Today's focus was on the story of Stephen from Acts 6 and 7... the table waiter who gained the confidence to speak boldly in public and who was executed for his beliefs.

One of the options we offered was to do some ceramic painting - using special markers to decorate mugs and plates (tiny plates; the example above is a plain white tea plate I used from home as a prototype).

Other options were 'grown up' colouring, word searches, puzzles and 'fun with food' as well as listening to a spoken reflection with interative prayers using newspapers.

It seemed to go pretty well - and the ceramic painting was amazing, I wish I'd taken my camera to record the skills of those who chose that option.

The key message was a simple one, about healthy self-esteem, about healthy regard for others whose gifts and skills differ from our own, about no-one and no-thing being too 'ordinary' or too 'special', about the priesthood of all believers...

Three out of seven now completed, we have all adjusted to the format, I've kept my word and kept services to 50 mins... not remotely complacent, but I think it is going OK.