urban churches should realise the extent to which they are being supported by the rural. And according to the Commission for Rural Communities, disposable incomes are less in rural areas.

Every vicar should be here

2009-06-22T15:33:00.002+01:00

That was the view of one of the trainees at the Three Counties Show. The only excuse they would allow was if officiating at a wedding prevented coming to the Show. Otherwise, all the clergy should be there because there was so much that was so important happening!
Or at least, that was what one trainees thought. They were clergy, lay readers and diocesan workers who were given an introduction to some of the issues currently facing agriculture. They had a morning being taken round the livestock lines and introduced to rural organisations, accompanied by a farmer so they were getting it "straight from the horses mouth."
They heard about EID, SFP, bTB... They met with the NFU, CLA, FCN. Behind all those TLAs (Three Letter Acronyms) were very real issues affecting the quality of life for many people.
As well as sending trainees about and about, the church had a hospitality tent to offer refreshment and an oasis of calm in a hectic show. We had visitors from as far north as Fife and as far south as Australia.
We also had people out and about in the showground. In that role I had fascinating conversations about the ethics of Genetically Modified crops, in-vitro fertilization, Global warming,soil conversation, regulation, ... The list seems almost endless.
It was a good, but exhausting, weekend.

What's the gospel for Reggie Perrin?

2009-06-02T08:13:00.005+01:00

I loved the first version of Reggie Perrin with Leonard Rossiter. The new version with Martin Clunes is, in my view, equally good. Both have encapsulated the pressures of modern living. Both are disturbingly accurate portrayals of contemporary society - even if now the Rossiter version is dated. It reflected life when it was made.

The programmes have raised, for me, the question of what the Church and Christian faith have to offer for the countless Reggie Perrins at work today. What would happen to Reggie if he ventured through the door of his local church?

Would he be told that coming to church would give him what his leaflet wielding "counsellor" at work can't? Would it help, or would it just add another source of pressure, of things that he should do to his already hopelessly overfull diary?

Would he be signed up an a Christian Basics/Alpha/Emmaus/... course? But in his process driven world would being processed in this way make any difference?

What Reggie needs is a community in which he can behave like a unique human being and be treated like one. Wouldn't it be good if churches could provide that!

MP's expenses

2009-05-22T16:35:00.002+01:00

It seems to me that the Telegraph is milking the story as hard as they possibly can and in so doing is damaging our democratic process. I would rather that MPs were doing the job that they were elected to do – running the country - rather than decorating their homes or looking after their gardens. If that means there needs to be allowances paid so they can get on with their job, that seems eminently reasonable to me.

I also appreciate that to do MPs' jobs mean they need residence both in the constituency and in London and there needs to be a system so can happen.

I find it very disturbing that MPs who have kept within the rules are being criticised. Whipping up a hysterical witch hunt may boost the Telegraph’s sales but is, I believe, damaging to our society which needs to work on a principal of trust if it is to work at all.

The Telegraph’s actions might be less hypocritical if they published the amount they paid for the leaked information, published the pay rates their "journalists" get and published full details of journalists expenses

unsung rural hero?

2009-05-18T10:19:00.001+01:00

Do you know an unsung rural hero who quietly gets on with keeping their church alive to serve the community?
If so, then nominate them for the award being run jointly between Country Life magazine and the Church of England.
More information here
Entry forms here
The closing date is the end of this month, so don't hang about!

What to ask for

2009-05-05T19:55:00.002+01:00

Jesus told his disciples to ask. “Ask”, he said, “and you will receive.” “You may ask for anything in my name,” he said, “and I will do it.”

The sixth Sunday of the Easter season was traditionally at time for asking for God’s blessing on the crops. In an era more closely connected to farming than we are when shipping food round the world was not an option, asking God to bless the crops was really important. If the crops failed then hunger or starvation followed. So Rogation (from the Latin “to ask”) was a really important time.

But how should we use Rogation today? Farmers throughout the world including in this country need our prayers. Many are under stress. Isolation is common. Average earnings are low – less than a vicar’s! Suicide rates remain stubbornly about twice the average.

We depend on farmers just as much for our food today as we ever did. WE may be distanced from them by a complex lengthy distribution system. Never the less they are God's answer to our prayer "Give us this day our daily bread."

So what to ask for when we pray for farmers? The simplest idea is to ask a farmer what needs he (or she) has!

To enable that to happen CARL has arranged a Rogation service at Yew Tree Farm on Monday 18th May at 7.00pm. The "service" will take the form of a walk round the farm stopping at various points to hear from the farmer what happens and what issues he faces. There will be a reflective reading, a prayer & and a hymn. It will all be followed by a pig roast.

All are welcome, but an idea of numbers would be useful.

Subversive broad beans

2009-04-30T08:20:00.003+01:00

The photo is of rare purple flowering broad beans. The variety was once fairly common but is now rare. EU regulations don't help. To try and ensure consistency of quality of seed, all seed types have to be categorised and checked.
Because these beans are rare it means it's not worth anyone's time & money to get them categorised, which means that the seeds can't legally be sold in the EU, which means they get rarer, which means....
But I can keep beans from this year's plants and use them next year. And I can give them away.
Whoever thought growing beans would be subversive?

It's really good

2009-04-17T10:38:00.005+01:00

It's not often that anyone gets out their mobile to tell their friends to get to the church activity because it's really good, but that was what happened at Countytastic yesterday. The event was a children's country show organised by the Three Counties Agricultural Society www.threecounties.co.uk . So what were we doing that was so good?

We had hot cross bun decorating, we had egg decorating, we were playing in the soil and planting in the soil, we were making pancakes - starting by grinding grain in an old flour mill.

Why were we doing it? Because it was fun and the children enjoyed it and because it's all rooted in the Christian faith.

PANCAKES
Pancake day, Shrove Tuesday, is the day before Lent starts. That is a time Christians remember Jesus spending 40 days in the wilderness. During Lent Christians give up 'special' foods, and so before Lent it's time to party using up the rich foods. Known as 'Fat Tuesday' - Mardi Gras - and 'Goodbye to Meat' - Carnival - it's a time of special food and celebration.

PLAYING IN THE SOIL
That is the picture of what God is doing in the story of human creation. The original word for soil is 'adamah' and the word for human is 'Adam'. Playing in the compost, God makes a person he calls ‘Compo.’

GROWING IN THE SOIL
The earth produces our food. Jesus uses the image of sowing and growing to explain our relationship with God. The word of God, he says, is like scattered seed. Some falls on the path and is eaten by birds. Some falls in shallow ground and has no root. Some is choked by weeds. But some lands in good soil and produces a rich harvest. St Paul uses the picture of seed being planted or buried in the ground to illustrate the Christian hope for eternal life

HOT-CROSS BUNS.
The cross on the bun is a reminder of Jesus being executed on Good Friday.

EGGS.
Have long been a symbol of new life. For Christians they are a reminder of Jesus raised from the dead and bursting out of the tomb.

Milking the recession???

2009-04-08T16:41:00.003+01:00

Unlike the UK government, the Irish are tackling the recession by trying to reduce government spending. This means there's more Irish cheese on the market because there's less money to keep it in storage to produce "mature" cheese.
With the Irish and UK market having an oversupply of cheese there's been downwards pressure on the farm milk price.
Add to that the increase in the dairy herd on New Zealand's south island and the reduction in demand for dairy products from China.
That all adds together to mean that farm prices are down to between 20-24p a litre at a time when costs are going up. Complying with NVZs (Nitrate Vulnerable Zone regulations) are increasing expenditure for dairy farmers.
Experts say that the situation should sort itself out in the next 6 to 8 months as more UK producers give up the struggle or decide that investing for the future isn't worthwhile. Whether in the future we'll have the capacity to produce the milk we need is another matter. But we can always get powdered from New Zealand.
And the price of milk at the supermarkets? Tesco and Sainsbury are both currently charging 86p for 2 pints. That's the equivalent of just under 76p per litre!

An insult to farmers

2009-04-06T10:15:00.002+01:00

That was what the NFU called the government proposals for sharing the cost of animal disease control between the livesttock industry and the government. I can understand why.
The proposals work on the basis that if the industry has to pay a greater share of the costs to keep itself free of disease, that this will provide an incentive to farmers. This is insulting to farmers for many reasons.

Farmers already have substantial costs to bear from disease. The compensation for Foot and Mothh, bird flu or TB only meets a small part of the costs. Increasing costs for farmers wont increase motivation
Farmers aren't in the business just for the money! If they werre they would be doing something else! Most farmers have a genuine concern for the welfare of their animals
A lot of disease controls are not in farmers hands - they're in government hands. Foot and Mouth (except when it leaks from a Government laboratory) is an imported disease. Farmers have no control of border crossings or scrutiny of portss and airports. That's in government hands.

Yes, you can ... Yes, You can... Yes, You can...

2009-03-16T08:30:00.004Z

I spent Sunday morning at the National Weddings Exhibition. The photo is of colleagues on the stand.
I had lots of conversations with brides to be, grooms to be, mother-in laws.... Most of what I was saying was "Yes, you can."

To the couple who wanted to get married in the church the bride's father had been part of, the answer was "Yes, you can."
To the couple getting married abroad but talking about a church blessing when they come back, the answer was "Yes, you can." And when told that one of them had been married and divorced, the answer was still "Yes, you can."
For the couple where one is an Anglican and the other a semi-lapsed Roman Catholic wanting to know if they can get married in a CofE Church, the answer is "Yes, you can" - and you can ask that the Roman Catholic priest can be part of the ceremony too.
Can we get married at 5.00pm? "Yes, you can."
Can we have modern music? "Yes, you can."
We're not sure if we believe in God or any particular church, can we get married? "Yes, you can."

It was great joy for the couples. What worries me is how the Church has got itself into a situation where people assume the answer will be "No, you can't"

And if you want to check what you can do then www.yourchurchwedding.org will tell you

Reading the signs

2009-03-09T21:37:00.003Z

What does a blue arrow point to? In Portugal yellow arrows show the way to Santiago de Compostela - blue ones to Fatima . So if you were in Portugal and saw a blue arrow like the photo you could be pretty well certain that to follow it you would end up at Fatima.

BUT, if you followed this blue arrow you would end up in a mess. It doesn't point to Fatima. It's just down the road from here. I took the photo when I was walking the dogs. It points to a water main in need of attention.

It's sometimes to easy to look at signs an assume that we know what they mean.

Next to the land rover is...

2009-02-24T09:09:00.003Z

...the guide who took us round Porto Santo. We had the half day "off road" tour seeing the sites of this small island just north of Madeira.
The guide's name was Carina Jesus.
She was knowledgeable, intelligent, fun...
I found myself comparing her to the narrow, judgemental "Jesus" of some churches.
I'm sure the Jesus of the gospels was more like Carina, even if he did n't drive a landrover!

Power Cut?

2009-02-02T17:14:00.003Z

"Has there been a power cut?" that was the question asked by practically every worshipper as they arrived for worship on Sunday.

There hadn't been a power cut. It was Candlemas when, according to the Churchwarden's diary, the candles that would be used in the coming year should be blessed.

So we started the service in the morning gloom. We thought about light that brings hope and the possibility of seeing a way through life. We heard the account of the child Jesus, recognised by Simeon as the light of the world.

We blessed the Easter candle, used in baptism services and prayed that we might be faithful to our baptismal call to be lights in the world.

We blessed the communion table candles. Candles were first used in Christian worship when the church went underground (literally) to the catacombs and we remembered Christians persecuted for their faith today. In some traditions one of the communion table candles is called the "epistle" candle, the other the "gospel". I never can remember which is which, but they remind us that scripture is a light for us.

We light a candle from the Diocesan Assembly and were reminded that we are part of something bigger than the small group gathered that morning.

And we heard some words from a book by Lesslie Newbigin. They're so good that I think they're worth repeating here.
"I think that a very good and valid symbol of our mission is to be found in an experience with which those of us who have lived in India are familiar. When we have to go to a distant village in our pastoral duty we try to start very early in the morning, so we do not have to walk in the heat of the day. And it sometimes happens that we have to set off in total darkness; perhaps we are going towards the west so that there is no light in the sky and everything is dark. But as we go, a party of people travelling the opposite way comes to meet us. There will be at least a faint light on their faces. If we stop and ask them: "Where does the light come from?", they will simply ask us to turn round (do the U-turn - repent) and look towards the east. A new day is dawning, and the light we saw was just its faint reflection in the faces of those going that way. They did not posses the light; it was a light given to them. The church is that company which, going the opposite way to the majority, facing not from life towards death, but from death towards life, is given already the first glow of the light of a new day. It is that light that is the witness" (Mission in Christ's Way World Council of Churches p21)

250 years ago

2009-01-25T19:25:00.002Z

It's 250 years since the birth of Robert Burns. In Wichenford we had a Burns supper to celebrate. It helps that the curate is Scottish.

Why should the Church remember Burns? He was a drunkard and a womaniser and left a string of illegitimate children across the country.

But as well as that he was a thorn in the side of the Church of that time. He had recognised the hypocrisy of an organisation that was concerned about respectability rather than faith. His poems "Holy Willie's Prayer" and "The address to the unco guid" lambaste the two-facedness of the Church. "The Cotter's Saturday Night" tells a story of a real faith that doesn't need the Church.

There's a story (I read it on the internet so it must be true!) that at one time the local church had a notice on it saying,

"All are welcome here with the EXCEPTION of Robert Burns."

Underneath was Burn's reply,

"He who wrote this wrote it well, but the same shall be writ on the gates of hell."

The Church in every age does well to listen to the criticism of Burn's. Are we interested in faith or respectability?

Swords into ploughshares and ploughshares into swords

2009-01-11T16:47:00.008Z

At today's plough Sunday service, Sarah Brush reminded us that the bible uses the image of swords into ploughshares and vice versa. Changing circumstances require change.
Members of the congregation had been given pipe-cleaners and were invited first to shape them into something that represented current (agricultural) reality. Then they were to shape them into something representing future hopes.
So What did we get?

This young farmer had hopes of a large ring, not that she she said that she wants a husband - just the jewellery!!

She would like to be rich. She says she's looking for a rich farmer to marry. The way things have been with agriculture over recent years, that might be somewhat optimistic!

His future is to include a spanner

and hers a beer glass.

As for Lionel, as the "oldest young farmer in town" his pipe-cleaner was shaped into a Zimmer frame. But he's still smiling. It must be the company

Quotable quotes

2009-01-05T08:25:00.000Z

My sabbatical, now sadly coming to an end, has included a lot of reading and among all I have read have been some real gems. Here’s one of them.

“Why are so many Christians so obnoxious and mean spirited? It seems like Christianity’s mostly about being judgemental, narrow-minded, and having an infuriatingly condescending attitude towards anyone who isn’t a Christian. Christians are so busy being smug about being Christian that they forget to be kind.”

That quote is from “Penguins, Pain and the whole Shebang” by John Shore, quoted by John Drane in his book “After Mcdonaldisation”. I must say that I have met a number of Christians are who are not smug obnoxious and mean spirited, but (at the risk of being judgemental) I have met a number who are.

This blog is not a turkey!

2008-12-17T16:35:00.003Z

But I gather some folk have ended on this page while looking for a game of getting the turkey across the farmyard. I'd hate you to be disappointed, so it's at http://www.ukturkeys.co.uk/fun-stuff/gobbler/
Enjoy but it is addictive!

Food Awards and Racing Cars

2008-11-29T16:48:00.004Z

Wednesday evening I had the privilege of being at the BBC's Food and Farming awards. It was wonderful to hear about all the good and innovative things that have been happening agriculture & the food industry. A number of "ordinary" or rather "extra-ordinary" were honoured for their contributions by all sorts of celebrities. I was encouraged by all the good things that are happening to help reconnect food producers with the customers.

By way of a contrast on Friday I had a trip round the Red Bull Racing Factory, where they design, develop and build Formula 1 cars. The technology involved is fascinating. Good luck to the team and I hope they start winning soon.

Direct Line They must be joking!!!

2008-11-25T20:02:00.003Z

I have two dogs, and since they were puppies they have been insured with DirectLine. As the dogs have got older the premiums have gone up and up, and the excess has got higher and higher.
One of the dogs now has epilepsy and dementia. DirectLine won't pay for the treatment of the epilepsy. They say we should have claimed when he first started showing mild signs a couple of years ago. We did not, so tough luck on us.
As for the dementia, they will pay for that but every time we get more pills from the vet we need to fill in another claim form telling them what they already know and even then they won't pay unless we get the vet to fill in a fresh form each time as well. What a bureaucratic nonsense! They know what's the matter with the dog. They know what treatment the vet has advised. They know we're buying the pills from the vet - we can produce receipts. So why on earth they need to have everyone waste their time with a new form very month is a complete nonsense. The vet has got better things to do with his time. So have I. You would think that DirectLine would have as well.

Reactions to pilgrims

2008-11-12T10:36:00.005Z

Something I noticed when walking to Santiago & Finnisterre was that there were perhaps three different ways that people responded to a pilgrim.

As I was walking out of Porto there was an elderly woman who was clearly evidently thrilled that I was on my way to Santiago. Her total lack of English and my not much better Portuguese couldn't stop her conveying her pleasure that here was someone walking from her country to Santiago. That same reaction occurred later in the walk. A group of men working on the road were clearly thrilled. The presence of my rucksack protected my back from the over exuberant pats on the back they used to express their delight. Somehow my walking through their country was important to them and meant that they mattered.

At the other end of the scale of reactions was that of a market trader in Padron. By the time I arrived the market was over and they were packing up to go home. Among all the mess was a long cardboard tube - it had probably had a roll of cloth on it. The trader picked it up, used it like a pilgrim staff, and limped along with words that sounded like "So perigrino" - "I'm a pilgrim". It's probably a good job that my Spanish is nowhere near good enough to respond to the mickey taking. I would have liked to respond "Yes you are, from birth to death. How's your pilgrimage going?!" Just as well my Spanish is virtually non-existent!

A third response I encountered was a look of incredulity and non-comprehension - this particularly from people for whom life appeared to be hard. The look on their faces seemed to be saying "Life is hard enough as it is, why make it more difficult???" I found myself wondering whether they might not be right. The last time I saw people sleeping in bunks as in the hostels was years ago when I did a placement as a volunteer in an approved school for young criminals! Is going on a pilgrimage a self indulgent way for the comfortable to rough it for a week or so. Looking at the register in one hostel I saw the professions listed by the users as "Teachers", "Professors" (but they were French so probably only teachers anyway) "Lawyers", "Ships Captain", and of course "Chaplain". I saw no sign of "bricklayers", "labourers" or "carpenters". Perhaps pilgrimage is a whim of the comfortable.

Am I (becoming) a grumpy old man?

2008-11-03T10:16:00.003Z

I've just come back from doing the Porto to Santiago camino, followed by on to Finisterre and all in all it was an excellent experience, BUT I found myself wondering whether the welcome of the church(es) to pilgrims was as it might be.

In my mind I found myself contrasting the welcome that visitors get to cathedrals I know in the UK with that offered by the cathedral in Santiago. UK cathedrals frequently have "welcomers" - lay people, often retired, whose role is to greet people arriving and offer them a little basic information or answer straightforward questions. There was no such welcome In Santiago the building was left to speak for itself - which is fine for those who know what they're seeing & where they're going but not so good for those who are less informed. And the only notices in the cathedrals we a list of "NO"s, NO flash photography, No use of tripods (why ever not - they're hardly going to disturb someone's prayer?!?) NO mobile phones, NO...

And in the Pilgrim Office (why on earth is it UPSTAIRS - after people have walked 200+km, why not make it easier for them and have it downstairs?) when I found it - I didn't know which door of the cathedral it was next to - there seemed little or no interest in whether I had had a good journey, why I'd done the journey... It was just fill the form in and leave a donation. I had been going to ask whether I, as a non-catholic, could receive Communion at the pilgrim mass the next day but didn't bother to ask as I doubted that the girl in the office could cope with the question. I hoped to see someone in the Cathedral that I could ask, but in spite of spending a lot of time in it, saw no one I felt confident to ask. The only option would have been to ask at one of the confessionals but that's not what they're there for.

On further reflection I found myself thinking about the churches along the camino. The vast majority were firmly locked & so no opportunity to go in to pray/look. It seemed ironic as a number seemed to have been built along the camino for the use of pilgrims, but the pilgrims are locked out. In Tui I arrived at siesta time and so the Cathedral was closed - that would be unthinkable in the UK.

I found myself contrasting all that with the welcome given to walkers by one church in this country where there is tea, coffee and a kettle left out for visitors to use.

So does the church need to up its game and think about the needs of pilgrims, or am I (becoming) a grumpy old man?

Mucky boots

2008-10-08T17:29:00.002+01:00

Monday saw (in theory) the start of my sabbatical. Part of which will include a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. I fly to Porto and walk from there to the alleged burial site of St James some 150 miles to the north.

As part of my preparation I have been doing more walking than usual. Yesterday (Tuesday) I walked to Broadwas Church for their morning communion service. In days gone, nobody would have thought twice about walking in with mucky boots, but nowadays a carpet covers the floor & so I took my boots off as I went in. There is, after all, a precedent for taking shoes off on holy ground.

The reading for the service was Psalm 139 " Oh Lord, you've searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise... you are familiar with all my ways..."
That was good news as whilst I had checked out the footpaths on a map before walking down to Broadwas there were bits that were unfamiliar that I did n't know. There will be more unfamiliar bits between Porto and Santiago, so the psalm is rather reassuring.

Thinking inside the box

2008-10-05T12:39:00.003+01:00

This week I was leading a harvest assembly for a primary school. There was, I told them, something very special in a box I had brought.
The children could tell that it was quite heavy and rattled when shaken. It would, I told them, if you did the right things with it, produce

a woolly jumper,
a drink of orange juice
a story book
an apple
a cuddly sheep

Could they guess what was in the box?

They came up with

credit cards - but they don't produce anything but debt
money - but that doesn't produce anything, it just enables people to buy what others have produced
love - a pretty good guess at many school assemblies but that's not heavy or rattles when you shake it
a statue of Jesus - Well if the answer isn't "love" then usually it's "Jesus" but not today!!!

Have you worked out what was in the box yet???

It was soil, dirt, earth, compost. Not something we usually value but the basis for supplying most of our needs. In the Genesis 2 account of God creating man, He makes Adam from the Adamah, Compo from the compost, and tells Compo to serve and keep the earth from which he is created.

That "serving and keeping" of the earth is generally done for us by farmers.

Thanks to Exeter

2008-09-22T12:47:00.004+01:00

Tuesday & Wednesday of last week I was invited to lead a workshop "Changing Countryside Changing Church" for Exeter Diocese's clergy conference. It was in Cornwall on the Lizard peninsula.

The workshop produced some interesting insights about the role of church and clergy in a very changed countryside.

The church role was:-

Relationship building
· Community cohesion
· Worship God
· Proclaim gospel
· Recovery of medieval attitude of multifunctional building
· Work with children
· Pastoral care
· Celebrate festivals
· Hope bearers
· Stable presence
· Agent for change
· Generous listening
· Work/engage with the community
· Saltiness
· Is there a prior question – What sort of community will/should the gospel produce in this place?

The clergy role was:-

· Enabler/encourager of others
· Back stop
· discipler
· Expectation to be do-er remains and should be challenged
· More Pauline – he exercised a remote oversight by letter
· Spiritual oversight
· Mini bishops
· Valuing each church
· Out of church buildings
· Nourish people of God
· Identifying new ways of being church
· Occasional offices
· Visible presence, being there
· Interpreting God’s perspective for whole community

The list for the role of clergy is a formidable one and reflects something of the transition from the old way of doing things. Visible presence, occasional offices, Nourish people of God could all sit with a 1950s role. The move to Mini-bishop, Encourager/enabler of others, Interpreter of God’s perspective for whole community may cause tension. It will certainly will certainly require personal spiritual resources and highlights the need for clergy to be people of reflection, study and prayer.

But for me the main joy was going for a glorious walk on the coastal path in the Cornish sunshine, so here are some more photos of that!

Good enough to throw away

2008-09-13T12:30:00.004+01:00

In a bizarre way these carrots are a victim of the bad weather.
Waterlogged soils mean that it hasn't been possible to harvest them. They now grown too big to meet the supermarket specification. They're healthy, nutritious, taste good, cook well, good colour... but they don't fit the spec.
So the field will be sprayed with weed killer and £3,000 worth of carrots written off. You wouldn't believe there are people dieing of malnutrition in the developing world and concern about rising food prices in the UK.
And the pea pods have occasional spots on them so the supermarket has rejected.

Dramatic pictures...

2008-09-08T17:32:00.004+01:00

The water got into the cellar. It just about got into the bar. Selfish 4x4 drivers enjoying going through the water created bow waves that didn't help. And one silly driver of a Saab got the posh leather upholstery wet, but it was a loan car from a garage so perhaps he didn't care.

However the significant problem with the weather is less dramatic than the pictures. Prolonged persistent rain has left crops standing in fields un-harvested, just gently rotting. Added to that cereal prices are down on last year and production costs are significantly up. It's a difficult time for farmers - again.

Cause for concern

2008-09-04T21:40:00.006+01:00

The concerned expression on Bishop John's face comes from listening to Margaret and Tony explain abut their farm.
They'd long since given up milking and the cattle in the background of the picture are the last that will be on the farm, at least in Margaret and Tony's time. The relentless scourge of TB has ground them down so there's no point in carrying on. It's not just them. Neighbouring farms are giving up cattle. The infection in wildlife is such as it can't be controlled.

Bishop John's visit was part of a day getting first hand experience of agricultural and rural issues in the diocese. He saw something of the "Go West Teme Valley" project (follow the link on the right), visiting Broadwas church and listening to their Listening Post.
After Tony and Margaret's he visited Worcester Livestock market.
Lunch was at the Young Farmers Centre at Hawford where he met "movers and shakers" from Worcestershire's rural and agricultural community. It was an excellent networking opportunity for all, never mind the bishop being there!

In the afternoon Julia Page Warwickshire College Vice Principal and Dean of the Landbased faculty gave us a whistle stop tour round the Pershore campus. The bishop's schedule was tight!

The day finished with a chance to met members of the chaplaincy committee over a cup of tea at Chris Bennett's farm. Thanks to him and Alice for their hospitality

Grass boards, boats and lawnmowers

2008-08-26T12:27:00.007+01:00

One of the advantages of having a teenager staying is that you do things you wouldn't normally do. We had my niece staying with us and so for the first time in my life I've been grass boarding. Yes, all that safety equipment IS necessary. My ribs are starting to recover!

We also went to the brine baths at Droitwich. It is as salt as the Dead Sea, and is supposed to be very good for bruising and muscle strain. A good place to go after my escapades on the grass board.

We had a motor boat on the Avon from Evesham. Working the locks was a challenge with painful ribs.

We also had an afternoon when the Young Farmers when they were lawn mower racing. They were very competitive and how they kept some of the machines going showed great engineering skills.

Flower pots or concrete bollards?

2008-08-07T20:36:00.002+01:00

I've just been for a week's holiday in Budapest enjoying the sunshine, the spas, the F1 grand prix, the restaurants...
I was struck by the similarity of the Hungarian Parliament building with the OK's parliament. Both are grand historic buildings. Both are on the edge of a river. Both have come to symbolise something of their nation.
But there's a subtle difference. Round the UK parliament there are defensive concrete bollards to prevent terrorist attacks. Round th Hungarian parliament there are wooden tubs with flowers growing in them.
It raises questions about what it is that we in the UK have done to make terrorism a threat.

Radical hospitality?

2008-07-23T13:11:00.003+01:00

One of the "buzz" phrases at last weeks assembly (see sorry no photos) was "radical hospitality." The discussion group I was in asked what was wrong with ordinary hospitality.
The hospitality shown to the summer outing of the Agricultural & Rural Chaplaincy Committee (and friends) was first rate, be it "radical" or ordinary.
We had a tour round Croome Landscape Park and something of Capability Brown's work was explained to us. We were privileged to have a visit into Croome Court. Then the Baxter family entertained us to a wonderful supper.
It was all hospitality of the highest order.

Sorry no photos

2008-07-15T13:35:00.002+01:00

I forgot to take any photos, so just text on this post.

This weekend just gone was the Diocesan Assembly, a get together of around 400 people from the Diocese of Worcester - some clergy, others not and a mixture of ages, though there were probably more grey heads than any other colour!

The weekend was a coming together to think about what makes a healthy church. The key theme that seemed to be highlighted was about inclusion. How inclusive is our church? One of the speakers talked about a time when she lived as a homeless person. The welcome she got in the churches she visited that way was very different from the welcome she got when she visited in her usual role. She's the churches' bishop!!!

For me, inclusion raises questions about transformation. If someone (whether a homeless person or a bishop) is "included" in a church then who needs to change? The person? The Church? Both? What causes the change? Are there limits to the change? Can the person become unrecognizable from who they were before? Or can the church become unrecognizable? Can a church become so changed that it is no longer a church?

So unanswerable questions, but the real joys of the weekend was meeting people - building relationships with people I'd met before and meeting new people, and some of the worship - particularly the calmness of morning prayer.

But the real highlight is the story told by a colleague of separating two dogs that were fighting, but that's not appropriate for publication.

The Good, the Great and the spineless

2008-07-09T09:21:00.006+01:00

Sunday just gone I was at Peterborough Cathedral. A friend from when I had been in Northamptonshire was being ordained deacon along with 15 others. Those being priested had been done the day before, and just as well because it was crowded as it was. Strange that stories of full cathedrals don't get into the media! Every reason to rejoice at all these good people taking this step in ministry

The Friday before I'd been given tickets to the Royal Show. It was a shame but understandable that livestock numbers were down because of bluetongue. To our surprise in among the crowd and with surprisingly little security was Prince Charles.

If the newly ordained are the good, & Charles is reckoned to be among the great, who is the spineless? Well it's got to be Hilary Benn and his pathetic announcement that he is doing nothing effective to prevent the needless slaughter of 40,000 cattle and all the stress that brings to farmers.

What can we learn from the army?

2008-06-21T16:05:00.001+01:00

That's the army as in military not the army as in Church Army or Salvation Army.

A couple of days ago I was at a training event and one of the participants before he'd been ordained had served in the army. I found it interesting discussing patterns and styles of leadership with him and the insights that he brought from serving in the army. I also found it interesting to contrast his approach with the approach of a colleague I had known some years ago who also before ordination had served in the army, though several years earlier.

That earlier colleague ran his villages (he was vicar of about five different villages) as he would have run a military operation. The vicarage he referred to as HQ. He issued orders to the troops (the laity) and the expected those orders to be carried out. He was quite clear that he was in charge and that what he expected to be done would be done. His was the authority. He gave the orders. If he had too much to do, he delegated to others but it remained his task.

I found that an interesting contrast with the approach of the person who had served in the military more recently. The soldiers he worked with and was in command of were expected to use their initiative and training for whatever task they collectively were dealing with. They knew what had to be achieved and it was up to each of them to get on and do it without having every step was spelled out to them. They were expected to know what others within the platoon were doing and to do whatever was necessary to complement their colleagues work.

I find it interesting to see the change in the way that the army exercises leadership. In the church we pay lipservice to the idea that all called into ministry by virtue of their baptism but all too often we seem to act as though orders have to be given from HQ and nothing can be done by the laity unless and until that told to by someone with a dog collar.

The army has changed its way of exercising leadership. Can the church?

Do what you feel like

2008-06-10T12:22:00.002+01:00

That was the advice given to me by my doctor. He confirms that I have pneumonia, but a "crackly" chest could have been much more serious. If I take things easy I should just get better over the next four to six weeks.
So what do I feel like doing?????

What's been happining

2008-06-04T09:06:00.003+01:00

Somehow things have been slightly chaotic since my last posting.

I had a fascinating day in Stonesfield learning how a Community Land Trust had been able to play a part in ensuring that villages vitality by making housing available to local people at affordable rents. By keeping the decision making local they have been able to ensure housing that met the architectural & community needs and have been able to be versatile in allocating the housing.

I was, as usual, very impressed by the Young Farmers County rally. When young people are caricatured as being a "problem" it is good to see all that YF do and the positive contribution that young people make.

I've been a little off colour last week & my GP has signed me off work

sheep and stones

2008-04-22T10:42:00.003+01:00

Two Sundays ago the readings were about Jesus as a shepherd. At Cotheridge and Wilden we thought about first century Palestinian shepherds who didn't have the the advantages of hedges and walls & who had to lead their sheep from pasture to pasture. It was a very much closer relationship & the role of the shepherd was very tough. One commentator recently said it's bad enough the many modern western Christians have cuddly images of sheep. It's even worse that they have cuddly images of shepherds. Jesus & cuddly don't go together!

Last week was a certain amount of reviewing where I am - a meeting with my spiritual director, another with my line manager. The week also included meetings about the Three Counties Show, celebrating different ethnic groups, preparing bids for funding from the English Rural Development Plan and being after dinner speaker at Tenbury NFU annual dinner.

This Sunday I was at Bishampton and Knightwick and we focussed on the reading in 1Peter where he talks about being built together as living stones. It always strikes me as a wonderful image of both individuality (& that we're all different) and community (that we belong together) having different complementary roles.

walking with

2008-04-11T20:28:00.004+01:00

The gospel reading for last Sunday was the disciples on the road to Emmaus discovering that in their confusion it had been Jesus walking with them. This is the philosophy of Farm Crisis Network, and formed the basis of my sermons at Knightwick chapel and at Catshill.
Ironically I have had occasion to phone PC World rather a lot recently. They tell me my motherboard has failed & have sold me a new computer. So far I am distinctly underwhelmed by Vista!
PC World's automated impersonal phone message greets you with "PC World, with you every step of the way..." before inviting you to press button 1, 2, 3.... and eventually speaking to a human being who refers you to a website or another helpline.
I'm sure Jesus, being with the disciples every step of the way, was much more help!

more bits and pieces

2008-04-02T16:35:00.003+01:00

Sunday I was taking a baptism service in Dudley. That was fine in theory, but

we we're out for a meal with friends on Saturday night making us later than we might otherwise have been
we got home to find that one of the dogs had got a dose of the trots & the floor needed cleaning. He had us up 3 more times in the night.
The clocks changed and we lost an hour.
Dudley is an hour away
I hadn't seen the order of service I was using
The heating in the church wasn't working...

In the event it all worked out well. For the sermon I talked with the baptism families about what they wanted their children to grow into. A part from the inevitable "rich" and the rather obscure "a biker" it was things like healthy, happy, lovable, content... This, I suggested was all about wholeness and what the risen Jesus in the morning's gospel reading was offering to the disciples was "shalom", wholeness and so much more than the rather ineffectual word used in most translations of "peace". That is what the risen Jesus still offers.

The rest of the week was supposed to be a bit quieter.

Monday I had a meeting with colleagues in the local churches. That evening we had friends visit. She's been off work with what her GP would like to call OFSTEDitis. The number of people in education I meet who have been badly damaged by successive governments' rather pathetic attempts to raise classroom standards is frightening. I wish someone would do some detailed research into how many teachers have significant problems with stress.

Tuesday we celebrated the feast of St Joseph - normally 19 March it was moved this year because of the date of Easter. April Fool's day is appropriate. What Mary had to tell Joseph, "An angel told me I'm going to have a baby and the Father is God," is significantly less plausible than many April Fools. Yesterday evening there was an NFU meeting

Today I caught up with some correspondence, went to the livestock market and had a meeting about delivering mental health support to people in rural areas.

The good news is that the dog's digestion has improved.
The bad news is the cough/cold that I struggled with over Easter and thought I was rid of has come back.

taken by surprise

2008-03-28T16:20:00.004Z

The numbers of people who came to "Countrytastic" was more than I think anyone anticipated. Expecting around 1,000 for this first year there must have been about two and half times that number - and it seems that all of them wanted to do some of the activities we had arranged.
We, or rather they, ground barley into flour and made barley bread. They decorated eggs - about 400. They iced hot cross buns - another 400. They made haroset - working with children a recipe that is supposed to end up looking like mud has to be a winner. They made mince pies - the original shape of mince pies was manger shaped. They saw eggs hatching pout.
The day was exhausting, as one volunteer said, "I was waiting for lull, but they just kept coming."
The place was simply full with children. The day was part of the Year of Food and Farming and this was an excellent way to help make links with food and faith.

This photo isn't out of focus - it's blurred to protect the children's identity on the net! But you can still see how busy it was.

clergy clapping out????

2008-03-22T17:28:00.006Z

Wednesday the local clergy chapter had a quiet day at Glasshampton Monastery. It probably says something about clergy work load that mid afternoon , most of us were have a snooze - or perhaps a "power nap".
That same issue of busyness was part of Bishop David's sermon at the Maundy Thursday Communion. There is a screen saver that says "Jesus is coming............ Look Busy!"
That's a mistake. Jesus is coming.... Look loved, look freed, look whole.
He's absolutely right of course, but easier said than done. Coming home from the quiet day, I discovered that one of the dogs had collapsed & needed a trip to the vet. Thursday after the Communion service I discovered that the flour mill I had arranged to pick up wasn't where it ought to have been & so there was a 100 mile round trip to collect it.
And now I'm arguing with a cold.

Perhaps if I were more organised

2008-03-18T09:05:00.005Z

I would write this up more regularly! Since the last post activities included

a meeting of Diocesan Synod. Believe it or not this was useful and enjoyable! We've inched closer to having a Diocesan environmental strategy. We're moving towards being a fairtrade diocese. This was Bishop John's first time at a Worcester Diocesan Synod and his presidential address outlined a vision for the church that resonated with me.
the following day (morning) telling punters in the pew what had happened at synod and (evening) talking about farmers as those who care for the earth. They fulfill the mandate give to Adam in the Genesis 2 creation narrative
a meeting trying to shape the way that European money is spent in Worcestershire
a training session at the market for potential chaplaincy team members. Fascinating conversation with the auctioneer. What I hadn't realised is that when last year lamb and cattle prices had collapsed, prices for cull ewes (older sheep selling as mutton) had remained firmer. The reason being that cull ewes sell through halal slaughter houses. The supermarkets are not involved and there is genuine competition.
held the Chaplaincy AGM
been on a conference ab0out rural life and church. The item for concern is that we're talking about the same issues now as we were ten years ago - affordable housing, low paid agricultural jobs, withdrawal of services.... It makes you wonder what we've actually achieved in that period
been to the market where people were actually quite cheerful!
had a Sunday off from leading worship and went to the cathedral

Oh, and some silly beggar in an articulated lorry didn't read the weight restriction signs at the bottom of the road!

meanwhile back at the livestock market

2008-03-06T09:17:00.002Z

prices are much better! Lamb at around 137p per kilo is nearly twice what it was before Christmas when things were really bad. Still much concern about the impact of TB and the Government's reluctance to grasp the nettle & allow a badger cull. Bluetongue movement restrictions still cause problems and worry about how that disease is likely to spread as the midges become more active.

engraved on His palms

2008-03-04T13:40:00.003Z

Sunday was mothering Sunday. We gave out flowers as symbols of love, and we thought about God's promise
"Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne?
Though she may forget, I will not forget you! I have engraved you on the palms of my hands" (Isaiah 49 15ff)
We drew pictures on our hands to remind us that we are written on God's hands

been on holiday

2008-03-04T13:17:00.004Z

Got back in the early hours of Saturday morning after a weeks holiday on Sal, one of the Cape Verde islands.
Basically it's a lump of the Sahara desert that's dumped in the Atlantic. As a place for sunshine, beaches and crystal clear seas it can't be beaten. The approach to life is very laid back - where else would you find the local bank up and running even though the building had no roof?

Unfortunately it has become the latest place for property developers, so the land by the beaches has been bought up for hotels. The breeze blocks and broken glass is the site for the new Hylton.
There's been no meaningful rain for the last 7 years which has devastated what little food production there had been on the island. What makes no sense to me is that one development includes a golf course, to be irrigated by water from a desalination plant. Why is it that money can be found to irrigate a golf course, but not for growing vegetables?

meetings - where would we be without them?

2008-02-20T20:26:00.002Z

This morning was meeting with colleagues to plan the Church's presence at the Three Counties Show. Let's hope for weather like the picture! Do visit if you're at the show 13-15 June.
Next a meeting to scrutinise the chaplaincy budget for 2009.
Then planning for Countrytastic - a day for children about food and farming on 27 March at the Three Counties. Bookings already are encouraging. Our pitch will be food and faith - grinding grain to flour & making bread, decorating easter eggs, hot cross buns and IF we get the timing right, chickens hatching.
Yesterday evening was a chaplaincy committee meeting. All very good hearted, but generating lots of ideas and work.
tomorrow I start some time off. That means no computer!! And no blog updates for a day or so.

Early spring

2008-02-19T09:31:00.002Z

Yesterday I was delivering a seminar to students at Cambridge on the state of the countryside. Before I left I walked the dogs in the local woods. After the recent sunshine, bluebells are just starting to come into flower.
As for the seminar, of the five students who should have been there, two failed to materialise. One of them it transpired was having a bath! At the risk of being a grumpy old man, I cannot imagine that behaviour being acceptable when I was a student.
Sunday I had preached on John chapter 3 including the famous "God so loved the world..." and I was reminded of the late Bill Westwood, former Bishop of Peterborough, who always emphasised that it was the World that God loves, not the Church. How much of our church agendas are about our concerns instead of being concerned for the world?

Busy!

2008-02-13T14:26:00.003Z

A week since I posted. Sorry, it's been busy.

Last Wednesday I was at an NFU growers meeting. Various concerns, including a crazy policy by the Government to close the Seasonal Agricultural Workers scheme as part of their attempt to appear macho on immigration. SAWs workers are students, generally highly skilled, and almost inevitably return to their country of origin!

Thursday & Friday was a Faith at Work, Worcester Industrial Mission, team residential meeting at Holland House. That's the photo.

Saturday I was at a men's breakfast. The speaker had been a chaplain in the services. Some fascinating discussion about faith and war and attitudes to service personnel when the war is morally suspect

Sunday Little Witley church have as their Lent theme "Building Bridges for Christ" and I spokje about building bridges in the agricultural industry

Monday Churches Together in Malvern were looking at "The Rural Idyll and the Church"

Tuesday was a meeting of the BBC's Rural Affairs Committee, addressed by Helen Ghosh, permanent secretary at Defra. A fascinating, if scary insight into what that department is (and isn't) thinking.

Today, Worcester market. Prices down a little on last week but still well up on the disaster of a couple of months ago. It all depends on the strength of the £, and that's something producers have no control over.

Lent is about growth

2008-02-06T13:48:00.001Z

Ash Wednesday (today) is the beginning of Lent. The word "Lent" is from the Old English word for "Spring" though somehow "If I ruled the world every day would be the first day of Lent" does have quite the same ring to it.
Spring is a time for growth and the beginning of Lent poses the question for us, what do we want to grow in by Easter? Do we want to grow emotionally, spiritually, intellectually or physically? what do we need to do to cause that growth?

Slightly fuzzy!

2008-02-02T10:11:00.000Z

The photo is somewhat out of focus, but it was a slightly fuzzy evening! The Chaplaincy entered a team in a fund raising quiz - the proceeds going to RABI, a farming charity (follow the link).
To our great surprise we came third and the beer was our prize.

It's not just weather that's unpredictable!

2008-01-30T16:53:00.000Z

Lamb prices were better this morning at the livestock market. I was there after my rescheduled visit to my spiritual director. There reasons for the better prices were the relative value of the Pound to the Euro and that a large ship full of New Zealand lamb didn't have the right paperwork to unload. Neither of those are things that farmers have any control over. It's not just weather that's unpredictable!
Yesterday was a meeting of deanery synod (that's a church government meeting) where there was considerable anxiety over levels of giving.

It's STILL behind you

2008-01-28T17:05:00.000Z

Because of a mix up with the readings on Sunday I was preaching on the same readings as I had been the week before. So the sermon at Salwarpe and Wilden had much in common with the previous week's sermon at Martley.
Salwarpe (near Droitwich) is a lovely church in a quintessentially English setting. Wilden (near Stourport) is a rarity as all the windows are by Byrne Jones.

Burns Night

2008-01-26T11:51:00.001Z

In the photo I'm hiding behind the candles. I was playing the mandolin. You can see my knees as I was wearing the kilt. Heritage of Scotland tartan - I reckon as one born and brought up north of the border & who had stood on the terraces of Murrayfield, Hampden Park and Easter Road I was entitled to claim Scotland's heritage.
Dave (the vicar) was playing guitar & singing. It was a good night celebrating the life of Robert Burns. I did the "Toast to the Lassies" in which I told the story of Tony Blair visiting an Edinburgh hospital and read Burn's "Address to the Unco Guid" - words of wisdom to those involved in church life in every generation

Country Way

2008-01-22T10:53:00.000Z

Yesterday was a visit to the Arthur Rank Centre for an editorial meeting about "Country Way". The most recent edition had just come out & we were planning future editions and also how to increase circulation.
Yesterday evening I met with a small number of people interested in extending chaplaincy to Worcester Livestock Market

It's behind you

2008-01-20T12:22:00.000Z

Last night I was at a pantomime my niece had a role in. No panto would be complete without the "It's behind you" routine.
That was just right for this morning's sermon. The gospel reading was that Jesus came preaching a message of repentance as the kingdom of heaven is near. Repentance is about turning round & facing the other way. The kingdom? It's behind you!

Meetings, cold and the market

2008-01-19T12:30:00.000Z

This week has been meetings - all very important, but not that exciting for a blog!
Monday a meeting about research into polytunnels.
Tuesday meetings, with the Chaplaincy executive, World Development task group and Go West Teme Valley project.
Wednesday a regional West Midlands chaplains' meeting
Thursday I was going down with a cold and canceled a meeting with my spiritual director
Friday was trying to recover from that cold, catch up with a few emails and in the evening a meal with colleagues
Saturday at the Livestock market until the remains of the cold kicked in and lack of a voice meant conversation was impossible.
I'll make some notes now for my sermon tomorrow.

Plough sunday again!

2008-01-14T19:26:00.001Z

The second Sunday of the month sees the Teme valley market at the Talbot, Knightwick. This Sunday we had a short service at mid-day to bless the plough and to think about & pray for the needs of farmers.
The photo is of the Hammonds (two local farmers) Jean Clift (who runs the Talbot), me and Madelaine (who played the keyboard).
In the evening Droitwich Methodist church celebrated plough for the first time in at least the last 39 years and possibly in the whole history of that church.

Commissioning of FCN president & National Coordinator

2008-01-13T10:20:00.000Z

Saturday was the commissioning of Christopher Jones as the first president of Farm Crisis Network. It was a time of looking back and giving thanks for the amazing pioneering work he had done in setting up FCN.
It was also a time for looking forward and commissioning Sarah Brown as the new National Co-ordinator.
Chris lives just a village away from where I used to be vicar. Sarah was part of the Local Ministry team. There were a good number of members of my former congregations & it was good to see them.
The rather fuzzy picture is of Chris at the reception.