This afternoon was a first for me - an 'open mike' (no mike but you get the idea) poetry slam... a gathering of people who write and share their poetry from novices to established and published via competent and professionally trained plus a lot more besides.  Alliteration, adjectives, free form, sonnet, rhyming and rhythm... you name it, they shared it.

So being asked to occupy the seat of 'Judge 3' was pretty scary - what do I know about poetry, how to judge it technically or performancely (my invented word of the day) or anything else.  Thank goodness for Judges 1 and 2 who at least have a background in English beyond 'O' level (even if Mrs B did teach us to 'A' level standard at the time).

It was a wonderful afternoon, and a very worthy winner, someone fairly new to writing poetry who was genuinely gob-smacked when his name was called.  Two wonderful poems, one skillfully interwining the singing - yes singing - lines from 'Hail Queen of Heaven, Star of the Sea' with deeply moving reflections of standing in a (fisherman's?) chapel;the second a short, vulnerable, beautiful reflection on a child born by caesarean section.  Wonderful!

The diversity and quality of the poetry was outstanding, the vulnerbality of most readers touching and palpable, the subjects intriguing (though one or two I didn't 'get').  I love listening to poetry, and enjoy the odd dabble in writing freefrom stuff or bits of humorous doggerel, but this was way out of my league!

Great fun.

According to tradition this was what St Francis said about preaching the gospe: use words only if there is no alternativel.  Easier said than done, I suspect.  For all that, I couldn't help feeling it happened last Sunday morning as we listened to a paraphrase of part of Mark's gospel and a small child, overseen by her mother spontaneously began to play quietly with some upturned paper cups on a low table that had been used for an activity taking place a few minutes eaelier.

Here's the paraphrase of Mark 9: 33-37 (wot I wrote, someone else read it)

Jesus and his friends had been walking to a place called Capernaum.  On the way the friends had been squabbling, so when they got inside the house where they were staying, Jesus asked them “what were you squabbling about?”

They all looked at each other and felt very silly, because they’d been squabbling about which one of them was the best and most important – who was ‘first’, top of the list of good disciples.  So they didn’t say anything.

Jesus sat down – I wonder if he was feeling a bit cross or a bit sad about how they were behaving? 

In the house was a little child, so Jesus called her over and sat her on his knee; then he called his friends over.  ‘Look,’ he said, ‘you are all squabbling about who is the best disciple and none of you is!  See this little child, who knows they aren’t big or important?  Who knows there is lots to learn and an exciting world to explore?  That’s what you should be like!  If you want to be first then you have to put yourself last and help other people.  If you welcome little children and unimportant people, then you are also welcoming me and, even welcoming God.’ 

The disciples were ashamed and tried to change the subject...

For me, and maybe only for me, it was a very beautiful moment, a visual sermon that could never have been prepared, a work of the Spirit perhaps.  A little girl in the middle of the grown-up disicples being a little girl, exploring, having fun, learning, being...

Preach the gospel - if necessary use words... but we like words, we like to listen to someone else's thoughts and weigh them up, so, on the whole that's what we do.

Jesus said 'unless you become like little chidlren you will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven" - these words are scary not comforting, at least for those of us who, like me, so easily lose contact with our inner children.

The Tour de France is in Yorkshire this Sunday and many churches are doing just what we have planned for the Commonwelth Games - great minds 'n' all that.

... the Coffee Club summer outing was, as ever, good fun despite the rain.  Loch Lomond is always worth a look-see.  Not a lot to post, just suffice to say that among the perks of ministry is time spent relaxing with church folk.

I recall, a long time ago, posting about the Karen Money song "One Golden Day", with its lyrics "I'd give the years away for one golden day."  Back then I found this a discomfitting idea, one to which I wasn't ready to give the assent of an 'amen'.  Nothing has changed in my thinking - I still wouldn't give the years away for any day I've had or could imagine.  Nonetheless, yesterday was pretty 'golden'.

It was a very long day, I was at church for a full twelve hours, and it involved three very different and equally great sections, at least as I experienced them.

In the morning we held our first All Age service of the summer and people engaged really well with the assorted activities - from 'show and tell' of medals, badges and trophies to 'javelin prayers' and all sorts in between.  I felt encouraged and the feedback was mainly very positive.

The afternoon was a C of S event for the local parish grouping, using our premises and open to anyone who wanted to come along.  The turnout was small but the quality of conversation really good as we explored a range of questions related to the values of Integrity, Justice, Wisdom and Compassion - the words inscribed on the mace of the Scottish Parliament.  It troubles me that the whole referrendum seems to be driven by tabloid agendas and/or people's views on current occupants of specific offices... and I think it troubles me more many people claim to be fed up with it already and so are not engaging.  Still, it was a great afternoon giving me plenty to mull over.

Then the evening, and the choral communion created by others from church.  With a combined choir of around 20 people, we were able to sing some lovely pieces (even with most parts split in two!) which combined with thoughtful readings and lovely hymns to make for a gentle and moving experience.

I arrived home 'whacked - in a good way' as I commented elsewhere.  It had been a 'golden day'.