A day early, since Sundays are strangely busy in this household, I ended my 'No Mow May' having not cut the grass for six to seven weeks.  I couldn't quite bring myself to mow all the buttercups (sorry landlady) and the cats are very fond of nibbling the tall grass at the front of this photo, so I left a couple of wild areas for the mini-beasts to enjoy.

I also cut my side of the hedge (local hedge trimming etiquette is very odd, in that you only seem to go 90% of the width - hopefully my neighbour will cut their 10% soon...) and replanted the pots.  A lot of weeding of paths to be done (I refuse to use nasty chemicals) but it's looking half decent.

I'm reminded of the old tale about the person out walking who paused to admire a garden, where there was a person hard at work. They commented 'you and God have done a great job'. Immediately the retort came, 'yes, but you should have seen it when God was doing it all alone...'  God and humanity in partnership, creator, creature and creation... the world could be so beautiful if only we could play our part better.

This morning I completed my personal challenge to walk 200 miles in May (I had originally hoped to do 250 but it became clear that wasn't viable so I revised it down - an average of around 7 miles a day is not too shabby)!

Massive thanks to everyone who has donated, I have raised a whopping £500 which will make a huge difference.  The challenge as a whole has evidently has nearly 7000 participants and raised almost £350,000, all with a few days still to go.

My usual end of challenge nag... whatever your sex or gender, check your bits and bobs... if something doesn't seem right, get it checked out - most likely it's nothing nasty, but it just might be, and early detection really does save lives. 

If you wish to, you can donate here but more importantly, stay safe, love deeply and laugh often.

Simply take...

49 people (someone keeps a careful count!) representing around a dozen nationalities

Add some choral music, some craft, some scripture, and some congregational singing

Sprinkle with love and creativity (thank you to G who led our service) and allow the Spirit to stir joy, laughter and hope

Then share an amazing bring and share meal spanning the Americas, Europe, Asia and Africa 

And there you have it, Pentecost with the little Railway Town Baptist Church, being not quite so little (a quick tot up suggests at least a dozen regular folk absent) and enjoying being Community in Christ.   

Finally, after making me wonder whether it had survived winter, the rhododendron in my garden is in full bloom, and it's just about the same shade of pink has charity tee-shirt and hat.  Thanks to all the wonderfully generous people who have donated, my fundraiser is now at almost £500 + GiftAid... and my mileage total is 168 counted up to the end of yesterday - so I am still hoping to reach 200 (I revised down my secret goal as it became untenable).

Today, following my own tradition of around quarter of a century, I am wearing red for Pentecost, and looking forward to singing with our 'Occasional Choir' during the service which will be ably led by G.

Yesterday was quite a long day of teaching with my colleague J, as we led our Ministes in Training, and a small number of external participants, through a day exploring and reflecting on legal, theological, liturgical, practical and pastoral matters connected with marriage and weddings.  It was quite a long day: around seven hours classroom time, with plenty of decent length breaks.

This is the part of my role that brings the most joy - equipping a new generation of ministers to serve churches, chaplaincies and community projects in ways that compassionate, competent and creative... and, even though I can't make it alliterate, adequately theologically informed.