The idea of live, interactive online worship didn't really exist before March 2020... There was television's Songs of Praise and there had been various forays in the 90s (I think) into television programmes where viewers were invited to light candles or have communion elements to hand, but live worship was something that almost sprang ex nihilo as people discovered Zoom and longed for human contact, even if through a screen.

For our weekend, remote learners, we offer a mini-service on a Sunday morning, just 15 minutes, usually with Communion, and I love taking my turn to lead.

Today I was going to start teaching just fifteen minutes after worship, and needed a rapid room reset, so opted not to hang my 'liturgical drapes' (lengths of fabric to disguise the bookcases) but I did build a 'table' of books which I covered with a sheet of white paper in order to 'centre' my Communion set.  I used recorded music, read scripture, offered a very mini 'thought for the day' and led communion.

We were a small congregation, since attending is completely optional, and several choose not to join us, and it reminds me very much of my 'Uni Chapel' days of old (though those never included Communion).  Just a pause before the busyness of classes begins.  

When people ask me what I like best about pastoral ministry, I often reply that I love funerals... not because I have a strange fascination with death but because they are times of privileged pastoral care that it seems (based on almost 25 years of feedback) I do well.  

On Thursday, I took a small group of ministers in training for their 'behind the scenes at the crematorium' visit.  The staff member who showed us round was amazing - having worked herself as a Funeral Director and for the Coroner's Office she was able to give us deep insights about the practical and pastoral aspects of her work, and also about resilience and boundaries.  A superb visit, which complimented a similarly excellent visit to the cemetery last term.  

Yesterday I was facilitating a day of reflection around end of life, funerals and grief which was led by a Baptist minister who had spend more than twenty years as a funeral director before they were called into ministry, and so brought unique and significant insights.

It was a large group - twenty two people had registered, though a few couldn't make it on the day, and some had requested a Zoom 'contingency' for various reasons.  It was also a mixed group, in so far as there were ministers in training, lay leaders and experienced ministers using this as CMD - a gentle experiment to see whether this is something worth developing in other areas of formation.  I think the answer to that is it depends on both the subject matter, and who chooses to attend.

Among other thing that I took along was my collection of resources around end of life, dying, death and funerals.  What I didn't take was denominational liturgies - I have to trust that people will access those themselves.

Definitely some learning to take forward, especially if we are trying to work in a hybrid format (we weren't really here, we simply tried to adjust a face-to-face delivery to accommodate others) but for a first foray into serving a wider 'audience' I think it went okay.

Importantly, I feel that 'my' MiTs have been good opportunity to think about these topics and that I've done a good-enough job enabling that  to be so. 

This Civic Service yesterday afternoon was a real celebration of all that is good about this place... from dignitaries in their finery, to a brass band and a choir, with voices in around a dozen languages, and people of every skin tone... the  Mayor's requested theme of inclusion was expressed in many different ways.

I managed to hide at the back of the group photo, behind the teddy bear skin edged robes and feathered hats of the 'chain gang' (a term I came across somewhere else a long time ago to describe such gatherings).

Representatives of emergency services, a local school, craft initiatives and other local charities and organisations filled the church, sang lustily (lots of school assembly bangers!) and commented kindly on my words.

I'm not a fan of dressing up, but there are times when it is right to do so  - and for a bruised community that is all too often derided, yesterday was a day when celebration and dressing up were important.