Yesterday BUGB published short letters, signed by General Secretary, Lynn Green, that it has sent to leaders of Muslim and Jewish communities in the UK.  You can read more here.  It was for me, and for many, a moment that made us glad to be Baptists... Sadly for others it was not, and some serious proof text trading has been seen on social media which I find deeply disappointing.  When Christians start proof-texting from the Quran, in English translation, to support what sound to me islamophobic perspectives, that is deeply worrying.

I withdrew from social media debate - I dislike conflict, I hate proof-texting and I felt that a few dominant voices were drowning out others.

I so nearly added, and then didn't these two famous quotes, from Thomas Helwys and Martin Niemoller.  Yes, both are taken out of context, and yes, both men were flawed, but it seem their words deserve another hearing...

Helwys:

Let them be heretics, let them by jews, turks or whatsoever.... (see it in context here)

Niemoller

First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Socialist.

Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out—

Because I was not a Trade Unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.

So, this morning I had a long lie in (that's a composite anglo-scottish term for two hours extra in bed!) and spent some time sunggling with my two kitties who can purr very loudly!  Then on the basis that I use my own laptop for PowerPoint for church, I opted to stay at home to get that done.  After that I thought, well, why not give the sermon a go... and I did, and it's OK, not everso wildly exciting but it's competent.  And now it is roughly lunchtime and I feel gently chuffed at what I've achieved and a bit more refreshed than I have done this week.

Still some prayers to consider and a heap of admin type stuff to organise, but it's getting there.

Kitties in their "bunk beds"... Sasha has spent half the morning hurtling round and playing with a toy mouse, whilst Sophie took herself off to the kitchen where it was more peaceful and slept on a dining chair.

As a rule I prefer to work at church, helps with boundaries and is where all my books are, but just sometimes I can get more done at home.

Often enough we minister types speak of the privilege of pastoral encounters, especially those that coincide with major life events, and to do so is valid.  Less often do we talk about responsibility, by which I meaa not our repsonsibility to those who grant us this privilege, but to ourselves (and where appropriate our families).

It's not just about time management - if it were that easy I'd have had it sorted years ago - it's about the unpredictable nature of real life and the way that the unexpected tends to arrive in several large dollops all at once.  So, it's Wednesday evening and although I've read the commentaries and made some notes, there is not as yet a single word committed to paper for Sunday, which is not the way I like to be.  And I'm tired.  Tired enough that tomorrow I may steal a lie-in as it is yet another day with evening committments.

Back in the day, I could work 70 hour weeks regularly and thrive on it.  Now if gets much past 50 I'm fit for nothing, and I try to keep it to around 40 if I can.  Workaholic ministers are not really a good thing - not good for ourselves and certainly not good as examples to others.

So this is me being a little bit responsible and fessing up to fatigue, fessing up to the fact that sometimes there is just too much work to do and that it just can't all be done.

For all that, I am looking forward to the second session of mindfulness this evening, as the stillness and quiet helps me to re-establish a bit of balance amidst the busyness.

This morning was the annual trip to the breast clinic, to see my beloved breast surgeon (beloved in a totally appropriate, ministerial way, you understand) for my check-up, chat and mammogram.  So, the good news is that, subject the mammogram results, I am still No Evidence of Disease... four years NED and rather overly happy!!

Yesterday's evening service was led by a religious sister who introdcued us to the icon of Our Lady, Undoer of Knots, or Mary, Untier of Knots.  This icon, beloved of Pope Francis, evidently arises from a story of a couple whose marriage was in tatters and were seeking divorce (rather tricky if you are a Catholic!).  Their priest, to whom they had gone for guidance asked then to bring along their marriage ribbon which was crumpled and knotted.  (In their culture, the marriage ribbon was symbolically tied during the ceremony, a little like a celtic "handfasting" or even the practice to this day where Anglican priests bind the couple's hands with their stole as they pronounce them married).  As the priest began to smooth out the ribbon, it began to glow and he had a vision of Mary undoing the knots.

However we feel about Mary, this is a very gentle, lovely image to have in mind, and one that is surely helpful... we offer to God our knotted, crumpled, tattered lives, and God smooths, unties, mends them for us.  The paraclete we choose may be Sophia, God's Spirit wisdom, or Jesus, God's Christ, but the aim is the same.

We were all given little handmade bookmarks with the icon and a prayer, as follows:

Dear God:
Please untie the knots
that are in my mind,
my heart and my life.
Remove the have nots,
the can nots and the do nots
that I have in my mind.

Erase the will nots,
may nots,
might nots that may find
a home in my heart.

Release me from the could nots,
would nots and
should nots that obstruct my life.

And most of all,
Dear God,
I ask that you remove from my mind,
my heart and my life all of the 'am nots'
that I have allowed to hold me back,
especially the thought
that I am not good enough.
AMEN

Author: Father Ronnie Knott of Rhodelia, Kentucky

Whatever today or this week brings us, this prayer is helpful, as is the image of a gentle God who will

Take the time to call my name

Take the time to mend

Who I am and what I've been

All I've failed to tend

John Bell & Graham Maule (c) WGRG