Spring Harvest Day 5

 

 

I can’t believe how quickly this year’s spring harvest has gone – to think that tonight we will be packing to leave tomorrow.  Sara has arranged to have Paul in the car on the way back and I will journey back with Cynthia – to allow me to have a natter about quite a few things surrounding the Ministry Team.  Again, we missed the Big Start but watched it on the chalet TV.  Down to the Big Top in time for the last of Gerard Kelly’s four bible study sessions – what an amazing speaker he is and he has really brought John’s first Epistle alive for me.  I’ve read it a number of times but his exposition of it over these past few days has been such a revelation.  I feel so empowered by it and I will buy the resources of the DVD and study guide to share this experience with the House Group.  After coffee in the Skyline, Sara and I went to Whitehall for the final session with Ruth and Duncan (the Think Zone). About half way through this we received a tweet that Baroness Margaret Thatcher had died and a great sadness came over both of us.  Eight years ago,  whilst at Spring Harvest we had learned of  the death of Pope John Paul II.  During my years as a Conservative politician, I had admired the way in which, as Prime Minister, she had led our country through economic revival and great standing in foreign affairs.  Her stance on the Argentinian invasion of the Falkland Islands had been magnificent.  An era ended this morning.  At 87, she had lived a good age and her passing was very reminiscent of that of Winston Churchill in 1965.  A shock but not a surprise.  Many people who didn't like her have started to say and write horrible tweets and posts.  Whatever you may think of her strident politics, she was still somebody to admire.  Our current political leaders do well to have the courage of their convictions- as she did.    We had a quiet afternoon, deciding to stay in the chalet and look round the stalls for resources. During the course of this, and following Wess Stafford’s talk last night, Mary and Thom decided that they wanted to sponsor a little girl living in Bangladesh called Shima.  We became the 100^th family to sponsor a child this week and official photographs were taken for Compassion’s website.  We gave the Big top a miss tonight – the speaker was Debra Green whom I do not find all that inspiring – certainly not after Wess Stafford’s talk last night – the best and most inspiring talk I can remember for quite some time.  Instead, Sara and I went to the Sports Arena to listen to Malcolm Duncan again expound on his views on same sex marriage.  Whilst he is prepared to embrace homosexuality and accepts gay people as God’s people he cannot condone nor will be officiate at same sex marriages as there is simply, in his view, no scriptural authority for doing so.  An interesting debate which will go on and on, I’m sure.  I share the same view as Malcolm – unless scripture can convince me that same sex marriage can be ordained I struggle with the concept.  Leaving aside scripture for a moment, I just don’t feel it’s right either.  An evening or more packing after we got back to the chalet.  The one thing we haven’t had much of this year is the party discussion in the evening over drinks and nibbles. Each of the four groups who have made up our party have been quite separate this time.