So this is what we did at church this morning...

We listened to the whole of Hebrews 11, the catalogue of faithful people.

Then we looked up a few verses about five of them - Noah, Abraham, Jacob, Moses, David - that revealed their flawed natures.  Well, 'we' is really the congregation who were invited to look up the verses and ask themselves (roughly)

• what was flawed about this person?
• why do you think this incident might have been included in the Bible record?
• what glimpses of the nature of God do we see?
• how might this speak to us about our own lives?

People were amazing!  They gathered in small groups and spent their allocated five minutes in deep discussion.

The thrust of the sermon was that even the heroes of faith were flawed, that sometimes the Bible can act as a mirror in which we see our own reflection, that it is a 'holy, human story' and that above all God is a God of second and third and fourth and .... chances - God never gives up.

Quite a few people commented favourably about the experience, so maybe I'll do it again some time!

Just as exciting I have some volunteers to read the Bible in all sorts of unusual languages next week.  Yay!

Almost every Sunday of the year is a 'special' Sunday, so each and every church has to make decisions about which of the umpteen it chooses to keep.  Back in the summer, we decided that Health-care Sunday was one we would mark during evening worship this autumn.  It seemed a good idea at the time, and as is the way of things, the more so now.

In our church we have several people who work in health care and many others who are grateful recipients of the benefits of the NHS.  It is good to remember those who work in the complex world of health care, seeking to bring thier faith in Jesus to life as they engage with people whose lives are affected by the realities of a disordered world.  We have medical students doing electives in very tough and challenging placements, an A&E nurse and an A&E consultant who tend people suddenly taken ill, patches up those who've over indulged or fallen victim to passing joggers (!), we have an internationally renowned oncologist (handy), we have several retired nurses, we have close links with a dentist, and I've undoubtedly forgotten or missed others.  We can't imagine the kind of things these folk face each day, and I suspect if we did our hair would curl.  More widely my friends include pharmacists, physios and medical physicists, a few healthcare hospital/hospice chaplains and not a few home care assistants.

From the lowliest cleaner mopping up body fluids to the chief exec of the health board we depend on those who expend their energies in caring for our welfare.  It seems good to pause this one day to pray for them.

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