Yesterday and tomorrow I have time with folk from NBLC in Manchester who are up in Glasgow for their staff retreat-cum-away-day-day-day.  As they are staying a short walk from the Gathering Place, albeit working with folk from SBC (no, not that SBC) they asked me if I could make some suggestions for activities for yesterday afternoon.  Most of them came on a West End walk with me (forcing me to do some homework on history/culture!) which included seeing the Dali in Kelvingrove (now re-sited in a better, if less than ideal, location) and eating cupcakes in a cupcake-shop.  In the evening they took me with them for a meal and to see the film Senna which was an interesting and poignant portrayal of the racing driver's life using a lot of archive footage as well as some reconstructions.

Today they are off looking at some projects in Motherwell with Stuart Blythe of the Scottish Baptist College and then tomorrow they gather in the Gathering Place for some reflective space before they head south again.

It was great to catch up with their news and to meet staff members who've been appointed recently.  It was great to show off my patch to people.  It was great to be part of a bigger Baptist scene.  And it will a privilege to host them tomorrow in our sparkling, refurbished lounge.

All good fun.

One of the delights of our church is the diversity of accents that can be heard on a Sunday morning.  Yesterday, though I was slightly bemused by a visitor who told me I had a west country accent...  East Anglia or Midlands maybe, North West England (with southern vowels) possibly, even a hint of Glasgow these days.  But west country....?  I don't think so!

As it happens probably a coincidence, but it was appropriate.

A lovely apocryphal tale of Ascension can be found here... it would make a delightful children's picture book methinks.

Yesterday after worship we had an end of year picnic for our students.  It was great fun and despite the weather forecast it remained dry and wasn't too chilly (it later got flippin' freezin' and rained).  The picnic took place in the roof garden of the flats opposite the church, where one of our members lives.  This is a decked area with some tubs and benches running around its perimeter.  It affords an alternative and quite quirky views of the environs.  It was something that the students wouldn't otherwise have been able to do, and as one of our most senior members observed, they are making memories.

It was a super culmination to a year of student events that began last September with an afternoon tea to which around 40-50 people came.  Of course not all the students who came stayed with us, but several have, and now as the year ended it was good to see how the relationships have developed.  From carrying tables from the church to the roof garden, to making humus, to buying cooked meat, to supplying crisps, all our students - and that's how we see them - played an active part in preparing for the event, this was not mere consumerism, it was a community gathering.

All in all a good day, in which the hairs-breadth gap between earth and heaven was narrowed just a little more.

This is a dedication kind for thing, for the 'girls' from Glasgow Kelvin Hall Active ABC class who are participating in the Glasgow Race for Life today. If you happen to be in the Glasgow Green area this morning you can cheer them on.  They will blend in well with everyone else no doubt, but will be wearing black tutus and pink cowboy hats along with their official teeshirts.

Here's to L, V, S, B, K, L, A, A, MF and N - go girls!

A while back I posted that I had ordered the USB stick recording of all the main sessions at the BUGB/BMS Baptist Assembly.  A little over a week ago it arrived, and I eagerly plugged it into my computer.  Some automatic software ran as I did so (not, so far as I have ascertained anything to do with my laptop) and I found I had a blank data stick.  Disappointed I contacted Essential Christian who were very helpful, sent me a new USB and undertook to investigate the problem.

Today my new USB stick arrived and I very tentatively plugged it into the same computer.  Immediately something started to run so I yanked it out again quickly, double checked all the settings on my machine, and then plugged it in again.  Some auto software ran but this time I discovered a full set of audio files - which I have now copied onto to my machine so they are safe.  Phew.

So, thanks to the nice people at Essential Christian for dealing with this in a professional and gracious manner without it all feeling too much like a trip to the proverbial Christian Bookshop.

I was a tad surprised that the USB wasn't read-only or protected, but at least I now have a functional version and can listen to all those speakers I've been wating to hear.