Should you ever be bored and in need of light entertainment, start searching Ebay or some such for wig accessories... I decided it made sense to purchase a wig-stand in anticipation of 'hanging up my hair on the wall'* so set out to find something inexpensive and suitable from said site.  Whilst I was at it, I checked out a few of the other accessories the coming months may necessitate, to discover that almost all of them said "one size, fits most."  I think that is really shorthand for 'probably fits 90th percentile male'.

All of which serves as a reminder that there is a balance to be struck between affirming and celebrating individuals within a wider framework that is 'good enough' for 'most people, most of the time' without assuming that 'one size fits all.'  It is one of the ongoing challenges faced by all churches, recognising that there is no one universal 'shape' or 'size' or 'style' that will 'fit' all, that we are not some kind of amorphous blob that'll 'do' but that our uniqueness is as significant as our universality.

Many years ago when I was being taught theory around pastoral care, one of the writers made a series of statements that is blatantly obvious but encapsulates something of this tension.  Each person is

• in some ways like every other person
• in some ways like some other people
• in some ways like no other person

I think the same is true of churches, and that it is in finding a healthy balance of these attributes that we become what we are called to be.  I don't think it's true that 'one size fits most', more that perhaps many people can find an adequate fit if their uniqueness is affirmed within a wider uniformity.  What makes a church 'fit' different people will be a unique blend of things,it may be size or sttyle or doctrine, but it may not - I have felt 'adequate fit' in churches of all sorts and szies over the years, and to be honest it has been more about authenticity than theology, more about welcome than wow-factor.  Folk who come into the Gathering Place usually comment that they feel that they matter for who they are, and that we neither assume nor demand 'fit' with who what we are.  I think we're getting something about right.

* Among the more bizarre claims of my family is that our Jewish side includes someone who was a music hall entertainer in East London, to whom family legend attributes the creation of some of the dafter ditties of that time, including the following:

After the ball was over, she took out her glass eye

Put her false teeth in the basin, opened her bottle of dye,

Stuck her false leg in the corner, hung up her hair on the wall,

All that was left of her, went to bed, after the ball.

Don't know if it's true, but it lends suitable levity to the situation.

Just a little teaser for the reader.

Today was our usual Coffee Club day, and as ever, a goodly number of us took over the settees of the local hostelry to sup lattes, capuccinos or teas and share in some good 'crack'.  It is a special point in our week.  A time and place of deeper sharing, where memories are recalled and life-stories begin to be shared in an atmosphere of open trust and mutual support.  From the wonderful influx of students over the weekend to the state of someone's back step; from our concerns and frustrations about reactions of the wealthy nations to the Commonwealth Games to concerns for folk on the edge of our church, conversation flowed far and wide and was genuine.

It is the deeper sharing that strikes me - the people telling their stories, discovering overlaps in their pasts, saying 'I never knew that...' which builds and stengthens the bonds that unite us.

So to Padgate.  Area of Warrington and former barracks where endless national servicemen began their training.  It transpired someone from church had spent some time there... Over the years countless people have told me this, which makes me wonder just how many poeple passed through that place over the years.  Padgate is the home of DJ Chris Evans, of several of 'my' former GB girls and a place that is part of my past too.  A nowhere place, full of nowhere people... a lot like every other place on earth.  And a place where lives are shaped, stories formed and memories made.

Telling out stories, finding our connections, it seems to me to be a good thing to do... for we are, afterall, part of the one Body.

Now I know this is a naive post, that issues are complex and I don't really know what I'm talking about but...

The Commonwealth Games venue in Delhi is not ready, there are big problems to be overcome in not a lot of time and so what happens... nations that are relatively rich huff and puff and threaten to walk away.  So where is the 'common' in 'commonwealth'?  Rather than mud-slinging why can't we as a group of nations pull together and show the world something different?

I'm sure India has worked hard to get ready, the last thing they need is a kick in the teeth from other nations.  A bit of 'common' sharing of the 'wealth' would seem good to me.  But as I said, that's just naive.

Yesterday I was chatting with someone about the wonderful number of students who landed at our doorstep over the weekend and the general excitement this had created among our people (rightly so).  She told me about the evening service and an example of the mystery and wonder of God's humour.  A couple of young male students had set off on Sunday evening to find a specific charismatic C of S church in town.  Getting well and truly lost, they landed on our doorstep just as this couple were passing on their way to the joint service with our local C of S.  Offered a lift, the lads accepted (pretty brave of them) and arriving at the service, one discovered he already knew one of our folk through other interests (cue spooky music) and then offered to collect the books after the service because that's what he did in his own church.  Wow!!

The most heard comment from all the students over the weekend was that they felt welcomed and wanted - what more could we wish?

Don't you just love how God's mischief makes more sense than our planning and fretting?

If nothing else, the turn my life has taken is introducing me to whole new worlds I didn't know before.  It is an unchosen adventure, but it is not without its lighter moments.

Yesterday saw the foray into the world of wig-buying.  Well, the NHS did the buying (and a scary amount of money it was too when I looked at the price tag afterwards).  The shop was one of those delightfully olde worlde places that is located on the fifth floor of a mutli-purpose building in a lane in the centre of town.  A lift carries you upwards from ground level and deposits you in a narrow tiled corridor facing a frosted glass door that would look entirely at home in a 1950s film set.

But this is no ordinary lift, it is the old fashioned gated type, complete with jolly, uniformed lift attendant who announces himself as an angel descended from above to escort you on your journey.  It must be a strange job, riding up and down all day, waiting between floors for someone to summons you to take them where they wish to go.  He must see all manner of people riding upwards to the wig-shop, clutching their NHS vouchers and anxiously wondering what lies beyond the frosted glass door.

So, the wig-shop.  Thankfully free of weird and wonderful theatrical oddities, it was far less daunting than I'd feared it might be.  The majority of items on display were remarkably ordinary, which was reassuring.  No bizarre shapes or colours, just fairly ordinary looking styles in normal colours.  Apologies all those who anticipated some wacky session trying on weird wigs, but that was never going to happen, and I'm glad the possibility didn't arise... my inner shy person would have simply crumpled.

Amusingly, the background music was Katrina and the Waves singing Walking on Sunshine and it didn't take too long to find something I felt I could cope with - a bit lighter than my natural colour, parted the other side and with a hint of the Jennifer Aniston's about it, but overall something I'll be comfortable to have a go with.

For someone who has never been bothered with hair and beauty, being thrust into a world of specialist brushes and sprays and goodness knows what else is quite an eye-opener.  I can't quite see me emerging the other side of this as fashion-woman (way too many more interesting things to do/be) but I am certainly discovering whole new worlds.

And the divine humour of the self-professed angel and song playing in the background just made me smile.