The BBCs election web pages have suceeded in making me feel old!  There is every likelihood that the next PM will be younger then me.  Not by a huge amount, evidently Messrs Cameron and Clegg are both 43, but there is something rather discombobulating that the nation will be run by people younger than my little sister!

There doesn't seem to be too much to talk about at the moment, and I am trying not to post merely from habit or (self-imposed) expectation.  It is fine to say nothing if there's nothing to say.

This weekend has been just glorious.  Weather reaching near summer temperatures, windows flung wide and Glaswegians shunning their woollies to dine al fresco in skimpy tops.  At the same time, there is still a little snow on the top of the hills I can see from my window, glinting defiantly in the morning sun.

On Saturday 32 of us shared the West End Christian Walking Club outing to New Lanark.  The unexpected high temperatures, lack of breeze and squelchy mud, calf deep in places, coupled with a slightly longer than usual walk, made it unusually demanding but a great time was had by all.

This photo sent to me by one of our number evidently caused some amusement as it appears I have a person hidden in my back pack...

The Falls of Clyde were in spate, so looked amazing, and we were able to view the peregrine falcons nesting along the route (Operation Peregrine provides a viewing area as well as ensuring the birds are kept safe).  Truly a glorious day out, concluded with good food and a birthday cake for the club's leader.

Sunday dawned equally bright and sunny and I was impressed that anyone came to church when the temptation to spend the day in the sunshine must have been enormous.  I had invited the Sunday School team round for lunch and a meeting, so 11 (eight workers, two children and me) of us sat down in my kitchen to share food.  It was, for me at least, an enjoyable occasion, with plenty of laughter as well as some serious conversation.  A's cranachan (typical recipe here) made with her husband's 12 year old single malt was potent to say the least (I only managed one spoonful) and E's banana bread a delight.  Some of us were introduced to marmite cheese (see the website for mamitealoholics here) which is truly superb, while others discovered root vegetable crisps.  Truly a day of new experiences all round.

The day drew to a close with a gentle, meditative evening service focusing on some of my favourite Easter events - Thomas' and Peter's encounters with Jesus - and a chunk of Matthew 25.  We sang 'Come with me, come wander' (BPW 333) a capella which was stunningly beautiful and there was a picture on our service sheets of a tube 'station' called resurrection (here).  Each of these took me back to other Easters in other places ... singing the hymn accompanied by a saxophone in Manchester, and preaching on 'being a place called resurrection' when I was in Leicestershire (near Dibley is a place called Anstey, evidently a corruption of Anastasis which means resurrection).  It felt a good, nay, glorious, end to my first Easter connecting past and present, sharing a journey into the future and being reminded of my own calling to walk with Christ.  So thank you B for a special moment.

Today is 'off' and includes the inglorious prospect of seeing my new dentist, but the sun is lovely and Glasgow is glowing... another good day in prospect.

Friday morning brings The Baptist Times to my letterbox, not usually the highlight of my week but an important connection point with a view of Baptist life primarily, of not exclusively inside BUGB.  The BT takes a lot of flack; it is always easier to criticise than to offer something ostensibly better - just ask any editor of church magazines!  I would have to say that on the whole the BT is a far more interesting read nowadays than when I first subscribed back on the mid 1990s (indeed, in those days a work colleague and I used to compare frustrations with it regularly!!).

This week's edition struck me as worthy of praise, not damning faint stuff, but genuine appreciation for what is being attempted.

There is a centrefold article with input from Christian groups within the three largest UK parties (pace Wales and Scotand) which will find its way to one of our noticeboards ahead of the upcoming hustings.  (If any equivalents in SNP or others want to send me their words I can add them too).  There are some provocative, but not aggressive or defensive, letters on extreme politics, women in leadership and the relationship of each to freedom of conscience (there are aslo one or two more typical letters).  There are some good book reviews - including a helpful and balanced one on Pullman's new novel (well, I basically agree with it, so it must be OK ;-) ).

I think what I like about the BT these days is that it is less diffident, less defensive, less narrow-shallow, less holy-huddle than it was when I first read it.  To be fair, these comments apply to me too, though whether because I'm older and better informed or because the whole world has changed who can definitively determine?

My only gripe (and it's not a major one) is that there are, nowadays, bribes, I mean gifts, offered to new subscribers, whereas those of us who have loyally supported Beattie during her own journey into the present don't get so much as pencil (in the early days of my subscription you got an annual gift of a BT notebook!!).  Do I really want gifts?  No, of course not, I am just a little sad that it is deemed necessary and even appropriate to offer inducements to new readers.

Anyway, well done all at BT for this excellent edition.

Well that time is here again when you can vote for the best (or least bad) websites that self-nominated for the BUGB communications awards.  There are three finalists in each of two categories, one for design and one for content.

The finalists clearly commit a lot of time and energy to maintaining their web presence and all of them seem to be doing some things really well.  Call me old fashioned (Catriona, you're old fashioned) but I prefer the simpler, less whizzy websites that tell me what I need to know.

Things I like...

• Clear listing of service times and a hint on style... I have eclectic tastes and am tolerant of most but it's nice to have an idea what I might find.  Ironically the worst offenders on this are often the smartest sites.
• List of other regular activities in easy access format (no use saying 'Bumble Bees' or 'Grumblers Hour' if no one will have a clue what that means)
• Address, maps, directions ... no real excuse here as links to mapping are easy and how long does it take to add the address and post code?  Phone numbers and other contact details are helpful too.
• Pictures of people who are genuinely part of the church (not stock photos or professionally commissioned stuff) and some clue as to what the place looks like on the outside so I know when I've found it.

Things I don't like...

• Out of date information... 'come to our 2008 nativity service' (I jest not)
• Broken links
• Loads of 'under construction' or 'coming soon' pages - just take them off!
• Too many pages meaning complex navigation to find out what is wanted

Things that are nice but not essential...

• Electronic versions of magazines (PDF is nicest as it doesn't foul up formatting in different software)
• Photo galleries - so long as they are current
• Podcasts and audio of services/sermons
• Links to other 'of interest' sites that give a hint about what this church is like

If a website is a shop window, it needs to be enough to entice people to come inside and find out more... you won't find the supermarkets listing all their products on the door but you will find regular opening times and special offers, maybe there's a clue there?

Anyway, should you wish to vote for the awards the link is here

This morning I treated myself to coffee and cake as a reward for registering with a GP AND a dentist AND an optician all on the same day.  To most this undoubtedly sounds no cause for comment but I have an (irrational) aversion to doctors, a (justified) distrust of dentists and a 'so what' view of opticians.  All of which got me thinking about people's attitudes to church.

My aversion to doctors is, if truth be told, fear of the unknown.  Having lived a healthy to the point of boring life, with my medical records consisting mainly of minor accidents and my last prescription medicine when I was 12, the inside of the surgery is somewhere largely unknown, and hence scary.  Logic tells me it is safe, and I am happy enough to take other sick people to their GPs (one of the odd aspects of being a minister!) but if I can avoid them for myself, then I will.  I am sure this is true for many people with church.  They just don't know what happens behind those closed doors (sermon hint!) and are afraid of the unknown.  They can cope with 'occasional offices' and can even deal with coffee mornings, toddler groups or activities, but  go to church... too scary by far.

By contrast, my distrust of dentists is justified, having had two particularly unfortunate experiences, one in which a healthy tooth was irreparably damaged and one in which I was nearly drowned!  I go to the dentist because it is sensible so to do, but there is always an element of apprehension just in case this time they do kill me!  So it is with churches.  From the person terrified by an encounter with glossolalia, to the person condemned out of hand for their relationship status, to the person embarrassed by standing up at the wrong moment, painful experiences of church are widespread.  Many simply opt out, a few brave ones shop around for another church, and some stick it out because they believe it is 'good for them' or even a 'necessary evil.'  Worrying.

As for opticians, well having seen them regularly for almost forty years they are just part of life.  I don't especially enjoy eyes tests (and especially dislike the pressure tests necessitated by hereditary tendency towards glaucoma) but it is just something that has to be done.  Is church like this for some, for many?  Not unpleasant exactly, but not a joy either; not the high point of the week but something that has to be done and the value of the less appealing parts is something well understood?  Or for those of us regularly at church, is it just a routine activity given as much thought as putting out the rubbish?

Dealing with the routine, the scary and the unknown all in the same day seems to me like cause indeed for coffee and cake.  And makes me a little more empathic with, and sympathetic to, visitors to church who dash off as soon as the service ends.

Of course by Monday, when I'll have been MOTed by the GP's nurse, my mouth contorted by the dentist and my eyes been thoroughly explored by the optician I shall be in need of chocolate as well as a latte...!