In an attempt to bridge the chasm between church and lunch club, we've decided that twice a year we'll take church to the sheltered complexes where many of the members live, and twice a year we'll invite them to a special of ours.  The first attempt occurs on Low Sunday, and yesterday I handed out slips for people to request hymns for us to sing.  The choices are, for the most part, predictable and frankly quite funereal, though there are a few really lovely ones.

What was more telling was the reasons stated for the choices - almost always that it was their parents' favourite - which probably means they last sang it at a funeral anyway.  These, mostly Victorian,  hymns would have been fairly 'modern' when these people's parents learned them and are now old standards.  I think what saddens me slightly is that these lovely people - mostly in their 80's, and ranging from 65 to 102 - don't 'own' any hymns or songs of their own.  What will their children or grandchildren choose, if anything, when the time comes to say 'goodbye'?

As I look back over my own family, and the funerals I've attended, at least we have always sung hymns/songs that mattered to the individuals rather than the ones that we happened to know because they were sung at funerals.

Still, we will sing the hymns that have been chosen, and I will make sure I have a suitably large supply of tissues on hand for 'Abide with me' (which is far too good to be kept for funerals anyway and was actually written, so far as I understand, as an evening hymn).  Old rugged crosses, unfailing love and protective sheperds - these are great themes to sing about even if I will have to blank the images and lily-scents of Loughborough Crem from my mind!!

This morning I have, at the third attempt, completed a sermon for Friday, based on my WISDOM, Wisdom, wisdom scheme, and hints from the three characters in the stories.

It was as I pondered Martha that Sophia gave me a shove, in that gentle but firm way she does, with a half smile on her face because of course you really already know what she's going to say, and you know that she's right...

"Martha, Martha, you are upset and worried by many things..."

Yup, that's me!  Tired, anxious about this little church, annoyed with situations, trying not to be annoyed with people...

Until today, cos I'm very slow on the uptake, it had never occurred to me that there is no record of Martha speaking to Mary about her lack of help.  So did she speak to her?  Once?  Several times?  Did she resort to speaking to Jesus as a final attempt because direct attempts had failed?  Or had she, as I would, soldiered on and muttered to herself?!

What - or who - prompted her to speak to Jesus about it?  Did she recognises authority?  Compassion?  Justice?  What was Sophia whispering in Martha's ear?

Do I, do we, like Martha 'take it to the Lord,' or do we struggle on, until we break or blow?

"Catriona, Catriona, you are upset and worried by many things... and you are right to be concerned, but put down your duster [metaphorical, I rarely dust!] and sit with me a while... these things won't go away overnight, if at all, but I need you whole, not full of holes.  Be still.... stop what you are doing... and allow the I AM God to hold you safe in the storm."

Today I sat down and emailed my deacons my annual leave intentions for this year.  As I won't use the last of last year's until April (only 2 days) it has given me rather inflated pleasure to book a three week block in August!  This will consist of two weeks walking Offa's Dyke followed by almost a week at a theology conference in Manchester.  Whether this is sublime to ridiculous or vice versa only time will tell.  What is rather nice is that the two are linked by a preach at my 'sending' church in dear old Warrington.

I also fixed my week's study leave in early April (before the last of last year's annual leave!) and am all set to spend five days away from it all at St Deniol's library in Wales.  Not a rest, as I have not one but two conference papers to prepare in a decent draft form (not least as the university needs a draft to be presented a week or so later!) but it will be a total break from the stresses of dear old Dibley.

Thus I am feeling fairly cheerful tonight, and looking forward to lots of lovely varied time away, refreshing body, mind and spirit.  Bliss!

Such is the title for the Women's World Day of Prayer for which I have to preach on Friday.  I am not over enamoured with the material I've been supplied with which seems too simplistic to me.  I have a bit of an idea rumbling around my brain, but I'm not sure whether it will work with a group of mainly older women , so I thought I'd dump it here instead!

One of the best things I was every taught in respect of preaching was based on a Barth idea of

WORD

Word

word

Where WORD refers to Christ, the Logos, the word-made-flesh; Word is the Bible, the scriptures; word is the thing the preacher speaks, shares, tells forth.

So how about a parallel for wisdom?

WISDOM

Wisdom

wisdom

Where WISDOM refers to the Holy Spirit, Sophia, the Wisdom-of-God; Wisdom is again the Bible, the scriptures, the inspired account of faith; wisdom is the thing that arises in humans as they acquire new understanding.

The two stories I have to work with - Job and Luke's Mary & Martha seem to me to represent three situations in which God's Sophia brings wisdom...

For Job there is a new perspective on questions of suffering, not answers but an awareness that God has not abandoned him.  I have to admit I don't find Job easy to work with because he has a happy ending and real people in real situations very often don't.  But even so, I think I can say God's Sophia can transform our views from within suffering, not to fatalistic acceptance but to the assurance of God-with-us.

For Mary there is excitement and desire to be at Jesus' feet.  Something prompts her to do this, because we don't actually know that she was a dreamer or a lazy little sister!  Something about God's Sophia moving us to new encounters and new possibilities.

For Martha there is just daily routine made worse by all these blokes arriving!  She questions Jesus (brave woman!) and is prompted to think again about her priorities.  From the Johannine accounts it is clear that her perspective does move on.  Even the everyday can be transformed by God's Sophia.

And this, I think, is where I want to go with these women - that no matter what life is like, God's Wisdom brings new Understanding - new ideas, new perspectives, new hope, new practices, new dreams, new attitudes.  We might not get the answers we long for, but God who is present as Spirit can and does offer hope and a future.

Does that make any sense?  Is it total heresy?  Who thought of it before me?  And will the good ladies of the church south of Leicester get it?

... a view on hermeneutics.

For a bit of fun try out a hermeneutics quiz here and discover whether you are 'conservative' 'moderate' or 'progressive.'

With a score of 72 I am apparently progressive.  Is this good, bad or indifferent?  That probably depends on what you are!  According to this article all three approaches are useful and none is inherently better or worse, just different.  I think I'm happy enough to be a self-aware, self-critical, progressive in this respect - better that than a foot stamping anything! 

Thanks to Maggie Dawn on whose blog I found this quiz