Tonight was our bi-monthly Church Meeting.  It was fine: good-natured, the service time review went through virtually on the nod, we decided what to do for harvest which is being squeezed in on 5th October (apparently it's correct Sunday!) and all was hunky dory.

One of the big parts of our meetings is always pastoral news, it gets long and laborious, sometimes being a list of sniffles and broken finger nails.  At the moment it is very important; almost everyone has some tough challenges to face, lots of serious illness, several bereavements, complex family problems and so on.  We spent quite a bit of time sharing and then had a time of prayer when each person was asked to pray for the person on their left, then their right (we sit in a horseshoe), then one of those we'd mentioned (which extended to friends and neighbours).  At the end of the meeting we had ten minutes open prayer on 'any topic people felt they wished to pray for' which included those in the USA commemorating 9/11.  This is when I love my people - they understand something of the import of prayer for others.

Got home and within ten minutes the phone rang - one of my members to let me know that my predecessor but 4 (I think!) a minister still in pastoral ministry had had a heart attack and died this morning.  He had certainly been a great encourager to some of my folk, a regular decent guy who enjoyed a pint and a chat, and was now serving a church 0.5 miles from Heathrow airport.  Our thoughts and prayers are with his widow and his church tonight.

But this is getting a little too often for my already fragile congregation, so, if you're listening God - Enough Already!