Well with all the cakes sold, most of the bringings bought and some generous donations in, I can announce that we raised £260 and a few pence for Elpis.  That was a great weekend's work.

We also have a huge stack of shoeboxes ready to go off with Operation Christmas Child to bring hope to children who would otherwise have a pretty bleak time.

And we had so many children present that I didn't have enough hyacinth bulbs to dole out one each, so they had to have one per family (parents probably relieved not to have to nurture too many plants!).  So one per family and two to the two people I think were the most senior present.

The church meeting that followed got through a lot of stuff in an hour, and we were all out of the building by about 2:30.

So now it's time to chill for a while!  Overall a good weekend's endeavours.

Thanks to the bakers and partakers we had a good morning and raised £100.81 for Elpis, which I am sure will be put to excellent use in supporting vulnerable young women.  If you missed out and are in our neck of the woods tomorrow morning, we will be selling bakes of all sorts after the service to top up the gift we are able to make to this charity.

We will also be gatherig in shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child and holding a Church eeting- so a busy day ahead.

Every year, around this time, I am busily sorting out Advent reflections, downloading new music for meditation, searching for new slants on Advent candle liturgies and generally wondering where the year has gone.

As has been my practice most years since ordination, I try to get 'Christ the King' Sunday as a day off, not because I have any issues with it as a theme, but because I need a quick breather before the busy time that is Advent and Christmas.

As the light fades on another Friday afternoon, I think I'm almost there. 

I have found a candle liturgy with which I am reasonably happy (still wondering if it needs a few tweaks as the balance week to week is a little odd in places) and which will allow me to use one of my favourite Advent hymns verse by verse as the Sundays pass by.

By the wonders of technology, I have purchased some music to use within the Advent reflections... it is currently residing on some metaphorical cloud in cyberspace, but I can download it when I'm home and have the desired medium loaded up.

I even got as far as searching for some ideas for the Christmas Eve service...

Always a slightly odd time of year for me... thinking ahead how to make Advent and Christmas menainful, enjoyable and special for other people, and trying to work how to fit in all the friends and family visits in the few days off that we share thereafter!

Tomorrow morning is the Coffee Morning for Elpis, the local charity that supports vulnerable and homeless young women.  With promises of lots of yummy home-baking and a bring 'n' buy stall, it should be a lovely morning, and I hope will raise a useful sum for the charity.  I have exercised some restraint in my own baking this time - possibly not as much as people think I should, but it's fun - so here I am showing off a box of cakes that's all ready to go...

If you happen to be in the West End of Glasgow between 10:30 and midday, do drop by, grab a cuppa and say 'hi'.

Sunday is our shoebox collection day for Operation Christmas Child, and my box is sitting waiting to go.  Sending love and hope in a box - seems like a great gift to offer.

Slightly quieter week ahead next week after three that have been very full-on... still working on that plan of mine to work only sensible numbers of hours! 

Making cakes is pretty relaxing and enjoyable (and definitely NOT work) so I had fun making these.

Today's PAYG used as its reading Wisdom (of Solomon) 7:22b - 8:1 as follows: