meetings - where would we be without them?

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

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!

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

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!

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!

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

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

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

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

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!