I have now been in Railway Town for a full week, and I have, thankfully, emptied all the cardboard boxes that travelled down from Glasgow.
My new house is lovely, if a LOT smaller than my flat in Glasgow, which in turn was smaller than my manse in Leicestershire. This week I have purchased a fridge and a washing machine - both already being well used - and today I have just spent the incredibly generous leaving gift on a new table and chairs, which will arrive next week. Apart from my bedroom, which looks like Paddy's market, the house is pretty much sorted out :-). The photo is of my office - which looks out over the garden and, being south facing, will be very bright.
Work starts officially tomorrow - but in practice not until Sunday (church) and Monday (college).
More news to follow - but for now, I plan to rest after a very busy week - well that and find somewhere that sells picture hooks!!
After a long hiatus, the hope is that this blog will once again be a space to share stories and to reflect. I am wrting this post using a shiny new, teeny tiny, laptop - an emergency purchase just three days before moving away from Glasgow to begin my new bi-vocational ministry in the North West of England.
I am excited to be taking up these new roles, and looking forward to being closer to the many people who have been constant and loyal friends through multiple moves. At the same time, I will miss this beautiful city and the people who have become equally valued friends - I hope our friendships will last many years to come.
I have been in Glasgow just shy of fourteen years - almost a quarter of my life, and a third of my adult life. Small wonder then, the letting go is quite a wrench.
From tomorrow, I will be living on the Chehsire/Staffordshire/West Midlands/Greater Mancesher border, in a town that owes is existence to the coming of the railway and the NIMBYism of a local landowner. 'Railway Town' is a town of around 70k people, home to Bentley motors (Rolls Royce cars) and the best-known railway interchange in the UK: "Crewe station, all change, all change!" Which is perhaps as well, since half of my role will be as a Transitional Minister - a minister for change!
The other half of my ministry will be as Tutor for Ministerial Formation at Northern Baptist College - my old vicar school. This is a non-academic role, overseeing the practicalties of training, and will build on my long experience of mentoring and supervision (both professional and pastoral), I am excited to join the college at the time when it is beginning 'new things' and to devote my final working years to handing on to the next generation of Baptist ministers,,, it actually feels very 'Great Commission' in its esscence... 'make discioles and teach them everything....' Well, not everything, but hopefuly something useful!!
Photos and more reflection will follow in the coming days, weeks and months, buy for now - THANK YOU GLASGOW, you did yourself proud.
I am currently reading this little, entry level, book on reading the Bible intelligently written by the Australian Biblical scholar Robyn J Whitaker. It's a nice accessible read, aimed espeically at those who come from a conservative theological background - which is the author's own story. She holds together keen critical insights with a profound love of scripture. Definitely one to consider sharing with teenagers or with adults who have never come across the concepts she shares which range from authority and (in)errancy to genre, the canon, and interpretation. It's mostly stuff I've known since my teens (the back of the original Good News Bible was remarkable helpful in this regard!) and is great as a primer for those considering serious Bible study, preaching or ordination training.
This post is decidedly late in the day, as the news it contains has been public domain for some time now... I have been, and continue to be, super busy.
Anyway, as per the picture above, I have been appointed as the Tutor for Ministerial Formation at Northern Baptist College, in Manchester, a half-time role that I will begin in September. I am currently in conversations about another half-time role to sit alongside it, and hope to have some news in the not too distant future. At the moment I have no idea where my cats and I will be living in September, but I do have a sense of peace that God will sort it out - probably at the last minute.
In the meantime, I am kept busy at the Gathering Place as we prepare to go our separate ways after as near as makes no odds 14 years together (my call was June 2009, I arrived in October 2009).
I am cautiously hopeful that this blog might find new energy as a personal space for reflection once I am not looking after church social media (though I may yet have that to do in other contexts).
Life in Scotland has been good to me, and I will carry many precious memories back to England when the time comes.
The weather forecast is pretty grim - rain all day - but I have waterproofs and I'm not made of sugar!
And the 24 mile walk to raise money for Breast Cancer Now is worth getting a bit soggy!
This week a friend I made during treatment days died of secondary breast cancer. At the time of her scecondary diagnosis, two years ago, she noted how far things had progressed since her primary diagnosis in 2011. That's thanks to the research made possible by cancer charities. So my walk tomorrow is dedicated to the memory of Jane, an Anglican priest, hospital chaplain and all round good egg.
If you feel so inclined, you can sponsor me here, but there is no pressure, honestly
