Well compared to the last post anyway.

Today's service went remarkably well, and even got a few bits of feedback.

From around 30 people, I got back 16 BMS 'In Transit' postcards to send off, a few signed by couples.  I could have predicted which people wouldn't complete them, but overall I was gladdened by the number who did.

My one black member thanked me for addressing the issues raised by the recent election of local councillors, and the person who had been worried that I might get 'political' seem to cope in the end.

One person thanked me for using the idea of 'Christ is my friend' at some point in the service - probably as part of the communion liturgy, as I usually refer to the disicples as Jesus' friends when I do the institution bit.  I think I said something about us as Christ's friends too.  Anyway, it spoke to her, and she found it helpful.

Lastly one person thanked me for tackling the Romans 13 passage and drawing the distinction between 'authorities' being of Godly intent - i.e. that God seeks to provide structures for justice and freedom - and 'real authorities' which are composed of finite and sinful human beings and get things wrong as well as right.  This helped him to understand how it might be possible for something to be legal but not just or 'gospel' (in his case thinking about the USA death penalty).

So, a good day one way and another.  One or two crises are abating, things are coming together for next weekend's Pentecost events (even if enthusiasm, human or divine, was absent this afternoon when we spoke of it) and I may even get my essay writing fitted in at some point this week...