In yesterday's county council election I cast my vote based on what I believed was a 'credible alternative' to the BNP rather than the candidate I would ordinarily have chosen.  At one point yesterday a lovely black guy was taking timbers off the roof of the former chapel whilst a car saying 'vote BNP' sat opposite.  I could have wept.  I studied the list of candiates, thought what happened in the district council elections two years ago, and voted for the person I thought was most likely to stand a chance of being elected - I was right, she came second, but we still ended up with a BNP councillor, and I am very much saddened.

Yes, I believe in freedom of conscience and freedom of speech, but I also believe in truth, justice, freedom, mutual respect and responsibility.  I know there is an Anglican church at roughly D-1 with vocal BNP sympathisers, and both my Anglican collague and I have from the pulpit called on people to vote responsibly and avoid being beguiled by the lure of extremism (without breaking any laws of course!).  Even at our churches together meeting we touched on this topic.

Tonight I am sad.  I am sad for my Barbadean church member (though thankfully he doesn't live in this ward).  I am sad for the black guy who works so hard next door.  I am sad for the Chinese folk who run the takeway round the corner, the black TA at school and the Poles who work in the meat factory.   Above all I am sad for the 27% or so of those who voted who were beguiled or bewildered enough to vote as they did.

Now that our representation on both district and county councils is by extremists we find ourselves essentially silenced: the churches (rightly) tell us not to engage with these people, but who know can speak for us at council level?

Lord have mercy upon us all.

Luke 36b, pertaining to Anna the prophet.

Next week I have to speak at the local Women's Federation Rally, and after much wondering what on earth to talk about, found the story of Anna coming to mind.

We know so little about her and I found myself wondering about the story behind the story:

Anna had married (presumably in her early teens) but was widowed after seven years - so still a very young woman.  Had she had children?  Presumably not since she spent the rest of her life fasting and praying in the Temple (though she must have had some time off to eat otherwise she'd never have  lived to be 'very old').  How had she reacted to the 'curved ball' life threw her - hard to imagine a society with no safety net for a young widow, but she may well have been left destitute and for some reason never married again.  How was she treated by other people?  It seems that rather than growing bitter or resentful she found a new purpose in life - to all intents and purposes becoming some sort of Jewish nun!

But was the Temple really so much better?  As a woman she could only ever be on the periphery of Temple life, allowed so far and no further.  I wonder how many young couples she saw bringing their baby sons to the Temple?  I wonder how she felt when she was reminded once more of her own loss and sadness?

Anna was 'very old' and the psalmist sees silver hair as a righteous crown - so presumably Anna was recognised as a good person, albeit one whose life was out of the ordinary.

Unlike Simeon, Anna's words to Mary and Joseph are not recorded but she saw something special and thanked God for it, and spoke about the child she saw to those around her.  I wonder what this says to us about older people recognising God-given potential, affirming and encouraging it?

I don't quite know where the talk/sermon will go, but at least I now have a few ideas to play with!

Hat Tip to Angela for this fun website with pie charts to make you smile and say 'hmmm....'

So now I know how to get my papers done on time and to length!

So here's my first - I have just asked the university for a deadline extension for one of the two pieces I have to submit this year.  At one level I am very disappointed by this: I hate failing to meet deadlines, even those that are self-imposed, and have been known to work crazy hours to meet deadlines even when delays are caused by others.  At another level I am relieved: the pressures of pastoral life this year have meant that I have done very little research work and have struggled to find more than the odd hour here or there to write.  Indeed, had it not been for a couple of train journeys and flights I would not have had any significant writing time at all.

I am grateful for the option of a deadline extension, and don't feel too bad because I have at least negotiated it on honest grounds (I used to get very irritated with students who asked for extensions in week 1 because they'd booked their holidays at the time papers had to be submitted).  However, it isn't something I want to be making a habit of - it causes as much angst as it overcomes!  Now I just have to ensure that what I do submit is of good enough quality - and comments on the draft of the paper I will submit  in July suggest that with a bit of tidying up, it will be.  Phew.

And for those who never thought they'd see this day.... as some of you have said to me at various times, never say never!

Wow, that was an interesting afternoon!  45 minutes of quick fire questions on anything from angelology to theodicy to vegetarianism to universalism and everywhere in between!  Not that any of it was expressed in those terms of course, eight year olds aren't able to to use that kind of language, but some good questions none the less.

Are angels real?  How old are they?  How many are there? - So I talked about special messengers from God and that no one can ever be quite sure if they've seen one as they most probably look like people.  I never did read about the arguments over how many angels can dance on the head of a pin, so I have no idea how many there are... ;-)

How did we get here - creation or evolution (I tried to offer theistic evolution, without using that language, as a middle course rather than seeing the two as diametrically opposed).  Why did God make the universe?  Why are we here?

Why do we grow old?  What happens when we die?  Do animals go to heaven?  Will we be near people we know in heaven?  How big is heaven and will it be a squash?  Are heaven and hell kingdoms of the dead?  Is there a devil?  What is heaven like... or hell?  I told them I have no idea what heaven (or hell) might be like but that the Bible promises something that is free from suffering, sorrow and death.  I talked about a God who wants everyone to experience that but who respects our freedom to choose otherwise, that I hope hell is empty but that it's not for me to know.  I talked about death as being a bit like birth - a transition from one form of living to another, and of a God of mercy and love.

Who invented Christianity (no, I didn't say St Paul)? If Jesus was a Jew how come his followers are Christians?  How did God raise Jesus from the dead?

Loads of great questions - including the ubiquitous "who made God" - and then right at the end the one that only someone has who has listened carefully to what you've said and who knows a few Bible stories can ask: "if God is merciful, how come Adam and Eve were expelled from the garden of Eden?"  I spoke about choices and consequences, of how God provided them with clothes and food, but that this was as much as anything a story about growing up: free will means we can choose our actions but that if we make bad choices we can't expect there to be no consequences.  Not quite a traditional 'fall' hermeneutic but one that I felt was appropriate and honest.

I think I did more theological thinking in 45 minutes than I normally do in a year.  It was great fun - and I hope they found it helpful.  Quite what they'll go home and tell their parents I don't know, but hopefully I was an 'ok' ambassador for Christ.