Someone asked me, a week or so back, why I am so fond of thebook/letter of James.  It's pretty simple really... the writer calls a spade a spade.  It is down to earth, practical, and definitely challenging.  And that, for me, is enough.

Today was James 3, and the challenge of 'guarding the tongue', especially in an era of instant messaging.  It was, as ever, as much a sermon to myself as to anyone else.  In a week when we have seen writ large some of the dangers of ill-conceived high-tech, high-speed, communicaitons, and of dishonesty and distortion, perhaps it was quite apposite.

Earlier this week I posted that a friend had died suddenly of a heart attack and another had been diagnosed with secondary cancer.  I got home from church today to the news that, this morning, the second of these had died today, just a couple of weeks after her secondary diagnosis.  Neither these, not the third person I mentioned, are/were close friends, but friends nonetheless.  People with whom I'd shared laughter and banter, who put me right when I was out of line, who lived fully and loved generously.

Today's news is extra hard - this was someone whose breast cancer diagnosis was a few months after mine, and whose prognosis, on paper, was as good or better.  In less than two years, her journey has ended, and I pray she is now at peace, free from pain.

Learning to live with this kind of uncertainty, befriending people and knowing that sooner or later this kind of news will arise, is demanding, but I wouldn't have it any other way, not now, not knowing these people who share of themselves, freely and unstintingly.

To be honest, these deaths have not caused me fear or anxiety for myself, but deep sadness for their families and frineds.  Nowadays I have litte tolerance for, what I perceive to be, pettyness, selfishness or stupidity.  It is an old cliche to say 'live each day as if it were your last' or even 'carpe diem', yet the further I walk the path of NEDness the stronger, not weaker, that sense becomes.  It is always the case that, 'there but for the grace of God go I'.

RIP A, RIP K, may your families find release and comfort now, and may their memories of you inspire them to live life fully.

This afternoon was simply brilliant!  It was out third annual Freshers' tea and it was the best yet.  I'm sure it helped that it was a dry day and that our returning students all came and helped run it.  I'm sure it helped that a few overseas students had already found us and brought friends.  And I'm sure it helped that we made extensive use of social networking (Facebook, Twitter) as well as leaflets, posters, church website.  A big 'thank you' to BUS who posted it on their Facebook page.

I think I counted 22 new students, as well as six returners, so it was a wonderful atmosphere.  The wolfed down my cakes, and the vegan ones, and the pancakes and tea bread.  They decorated cup cakes to take home.  They were blown away with the goody bags of silly gifts.  The grown-ups chomped the gorgeous sandwiches.

At the end of a week that has not been so easy, it was just wonderful.  Gales of laughter.  Several different languages too, as we had people from... Kenya, China, Italy, Sweden, Catalonia (Spain), China... fan-tas-tic!

Photos... one table with its 'afternoon tea' stand; my namesake with a group of Catalonian students; a view from 'on high'; some of the cakes the students decorated.

This week has been rather crazy... and still has three days to go, if I assume Sunday as its end [discuss].  It has had plenty of good moments and plenty of anxious ones too.  It has been ministry in glorious technicolour, if by that we mean anything but grey (however many shades!) monotony.

My blog.  My rules.  So, OK, it's been pretty stressful one way and another.

It began with news of one friend being diagnosed with secondary cancer, another with a life limiting disease and a third dying, suddenly, of a heart attack.  The fragility of life and the seeming injustice of 'fate' have been writ pretty large.

It has continued with my over-developed sense of responsiblity, and unhealthy enneagram mix of 'loyal' and 'perfectionst' meaning I have over-reflected and taken personally things that other people maybe wouldn't.  With a solid proddy work ethic and enough guilt to make a great catholic, I'm on a hiding to nothing!!

There have been some really good bits - each of the Bible studies went really well, people engaged with the subject matter and we had great discussions.  Coffee Club was as ever good fun and all my many pastoral meetings seemed to go well.

As I type this, I do have a draft sermon ready for final editing and tweaking, before I bake cupcakes and fill goody bags for the student welcome tea tomorrow.  These are all good.

Being a minster-type person is a challenge - you simultaneously need the hide of a rhino with the softness of a kitten, strength with vulnerability, determination without domination.  I suspect that sometimes I try too hard, and that's why I end up stressed, stroppy, sleepless... But, I think I'd rather care too much than not enough.

So, today was the second 'launch' of the Big-hearted Lyfe stuff.  I took a very different tack with the group today, added a bit more of Matthew 13 and cross referenced a few other passages.  It was a very different discussion, but just as good as that on Monday.  There were six of us, including two new people, and two others were unable to attend.  We pondered the ambiguity of defining things as 'good' or 'bad' - be that music or food or science or television or whatever.  We set the scary separation parables alongside such verses as 'judge not lest you be judged' and 'mercy triumphs over justice' which was quite helpful, I think.  We then picked up the two middle parables (hidden treasure and pearl of great price) which are largely ignored in the Lyfe guide.  We asked ourselves just what (if anything) would prompt us to give up all we had.

Of course we finished up with tea and cakes, it's the eleventh commandment.  It all seemed to go well, a happy afternoon to round off a productive and enjoyable day.

This week has been a bit 'up and down' and I think that's more about my over-sensitivity than anything.  However, it seems to be improving steadily towards an action packed weekend of cupcakes and new students.  Yippee!