This picture was projected onto the screen and prompted gales of laughter, especially from the children.

"it's Mr Tickle" one exlcaimed

"it's a peek-a-boo person" another called out

"he's hugging himself" observed a third

There is a time and place for quiet, reflective worship, and a time for unbridalled giggling - this was the latter.

Btw, it is officially a 'huggy' emoticon

Today's PAYG was based on the story of Jesus healing the Roman Centurion's sevant/child/'boy' and a simple, but profound, question was posed...

The centurion was described as possessing three attrributes: authority, faith and humility.  Of these, which one do you want?

Go ponder!

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.