Life is very full at the moment.  Lots of interesting and important things in my diary, lots of doors opening, lots of things to think about.

Today I am doing some catching up, arranging to scrap my car via 'Give a Car', tidying up my submission for the NZ conference proceedings, realising I still have a very thick book to read and review, preparing a seminar/workshop and a 'news item' for next weeks conference.... or at least making a start on all of the above!

And I woke up with a sore throat, sniffles, sneezes and shivers... the tell-tale signs for my annual alliterative ague, or common cold, that regularly strikes somewhere during September...

This is an historic week in which historic events take place, and the forecast for unseasonably warm weather reflects the metaphorically rising political/social temperature (complete with fear, hope, anxiety, excitement, vitriol, tenderness, wisdom and foolishness, in any combination or permutation).  Not the easiest week to be a true pastor, a kenotic, servant leader - thank goodness for the studies I'm doing in Philippians which offer a different way of thinking!

If praying be your thing, please pray for those of us in Scotland charged with making this decision which, irrespective of outcome, will shape the history, not just of these islands but beyond.  Maybe this prayer, which we used yesterday, is a good start...

God be in our minds, and in our reflecting;

God be in our vision, and in our imagining;

God be in our gathering, and in our listening;

God be in our relationships, and in our discussing;

God be in our nation, and in our deciding.

Rev Alison McDonald Convener, Ecumenical Relations Committee, Church of Scotland

That's my over-riding reflection on my visit to Finland, it was quiet... no loud voices, no strident exclamations, just softly spoken people who quietly went about their daily lives in a seemingly unhurried way.  It wasn't that no-one spoke or chatted, they did, and now and then a baby cried or a dog barked, even a cat mewed on the coach back from Tampere to Helsinki, but overall it was quiet.

Over recent months I've heard a lot about nordic idylls, and certainly there are aspects of nordic life that are appealing, but you don't have to look very hard to find that all is not rosy... beggars on the streets, Big Issue (or equivalent) vendors, and the proverbial Finnish drunks swaying from side to side and mumbling incoherently (even they were quiet!).  The per capita GDP may be high but there are still plenty of signs of poverty just beneath the veneer of success.

One thing that wasn't quiet was the Civil Defence alarm which was tested as we walked through woodland, unable to take the necessary actions had it been a 'for real' alert.  We only found out retrospectively it was a routine test - the holiday centre brochure failed to mention this vital information.  The proximity of (conventional oil or peat fired) power plant meant potential for noxious fumes; the nearness to countries with a less than perfect safety record for hazardous industries in general take it all a level further... the quiet could so easily be destroyed.

I had a lovely time.  Finland is a beautiful country and Finns seem to be lovely, friendly people, eager to use their English language skills (though we were reguarly assumed to be Finns and had to fess up to not understanding what was being shared with us by shop keepers and passers by!)

The break from TV, radio, phone and internet did me good, allowed me to clear my head, unwind and relax. Already the busyness of life encroaches and the quietness is disturbed by the clack of computer keys, routine and responsibility return apace.  Which is as it should be... a wonderful break, some fresh perspectives (some of which I am saving for future use), and then home: what more couyld I wish for?

My latest new case... the smart red one proved a bad buy and has gone to join the legion of the lost; still it did get to travel to NZ and back first...

Anyway, I chose the owl design on the grounds it'd be easy to spot as it rides around on the carousel thingy at the airport.

Given my combined hold and hand luggage is under the hold weight allowance, it's fair to say I'm travelling relatively light.

Been a pretty productive day - even squeezed a quick visit to someone in hospital.

Now all that remains to do is switch off the laptop, get a train into town, have something for tea and catch my train...

Let the holidays begin... but fear not, owl be back

Today I've been working on the service for a week on Sunday!  The reason being I'm off tomorrow evening for my 'real' holiday and wont' be back until the afternoon of a week on Saturday...

I am using the lectionary shunted by a week to fit in a run of weeks on Philippians before harvest in October.  So it was intirguinig to me how well the reading fitted the context... or how easy it was to make connections to the context (R - 4 days and churchy stuff too).

Way back in the day when I was studying theology my tutor said it was me making the connections between things, not that they were intrinsically there.  Whilst that's true, I can't help feeling there's a bit of Holy Spirit stuff going on too.

This evening I am leading for our monthly theological reflection group as it enters its fifth season... so at risk of a spoiler alert, there will be yiddish curses to get our brains warmed up!!

After that, it's PowerPoint prep from home tomorrow - and then I'm away to Finland for some R&R.

This morning was our Pledge Day at church - the  day on which we were invited to commit ourselves to support in whatever way we are able, and is appropriate for us, the next phase of a huge project we are exploring.

It felt like it went pretty well - the collage of stickers on which we'd drawn ourselves "we are the church" looked amazing and reflected our diversity superbly well.  We sang some beautiful songs and hymns, old and new, chosen by me and chosen by our MD and they all blended perfectly.

Two songs I used were particualrly remarked upon, which made me smile as they were two songs I'd learned whilst working with a Catholic church in Swinton... and one of them is actually from Iona...

Whoever we are, whatever we are able to offer, we can do so in this spirit.