'Catalyst' as the name for a day conference is popular in Baptist circles just now.

In Scotland there is a day conference on human sexuality bearing the title 'Catalyst Scotland' and in England there are two one-day conferences (in Manchester and Reading) organsied by BMS called 'Catalyst Live' which will explore a whole range of topics with some top international theologians - Jurgen Moltmann for one.

I won't be going to the Scottish one, I am sure many people will, and will find it helpful, but it's not for me.  It's a topic I've wrestled with on and off for at least 15 years and eventually reached a place where I wasn't going to wait for my head to catch up with my heart.  If that makes me a heretic or doomed, well I'm in incredibly good company.

I am going to the BMS one, and I really excited about it.  Can't say more today, as I am one of five Baptist bloggers who have been invited to post about it, and my day is tomorrow.  Finding the links to the blogs on the Catalyst site demands a lot of digging, but you can find them here.  One blog a day for a week - so look out for mine tomorrow, here and there.

You can find out more about BMS Catalyst Live here.

Today has been a pretty busy day, with never a dull moment.  I have made reasonable progress in researching aspects of our Harvest Thanksgiving service for Sunday - hope everyone who attends finds it enjoyable and meaningful.  I have taken in a consignment of refuse sacks and waved off a baptistry on its journey back to Yorkshire!  In between I've enjoyed a home visit, written up some notes and answered a few emails.  None of this makes for entertaining reading but it is afterall the stuff of routine that we all face.

It's good to be back in harness, and good to have a more 'ordinary' week this week after the busyness and excitement of last week.

New working patterns that will be a bit more sensible and a little less kn*ckerating are being developed, so things are looking good.  (Just wish they'd bring back the spell checker on this blog platform!!)

It has been a very busy weekend, and a tiring one, but very, very good.

Yesterday we had a wonderful baptismal service...

Today we had an equally wonderful covenant service during which we welcomed into membership the person who was baptised yesterday.

Using the Five Core Values, which formed the covenant at my induction four years ago, we renewed our commitment to be WIMPS together (worshipping, inclusive, missionary, prophetic, sacrificial).  My sermon was a tad longer than average, but somehow or other we got through it all in 100 minutes (including lots of notices) and no-one complained it was too long.

My preaching muscles are flabby after three months off and I am fairly drained after the dramtic weekend we've shared... it will be lovely to 'take in' this evening, and then to have a quiet day off tomorrow.

Today we are baptising one of our folk who will be received into membership tomorrow.  This is a little unusual, though hardly unique, and is the right thing for us to be doing.  This is not the unusualness to which I am alluding.  It is unusual (though I am sure not unique) in that minister, assistant and candidate are all women... and I am fairly confident it will be a first in the Baptist Union of Scotland.

It's funny (peculiar not ha ha) that for the most part our mental images of events in church life are with male leaders... if you look on line a baptism photos it is, by and large, men (with male assistants if they deign to have them) doing the dunking.  The other three baptisms I've conducted have all had male assitants (deliberately, and for diverse reasons) so this is a first for me.

We had a great time at our 'dry run' with lots of laughter, which we followed with tea and scones.  I pray that our candidate and all who participate today will have a wonderful, meaningful time.  I joking said to the candidate she's be able to walk on water afterwards - when the internal steps of the portable baptistry refused to sink it looked like my words might prove true!!  (Sorted now)

PS I agreed not to put ducks in the baptistry (after the service) this time but am still on the look out for an alternative!!

The first week back is almost done... 'just' the Baptism service tomorrow and then Sunday worship to go.  It's been busy, quite a lot of hours worked, quite a lot still to do, and I am tired... in a good way.

So it was delivery pizza (expensive, but a treat) for tea, washed down with a large mug of tea, and now I will go and sort a few final bits for tomorrow.

Tired and happy - a good way to be on Friday evening.