This morning I have sat down with a sheet of paper to try to plan out a preaching scheme for the autumn.  You all know the joke: tell God your plans and s/he laughs.  Well, our preaching plan is certainly funny, but in a good way.  It looks like we will be very busy with 'specials', so much so that I can't see how we will fit in a harvest festival - unless it's in December!

In September we have an invitation service (Back to Church Sunday done Dibley style).  In October we will (hopefully) have a Baptismal service one week, go to some sheltered housing the next and to the Anglicans for a One World Week service the next.  In November there is a week at D+1, then Remembrance before we start to think about Advent.  December includes carols in the pub, then our big annual ecumenical outreach event, a Christingle, a home-based evening communion and a united Christmas Day service.  On top of that I already have a guest preach at a church whose secretary used to work for me which will combine GB/BB enrolment (some churches do still do that, it seems) and an infant blessing and another at a small church in Leicestershire who insist on inviting speakers from far away when it is dark, wet and foggy!  Lastly, somewhere in all this I still have to fit in two 'off' Sundays - hmm.

Normal services might be resumed in January - by which time our service time review will mean that normal is not what is is now!

Oh, and in case you wonder, I think I can see a hint of some themes for preaching from the Lectionary, as a lot of superb Matthean parables are coming up and some of the readings for 9 November are very appropriate for my context.