Radical hospitality?

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

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

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.