As a quick canter through those last couple of weeks I will now write a few paragraphs to bring you up to date.
On Monday 10th my car went in for MOT and service the cost of which was expensive and got me thinking about changing my car to a cheaper and more economical one – which would mean a break from a seventeen year run of Mercedes cars. I am impressed with the Kia range and will look at the Rio.
On Wednesday 12 June I got up at 4 a.m. to drive to London Heathrow Airport, Terminal 3, to greet my in-laws off their American Airlines flight from Raleigh/Durham. They arrived nearly an hour early and I took them for an English breakfast at Popham on the way back. That afternoon the whole Huffey family (13 in all) met up in Salisbury at the Hampton Inn. That evening I left the family playing cards (predictive whist) to attend a Deanery Synod meeting where I gave a short presentation on Morning Star.
The following day I took my father-in-law to the Ageas Bowl to watch a very poor performance by Hampshire against Gloucestershire in the Cricket County Championship (they went on to lose by 198 runs). This was followed by a quick drive around Southampton, an Indian meal in Commercial Road and a really good performance of the musical Cats at the Mayflower. Friday 14th saw me spending time writing up a sermon for Sunday at Sarum College followed by a meeting of the Alabare Finance and Resources Committee at Salisbury Hospital. David and Andrea left for Cornwall on Saturday 15th and I spent some of the day finalising my sermon.
On Sunday 16th I preached for the first time from the pulpit at All Saints, Winterslow, complete with robes. I believe that this had the effect of the congregation having a different perspective on my ministry and training – quite a few members assuming I would be continuing my training towards ordination.
Monday 17th was a catch-up day and Tuesday 18th saw me over in Chippenham for a meeting of Wiltshire Province Secretaries. I also visited Chippenham Motors to pick up the mats and cleaning equipment for Sara’s new car and also discussed the possibility of buying a brand new Kia Rio to replace the Mercedes. Wdnesday 19 was a training day with me attending a half-day course on chaplaincy put on by Alabare and the evening saw me back at Seend for my penultimate session on pastoral care. This was taken by Stella and looked at pastoral care to the elderly. David and Andrea returned back from Cornwall early due to the poor weather they had been having.
On Thursday 20th I had my monthly meeting with Nils and we had our usual house group session in the evening. I attended Ambassadors’ Business Breakfast Club on Friday morning and then drove to reading for a meeting with a client at the famous Sweeney’s Pie Shop. We had pies for evening supper followed by a couple of rounds of predictive whist. On Saturday 22nd I took David and Andrea to Southampton to look around the Solent Sky Aviation Museum followed by a drive down to Calshot Point and Hythe to see where the Schneider Trophy races took place and look at some of the “sailboats” as the Americans call them. On Sunday, after having written a sermon, I led the service at Whaddon but the preaching came from a roman Catholic Deacon, John Detain, who was absolutely excellent – a much better sermon than the one I had prepared. We also had a barbecue for all the Huffey’s at our house which meant much cleaning of the barbecue and getting a fresh gas bottle.
Sara and I visited Chippenham Motors again on Tuesday 25th June and after test driving a Rio and a Pro’Ceed I placed an order for the Pro’Ceed (despite its silly name!). A great deal because the style is changing – some £3,000 off plus road tax of only £20 per year, 78 miles to a gallon of diesel, cheaper servicing and insurance and a seven year warranty. I am to pick it up on Saturday although the personalised number plate will have to be put on later. Exciting day.
On Wednesday 26th I had a Team Staff meeting at the vicarage in alderbury after mid-week Eucharist at St. Mary’s Hall, Whaddon – it was well attended for a mid-week service with 17 there. Tonight, after a quick call in at Chippenham motors to sign some paperwork, it was our last session at Seend on the pastoral care module and we had supper with our tutor, Howard, at the Bell Inn in Seend. After the session he gave each of us a book to help us with our ministry – the book he gave me was “Who are you – when nobody is looking?” by Bill Hybels. He had beautifully inscribed it and I shall treasure it. I like his idea of a “prayer-walk” around his library in choosing the books for each of us.
On Thursday 27th Sara and I had coffee with Bev at Morning Star and I then did some gardening – I am glad I did as we had heavy rain in the afternoon. This evening I went with Nils and Elizabeth to a training session on healing at Landford Methodist Hall – organised by David Bacon. An interesting session but still leaves me feeling unsure about what is going on at these. Certainly the holy spirit is present but do you need to actually summon him up, or is it just channelling energy. When time permits I would like to explore this some more.
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