This week, a team of roofers have been taking the roof off of my new manse and steadily creating  new one - currently bright pink waterproof membrane thingy and red batons (or whatever they are called).

It got me thinking...

When I was a ministerial student, I lived in part of a Grade 2 listed former vicarage.  During the second winter I lived there, part of the roof collapsed, and had to be replaced, along with treatment of serious penetrating damp.  I recall having to move out and stay in a room at college whilst the fungus was treated with highly toxic chemicals, and then having polythene sheeting over the walls until the brickwork dried out enough to re-plaster. 

The first church I served, back in 'Dibley' had a fanastic roof, the most expensive tiles possible, because they had had it roofed and within a year the tiles had begun to fail - the supplier was so mortified they replaced it with the most expensive tiles, free of charge.   Alas the walls and utilities were all decidedly dilapidated underneath the beautiful roof, and within a year we'd had to close the building, which was subsequent demolished. 

Then the 'Gathering Place' which had a long standing issue with the sanctuary roof that necessitated regular monitoring, and the added challenges of Grade B (roughly Grade 2 in England & Wales) listed status.  After two decades of faithful and sacrificial exploration of options to redevelop with a facade retention, the congregation took the courageous decision to step away and sold the site to a developer.  After a few more years of the developer seeking a solution, that building, too will almost certainly be demolished.

'Railway Town' is grade 2 listed, and has a sound roof - hurrah!  The amusing little tale is that the first time I preached there, we came out to find ourselves inside a police cordon as there had been a partial roof collapse at one of the houses opposite, and they were awaiting fire & rescue to make it safe enough to open the street.

And so here I am in the place which has yet to reveal its online name, with a sound church building, no listed statuses to worry about and a gorgeous, recently purchased, manse which is undergoing rigorous renovation that will last way longer than my tenure.

I am not sure what - if anything - any of this means, but it amuses and intrigues me that, if we look for connections, we can usually find, or maybe make, them.