Tonight we had our AGM (zzzzz) followed by a very dull Church Meeting (even zzzzz-er).

This year, as last, I tried to inject a bit of life into the AGM by putting together a slide show in PowerPoint of highlights along with vaguely funny captions... no one laughed, a few didn't even look at the screen, and one scowled - she thinks this is a waste of time in a'business meeting' as she insists on calling it.  There weren't any comments on the reports and the elections were virtually non existent as we had no nominations for deacons or Treasurer.  I was losing the will to live even before we'd done the AGM stuff!

The main meeting was no better - we spent half an hour going round in circles over the Treasurer issue, fiddling with little bits here and there and never progressing the main points.  We did eventually come up with a set of actions, but nothing that will sort the issue very quickly.  We need a constitutional change to stand any chance of getting out of this position - which means yet more boring meetings.  Oh joy!

The one good thing, and it was good, and it could be really good, was an agreement to spend a whole Sunday working solidly on discerning our way forward as a fellowship.  There were a few dissenters - Sunday is a day for rest, not for doing work, even God's work (hmm, so why do I work Sundays then?!) - but most seemed reasonably keen on the idea.  This will take place on 27th April and sits nicely between our next Deacons and Church meetings.  I guess I have two prayers... one that it won't be boring and the other that we will actually come away from it with something concrete.  I'm not sure I can stand much more circumnavigation of the same spot!

This year's Good Friday event is now well on the way to being sorted... or at least my bit is!  Other people seem to need incredibly detailed instructions and I am more than a tad apprehensive that the person setting up the 'Communion' station has not grasped that what we want is a big loaf, a jug of grape juice and something a bit rugged - the fear is we get the Meths communion kit including frilly white cloths to cover it all up - I pray not!

'Experience Easter' is a multisensory event for all ages, spread over three rooms, with different foci (i.e. they are plural, as an aside, I am getting fed up with people round here saying 'foci' when they mean 'focus' but that's another story!).

I have two installations to produce - 'water' and 'oil'

Water will include various extracts from John (woman at well, foot washing) and Matthew (Baptism, Great Commission) as well as water for drinking and water for washing.  The essential nature of water for life will be flagged - from amniotic fluid, to seas, to rain, to blood - as well as its refreshing and restorative properties.  Touch, taste, sight and possibly sound will feature in this installation.

Oil will draw on accounts of Jesus being anointed (John, Matthew, Luke) and explore anointing for healing, commissioning and dying.  Scented aromatherapy oil, olive oil and baby oil will be on offer for people to anoint themselves (or each other).  So smell and touch very much at the heart of this one.

One of our challenges is to take people to Calvary and leave them sufficiently disturbed without being distraught.  Even our children's song will leave Jesus at Calvary in 'pain and agony' (although the activites will inevitably pre-empt Sunday)

I think I will need to provide guidance notes for all the installations, as I doubt they will be self explanatory or that folk will do them, but overall it is proving a positive experience to prepare for this and is allowing me to enter into the ideas a little more deeply.

I wonder how many people will choose to Experience Easter with us?  We will have sent out 1500 leaflets or thereabouts and had it announced in local radio.  I'd love to see 100 people come through the doors which would be more than twice what we get to a traditional Good Friday service - we shall see!