Today we looked at the story of Ruth, and at the numerous commandments given t the ancient Israelites about care of widows, orphans and 'aliens'.  Using a number of other Bible verses about prayer, we used ears of wheat to gather our intercessory prayers.  People joined in well, they are really good at going along with slightly bonkers ideas!

Last week, the church email was migrated to a new platform.  It works just fin in outlook on my laptop but try as I might - and I have tried many times - it will not work either in outlook or mail on my iPhone.

This morning, BT email and webmail are both down, so no personal emails are arriving or leaving.  Just as well I have other means to check orders expected today.

And, as it's the weekend, my college email is largely silent.

This is a bit like how life used to be, before smartphones, before I had a computer at home, before email was a thing... and it is surprisingly joyous!

Today, part of what I am doing is preparing some teaching notes for a one hour session on risk management for ministers.  It's fun for me - and hopefully useful for them!

Today was my first foray into academic marking... an interesting, enjoyable and mostly fun experience, from which I learned a lot.

I was 'moderating' which is not the same as marking or second-marking... The scripts had already been marked by a very experienced tutor, and my role was two-fold: to see if the marking felt right (i.e. that I felt it was all in the right ball park) and to ensure that it was fair (i.e. that all scripts were treated with equity).

I confirmed what I've always know - I am a pedant on grammar and formatting (truly I am my mother's daughter)!

I'm glad I have the opportunity for another round of moderating later in the year so that I can feel a bit more confident before next year needing to start marking academic work I've set (eek!) as I am not sure I've really grasped how to 'pitch' the criteria.

On a lighter note, it was interesting and amusing to read reviews of a book by someone I led occasional joint services with in Glasgow, in which the story is told of a young, inexperienced minister who, many years later I worked with on CoP26!  

I was doing a search for Bible verses that refer to 'aliens and strangers' ahead of Sunday's service - I was looking mostly for the ones about gleaning to provide a bit of context for the Ruth story, but also others about treating 'aliens' (foreigners) well.  Two bit stood out for me... the verses from Ezekiel 47, above and some from Deuteronomy 27, listed below, emphasis mine.  In amongst all the apparently divinely sanctioned genocides of the Hebrew scriptures, there are some repeated, clear and stern teachings about the treatment of 'resident aliens' along with widows and orphans...

The same day Moses charged the people as follows: “When you have crossed over the Jordan, these shall stand on Mount Gerizim to bless the people: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin.  And these shall stand on Mount Ebal for the curse: Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali. Then the Levites shall declare in a loud voice to all the Israelites,

 “ ‘Cursed be anyone who makes an idol or casts an image, anything abhorrent to the Lord, the work of an artisan, and sets it up in secret.’ All the people shall respond, saying, ‘Amen!’

“ ‘Cursed be anyone who dishonours father or mother.’ All the people shall say, ‘Amen!’

“ ‘Cursed be anyone who moves a neighbour’s boundary marker.’ All the people shall say, ‘Amen!’

“ ‘Cursed be anyone who misleads a blind person on the road.’ All the people shall say, ‘Amen!’

“ ‘Cursed be anyone who deprives an alien, an orphan, or a widow of justice.’ All the people shall say, ‘Amen!’

“ ‘Cursed be anyone who lies with his father’s wife, because he has violated his father’s rights.’ All the people shall say, ‘Amen!’

“ ‘Cursed be anyone who lies with any animal.’ All the people shall say, ‘Amen!’

“ ‘Cursed be anyone who lies with his sister, whether the daughter of his father or the daughter of his mother.’ All the people shall say, ‘Amen!’

“ ‘Cursed be anyone who lies with his mother-in-law.’ All the people shall say, ‘Amen!’

“ ‘Cursed be anyone who strikes down a neighbour in secret.’ All the people shall say, ‘Amen!’

“ ‘Cursed be anyone who takes a bribe to shed innocent blood.’ All the people shall say, ‘Amen!’

“ ‘Cursed be anyone who does not uphold the words of this law by observing them.’ All the people shall say, ‘Amen!’