Fourteen of us gathered to share in a reflective service of Communion and Tenebrae for Maundy Thursday.  Adapting a script from around a decade ago for a new context... the readers did incredibly well and the mood was suitably reflective.  The original can be found here should you wish to purchase a useful little book.

One advantage of using pittas was that when I got home remarkably hungry, I was able to quickly rustle up a delicious halloumi and salad 'pocket'.

I always wonder, when we clear up, who cleaned up after Jesus and the disciples left for Gethsemane?  Maybe this was the day that Martha came into her own?

Maundy Thursday is a day when I choose to remember two very different men, each of whom I got to know when I was in Glasgow.

The first, KS, was a retired Baptist minister, and someone who was hugely supportive of my ministry at The Gathering Place, where he was also one of my predecessors.  He loved the poetry of T S Elliott, and a habit of quoting from 'Little Gidding' (which in turn draws on Julian of Norwich) 'All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well'.  Early in my ministry, K suffered a major stroke on Maundy Thursday, which robbed him of most speech and almost all mobility, whilst leaving his intellect as sharp as ever.  I visited him in hospital and later in a hospice, where his final days were spent.  A Rawdon man (yay!), a scholar, a man with clay feet, an encourager... I am blessed to recall him.

The second was KF, another man of fierce intellect, with interests as diverse as astronomy, poetry, rambling and photography.  A man of strong opinions, yet able to argue both sides of almost any topic.  In 2021, I was invited to nominate potential recipients for Maundy Money, and was thrilled when K, along with I and M, were awarded this honour.  On Maundy Thursday 2022, they received their from the then Prince of Wales, standing in for the Queen, whose health was becoming increasingly frail.  Sadly, K died on Maundy Thursday 2023.  Always supportive of my ministry, along with his wife, he was another good man, who I am privileged to have known.

So, as I join tonight with folk from Railway Town for a communion and Tenebrae, I will pause, if only fleetingly, to recall K and K.. may they rest in peace and rise in glory.   

This church may be small in numbers, but it makes up for that in courage and tenacity!

On Friday we hosted the LAMPS Collective performance of 'The Passion' - I think around 60-70 people were in the audience, some having travelled quite a distance to be there.  it was a wonderful evening, and so encouraging that most people stayed on for refreshments and to chat with the cast.  A cast member told me that one audience member had felt moved to rededicate themselves to following Jesus; many people spoke of how powerful and moving it had been.  A great evening, and a true blessing.

On Sunday we had our first hour long 'Messy J-Club' for children in parallel our 'Readings and Hymns' choral service for adults.  The former was a creative journey through Holy Week with games, crafts, puzzles and stories; each child took home a bag brim full of the things they had made and shared.  The latter was a 'lessons and carols' style journey through Luke's Holy Week, with a mix of choral and congregational hymns and songs.  Both were well received, and each was encouraging for this little church.  A quick count up on Sunday suggests there were about 35-40 adults present, as well as six or seven children.

A brief pause until Thursday evening, when it's Communion & Tennebrae.  A Good Friday Reflection on the Seven sayings from the Cross will follow.  And then Easter Celebration on Sunday!

Photo is from Friday - I loved the purple cast from the performers' lighting rig creating a shadow of the cross, and a hint of what lies ahead...

Whatever Holy Week look like for you, may it be blessed.   

Today I've started beginning to think about some teaching I will be delivering at the end of June - ages away but needs a lot of preparation and there's a lot of other stuff in between times.

On the right of the photo is the marker page in a folder of notes for the undergraduate course I took 25 years ago - oh how is that even possible?!  Mind you, the MPhil on the left was completed 14 years ago, which is almost as scary.

I am enjoying the prospect, even if the volume of material that needs to be covered in the time allocated is crazy, and I do want to include a bit of time to try to encourage people that history is not only important but relevant and fun.  I am looking forward to creating a 400+ year time line as both teaching aid and interactive learning experience.... now then, where is that huge roll of paper...?