It's very rare that I re-use serivces or sermons, even when what I already have looks (a few years later) really rather surprisingly OK, because inevitably any illustrations are out of date or the context is very different or it just doesn't seem to do quite the right job.

This week has been a case in point - I decided I'd like to revisit the great 'O' Antiphons (and, ineed we will) which I last did, as it happens, the final Advent I was in Dibley.  I recalled that it had incorporated, at short notice, an infant blessing for a family with almost no church connection, and that they had grown increasingly restless as the service progressed through seven lots of readings and reflections.  I had forgotten that it had been a joint service with D+1 and that therefore I'd had readers from each of these churches in an attempt at inclusion.  And I'd forgotten it was also Advent 2 and also Communion (cue spooky music!)

And of course I couldn't simply lift the (fourteen!) Bible readings and (eight) reflections and pop them into the Gathering Place format.  But there were some ideas worth tweaking, and some new ideas to add in.  So we have a mere two Bible readings, and some new (still eight) very short reflections.  We have some completely new prayers and a freshly wirtten communion liturgy.  And we will weave in our own traditional bits 'n' bobs to ensure that this is contextually appropriate.

A basic idea re-used

A few thoughts recycled

And a service pretty much re-invented!

Some tweaking needed twixt now and Sunday, but I am disproportionately happy to have a draft done on Wednesday for the first time in goodness knows how long.