So this is my day off and I am blobbing around because I am very tired! I now realise that last week I worked over 70 hours, whoops, that was definitely not in the plan!
Baptist Assembly was enjoyable. Not the most exciting or inspiring ever, but some good questions to think about and some brave attempts at communal discernment. All a bit 2 Timothy 4:3 though - soothing on the ear and not challenging of the heart or mind, at least for me. Not that it was bad or wrong, far from it, just safe and predictable. Some good conversations with friends from BUGB and BMS - as ever David Kerrigan inspires and encourages me to fulfil my call, and Mat Wilson helped my thinking around Pauline universalism!! The experiment in communcal discernment was a good one - not because it worked (not sure it did) but because it was done... will post more on that another day when I am less tired!
Busy day yesterday, leading worship then helping to host a Church of Scotland parish grouping exercise to 'imagine Scotland's future'. A really good endeavour - not predicated on any outcome of the referrendum, but asking instead, what kind of Scotland do you want to live in... and what does that mean. It got frustrating at times, when people identified 'issues' when asked for 'values', identified responses based on specific outcomes of the referrendum (despite being told not to!) and, as I feared, too often failed to recognise the cost (financial and personal) of the Scotland they wanted to imagine. With 30-odd events to run, the exercise should be REALLY useful to the CofS in identifying values and concerns to take to ALL political parties ahead ofthe referrendum and seek answers that will help inform the voting of those who haven't already made up their minds.
Very enjoyable overall, just need to be careful not to take on too much!
Says she, who is leading a theological reflection on 'living hopefully' this evening! Looking forward to inflicting some Deacon Blue on my punters!
And to finish for today, my pumpkin lantern which we had on the communion table yesterday!! (pumpkin soup made and bread baking :) )
