Seasons of the parish

For some time now, I've been conscious of a cyclical nature accompanying the tasks of the parish. Whilst there is always an element of unpredictability, things do tend to come along in seasons. Funerals, visiting, schools work, meetings, admin. I could become jaded, like the writer of Ecclesiastes, who declared: "What has been is what will be and what has been done is what will be done. There is nothing new under the sun." But the wonderful thing about ministry is that, constantly, ministers have the privilege of working with so many different people in a fascinating variety of roles and context. Pausing for a moment, as the church revs up again after the summer, to take stock of the open access afforded to parish ministers, is a sobering exercise accompanied by a tremendous sense of responsibility. A task only achievable when empowered and accompanied by the spirit of God, Ministry is certainly not a comfortable place for loners or for the weary or for those who don't like surprises. God leads us collaboratively into the most unlikely situations and infuses energy and, thankfully, lots of humour along the way.

Bird's eye view

What do you see from your lofty perch

as you gaze with haughty disdain?

What is captured in your bird's eye view?

alert for the smallest grain

or crumb of comfort

carelessly dropped

by the ant like humans below

whose lives are a drudge

that they carry around

as the seasons come and go.

The rich pickings of summer

are swept into autumn

like leaves that are shriveled and dry

Yet still you keep watch

from your cloud covered throne

not yet ready to fly

from the drama unfolding

new every day

with connections not yet understood

and a tear forms at the corner

of your little bead eye

as you recall another who perched

with a view much like yours

and who wept at the sight

of the lost and the lonely and weary souls

with no hope in their hearts to bring light.

One who could see, as you're seeing now

that it's not the way it should be

if they'd only look up

all would be changed

by the love that sets prisoners free

and drab, weary lives

would be transformed by joy

and colour would steal through the gray

and the rainbow reflected

in the puddles of life

would herald the dawn of a new day.

Take time to play

What struck me about this photo - apart from the obvious danger of planking on a railway line - albeit one used only by steam engines- was the fact that it's the adults who are playing while the children look on in bemusement. Adults don't often take time out to play. Responsibility and the pressures of time weigh us down and keep us from many things that might bring some relief and some balance into our lives.
Ask yourself: When was the last time you played?
How could you create time and space for a healthy balance of work and play in your life?
Then go do it.
BUT NEVER EVER PLAY ON THE RAILWAY LINE!!!

Picturing the word

Had another wonderfully creative day with the spill the beans team today. There is lots of midnight oil to be burned in putting advent and epiphany to bed but what a wonderfully stimulating session of just looking at the word, seeing it and hearing it from so many angles and with so many nuances. Today I also became aware of something very obvious - there is no reason that we can't have that sort of tussle with the text with folk in our congregations on a regular basis. No preparation needed - just a willingness to let the text speak for itself!

Who do you say I am?

There were lots of interesting answers to Jesus' question at church this morning.
Who do you say I am?:
My guide and my friend...
My everything...
My Lord and my God...
The one we aspire to emulate...
My Saviour...
Son of God...

What do you say?

Energy in distractions

I've always maintained that parish ministry is sustained by work outside the parish. And this week has borne that out. Several meetings I've been involved in over the last few days have addressed issues affecting the wider church. Concentrating on these for a time helps give new perspective to the everyday tasks of serving this local community. And stimulating discussion with colleagues brings renewed energy and enthusiasm, an energy and enthusiasm that filters back into parish work. Serving the wider church does not diminish parish ministry but enriches it.

What now?

I am conscious that, living in Scotland, unaffected personally, by rioting and looting in England, distance provides a degree of luxury. But I am dismayed at the angry and vengeful tone of a government who, let's face it, are also, on the whole, not personally affected - unless, of course, you count loss of votes and loss of confidence of constituents.
To think that plans were in place to use torture such as plastic bullets and water canons is horrific. And this without any plans to address the underlying issues that have undoubtedly escalated to boiling point, erupting in the violence we have witnessed this week.
If, as someone suggested, Scotland was unaffected because we have a different culture and a different perspective on community, shouldn't we try to identify the values on which these are based? However you want to brand rioters and looters, surely we desperately want to examine how we as a society have failed people to such a degree that they resort to such means of protest.
There were a number of Facebook discussions this week on the role of the church in contributing to the brokenness of society. Of course the church must always be prepared to examine its shortcomings. However addressing those shortcomings will not involve the church becoming more hard line and uncompromising (like our government seems to be set on). Responding to such a broken society requires love and acceptance and understanding and, above all, grace - supposedly the forte of the church.

Fire of the Spirit

This morning, I had one of the most intense spiritual conversations I have had for some time - with one of the fire fighters who visited our Holiday Club. We talked of good and evil, of love and death, of angst and expression, of the dark side and edgy music, of the pursuit of happiness and inner contentment...
Conversations like that used to be more frequent when I served as a hospital chaplain but, now that I am a parish minister and, in many ways, more identified with the institutional church, it is, for some reason - probably many reasons - hard to get beyond the religious and denominational pleasantries.
This morning, it was good to be able to affirm once more that I am "right off religion" and not experience a shocked reaction.
A brief encounter - but a breath of fresh air. Thanks be to God.