.. is as good as a rest?  Not sure!  I've just had an intense two days of mentor training right on top of yet another round of "death and serious illnesses" in church.  It's been good fun, and good training, reminding me that my learning style is a 'reflective-theorist' or a 'theorist reflector,' that I am an otter (co-ordinator) with a slight preference for beaverishness rather than a lion or a labrador!  A lot of it was about self awareness and the dangers of assuming other people are like ourselves.  So, as a loyal-perfectionist (enneagram) ISTJ (Myers Briggs) reflective-theorist (Honey and Mumford) otter (unknown)  I can be sure all my readers are different from me - think I knew that anyway, but it was fun.  And plenty of chocolate too.

Among the devotional material was this, which I really liked:

A candle-light is a protest at midnight.

It is a non-conformist.

It says to the darkness

"I beg to differ"

Samuel Rayan, India

Now I have to go to see the Anglicans plug in their new vicar!

Today was planned as a reflective service on the seven great 'O' antiphons; because it was a joint service with D+1, and a communion service, and because I was off last Sunday, it had been planned a while back, the 14 Bible readings distributed and the hymns, beautifully mournful with Advent longing, selected.

Then came a request for an infant blessing, a little girl, whose great uncle once belonged to our Sunday School.  For pastoral reasons, I agreed to slot it in to today's service rather than opt for after Christmas.  And so in the midst of our wonderful reflective hymns we had... 'All Things Bright and Beautiful' chosen by the parents as the only hymn they knew.  The absurdity of it was stark, but it was a joy and privilege to double our congregation as family and friends came to give thanks for their new daughter.  I had to smile when the response to the questions in the promises was 'yup' rather than 'we do,' but was glad to have the opportunity to pray for this little girl and her parents.

It wasn't quite the service I'd planned, and singing 'All Things bright and Beautiful' was so out of place... or was it?  Isn't part of the wonderful mystery of Advent the ridiculous idea that God would come as a baby? Isn't part of what we express in the wonderful hymns of Advent a deep longing to be surprised, to discover the joy of new life and new hope in the darkness of winter.

The service wasn't the quiet space for reflection I'd imagined, but I dare to hope that in some way we encountered the God who is with us, and who has the audacity to arrive at a time when actually we aren't expecting it.

Before I vanish again - way too much happening around here, so much that I've lost my booked-and-paid-for Advent Quiet Day tomorrow (2 funerals) - here are a couple of online spaces for a short Advent reflection each day:

Hopeful Imagination - a group blog (may miss the odd day)

Northern Baptist College - 10-15 min liturgy.

Experience.  Enjoy.

And as I'll be there too - share!

Updated: if you want to travel through Advent with a URC minister, Craig has some reflections and links worth a look here

In a little over a week's time I have been invited to attend a service where my new Anglican colleague will be 'collated and installed.'  Does that amount to 'sorting her out' then 'plugging her in'?  Glad we just get inducted!

Last night I was bemoaning the number of requests I've been getting to conduct funerals - I *could* have been (am not) doing four this week.  I said to the person, 'I wish all these people would stop dying.'

Her reply? 'Well, have a word with your boss then!'

Hmmm.