Meeting friends in Chichester

I may have missed having an  English breakfast at Ambassadors' yesterday morning, but I certainly didn't miss two bacon butties, coffee and orange juice at St. Paul's this morning.  I decided to join their Men's Bacon, Butties and Bible group today as a means of enjoying some bible study from another group to my own house group and to meet some of the men who attend St. Paul's.  I was made to feel extremely welcome and the study was well put together and presented.  I was pleased to be able to contribute something and was thanked for doing so.  Of particular interest was meeting Chirs Reynard again.  I knew him when I lived in Brighton and he had then become the chaplain at Salisbury General Hospital for about ten years.  He did come and preach to us once at Winterslow.  He has a connection with Alderbury and we had a really useful chat.  He is running a scheme similar to Morning Star down in Dorset and I would be interested in learning more.  I was very impressed with the group who hope I will join them again in January.  Southampton were not playing this afternoon and we all drove over to Chichester as a family to meet the children's godparents, Paul and Sian Russell and their son, Simon.  We spent a pleasant lunchtime and afternoon at the Chichester Harvester catching up.  This evening Sara and I watched the first episode of Channel 5's new series "The Bible" and afterwards the rather different "I'm a Celebrity  Get me Out of Here". Eventually went to bed well after midnight (just like last night!) 

Working at Alabare

How quickly the week has flown - Friday already!   At first I thought that it was Ambassadors' breakfast this morning but realising that it was the fifth Friday in a month could relax.  I cooked myself an egg and bacon breakfast to ease my disappointment!  I did a long stint at Alabare this morning - 11.25 am until 2.45 pm - and met a new volunteer.  I wrote up a suggested liturgy for the Christmas Carol Service and sent it to the manager of the Centre who is currently on holiday.  After picking up some contact lenses for Sara, I drove to the Wallops to pick up Thom.  his bus was very late this evening and I had to sit in the car for nearly half an hour waiting for it to arrive.  This evening I went around to Klynn's - ostensibly to be interviewed for the Winterslow Advent Calendar but after a bottle of red wine and a couple of glasses of single malt whisky between us, decided that we had better do it another day! We had a very interesting chat about many different things and it was good to catch up.  I really miss his company but our paths cross so infrequently these days. Signs that Comet ISON (or at least parts of it survived the encounter with the Sun) have been greatly exaggerated and for all intents and purposes, ISON is no more.

Comet ISON breaks up

The days seem to fly by so quickly and I think it isn't helped by the fact the daylight hours are so short - no longer is the sun up than darkness descends again and this never helps my moods - I think I must be a SAD person. Apparently this also affects my cousin, Lynne, and I think Thom, so we must have a Barratt SAD gene somewhere.  I spent the morning in Amesbury having coffee at Costa with John A. We discussed his impending second degree ceremony and had a really enjoyable chat.  After he left me I had another coffee and read some more of Rick Warren's book. I tried to have a quick look around Amesbury Abbey after coffee but was very disappointed indeed to find it locked.  Having visited most of England's cathedrals I want to visit as many abbeys as possible.  I think that it is really unfortunate that our places of worship are closed - I wonder what Archbishop Justin thinks about it.  This afternoon I did a little work (Thursdays is generally my day off) and started to put together Sunday's service.  I am finding the evening's lectionary readings quite difficult and made those the subject of our house group this evening. Duncan is also having to preach on Sunday so the exercise was helpful for both of us.  A pleasant evening around the log fire grappling with Isaiah and Matthew.  I would really like to see the group grow so that it can split into two.  So good to have two house groups going in Winterslow if possible. Went to bed after midnight again although I did have the good intentions of going earlier.  A disappointing end to the day with the break-up of Comet ISON as it entered the Sun's corona.  It seems that it has been largely destroyed and so will not be gracing our skies around Christmas.

Theocurry in Westbury

The day started with a meeting with Nils at 10 a.m. followed by a meeting with the whole Staff Team at Andrew's.  I left the meeting early and drove over to Westbury for lunch with my student "buddy", Ashley and we enjoyed a curry at the Tale of Spice 2 - our favourite spot for lunch and a chat about each other's studies and work in our parishes.  On my way back home I called in at Waitrose in Salisbury for a coffee with Sara and Mary before they went to Mary's gymnastics class in Wilton. I went on to pick up Thom at The Wallops.  This evening I returned to Salisbury to join Sara and Mary at St. Paul's Church for a welcome evening and to learn about some of the work they are doing and plan to do in the future.  It was a very inspiring talk by Jon and Andrew but a little disappointing that of nine people expected only five of us (in reality only 3 as we represented one family) actually turned up.  This evening I went to bed relatively early and read some of Rick Warren's best selling book to get some ideas on mission/outreach. 

The Church and Social Awareness

I was up very early this morning - about 5.30 a.m. and went outside into the frosty morning to try and get a glimpse of Comet Ison.  Still nothing, although the sky was really crisp and clear.  I took Thom to the Wallops this morning with the car registering an outside temperature of -1 degree Celsius - freezing.  I had time for a bacon butty and a shower before driving into Salisbury to pick up Jane, one of our Non-Stipendary Ministers, at the London Road Park & Ride.  We drove to Durweston near Blandford for an all-day conference on the Church and Social Awareness.  A really good, thought-provoking day with a keynote speech from Alison Webster, the Social Awareness Co-Ordinator for the Oxford Diocese, Colin Brady her equivalent in the Salisbury Diocese and Elizabeth Perry, formerly of Christian Aid  who spoke about the church being globally aware of issues.  I really enjoyed the day.  At one point Bishop Graham came and spoke to Jane and myself about our Team and what we were doing and he was glad that I was still tweeting - we follow each other. Some great ideas were discussed and with the responsibility for outreach within the Clarendon Team I need to see how we can incorporate them across such a large and diverse area of parishes.  Sara attended her penultimate Alpha Course session at St. Paul's this evening and is really enjoying being a membe rof that church and is meeting many new Christians.   

Justification for War? An Ethical Problem

Sara took Thom to the Wallops this morning but I got up early all the same.  Each morning I have been hoping to get a glimpse of Comet Ison but without any luck - either it is cloudy or the Sun's rays are too bright.  It certainly doesn't seem to be visible with the naked eye.  I had hoped for a day at home today until it was time to go off to college this evening, but as Thom had forgotten to take in his West Dean assignment I had to drive into Winchester to take it to him at college.  I used the opportunity to do a bit of Christmas shopping in Aldi's on Stockbridge Road.  This afternoon I worked in the study until it was time to pick up Thom from the Wallops. Tonight I attended the penultimate tutorial on my Christian Ethics Course - the most interesting so far - the ethics surrounding a "just war".  Enjoyed a cup of decaffeinated coffee with Sara before going to bed.  A really cold and frosty night.  hopefully I might get a glimpse of Comet Ison tomorrow morning! I received a text this evening from my cousin Elaine in Grimsby that my Aunt Ivy, her mother, had been taken extremely ill with lung and bone cancers and is in St. Andrew's Hospice in Grimsby.  I sent a message back with my thoughts and prayers. 

Leading and Preaching at East Grimstead

A bit of a lie-in for a Sunday as I wasn't down to take a service until 11 a.m. - at East Grimstead.  After waking and having a cup of tea, I finalised the service and sermon and printed these out to take with me.  Thom and Mary stayed at home but Sara accompanied me to East Grimstead where I presided over an All Age Worship Service with the theme being Christ the King. A copy of my sermon can be found at http://pulpitmichael.blogspot.com. As usual it was a small congregation but a dedicated one and there was a great sense that those there had attended out of a wish to be there and not just a duty.  The service was followed by coffee and biscuits and some interesting theological chats.  We were also blessed with the presence of the "singing dog" who joined in in all the choruses.  Sara and I left East Grimstead feeling that our presence had been helpful to the worshippers and that both they and us had got something from worshipping together this morning.  The afternoon started with a delivery from Tesco following which we had a generally lazy afternoon watching an Agatha Christie Poirot episode on TV. Thom and I watched the Carolina Panthers take on the Miami Dolphins at Miami which resulted in a very narrow win for Thom's team - the Panthers.  I joined Richard C at the Lion's Head this evening for a couple of pints and a catch-up.  The Lion's Head is now so quiet on a Sunday evening that we are thinking of decamping (or is it decanting?) ourselves and changing our pub night to Friday at the Lord Nelson.  It will only be about six months before he will be leaving Winterslow with Linda who will be starting her curacy in Poole.  We have agreed that we shall try and get to Cornwall again in January if the weather is kind enough. 

Men's Annual Breakfast

Up early this morning.  I made another attempt to try and find Comet Ison but without success as the weather was cloudy.  I went across to the village Hall for the annual Men's Breakfast where I was met by my guest, Richard B from Guildford - a close friend of Klynn's.  We had a very good breakfast (there were about 30 men present) and a good speaker in the form of Peter Poulter, a former Moderator of the Methodist Church who talked to us about rural church ministry - particularly in North Yorkshire and the north East of England.  Very interesting leaving us, who do rural ministry, with much food for thought. After the meeting (at which I am convinced I left my fleece) Richard came back and we spent a couple of hours in family room going through his employment issues.  Sara left to go to an pick up Mary and do some shopping in Salisbury and Richard B and I went to the Lord Nelson for lunch, watch the Rugby Union World cup semi-final between England and New Zealand (which England lost by two points) and to have a general chat.  Richard B left for Guildford about 2.30 p.m. I spent the rest of the afternoon watching the sports channel and this evening writing my sermon for tomorrow.

An Unpredictable Day - but not quite as it was 50 years ago

Woke up to find that England had collapsed in the first innings against Australia.  Although Carberry had put on 40 runs, England were all out for the paltry total of 136 and Australia had embarked on their second innings.  I took Thom to the Wallops this morning and Sara went off to work.  There was no Ambassadors' business breakfast this week and I drove to Salisbury at around 11 a.m. to do my stint as chaplain.  My work there was cut short this morning when I received a phone call from Sara to tell me that Mary was not feeling well and wanted to be picked up from school.  I hastily packed up my things and first of all drove over to Waitrose to fill my car with fuel and to buy an Indian takeaway for dinner.  Whilst there I received a further call to say that Mary was feeling much better and didn't need to be picked up - we feel this had something to do with the fact that she was due to go to a party this evening!  I bumped into Sarah, the curate's wife, and we chatted in the car park for a short time about Andrew's time in the Sudan.  I decided not to return to Alabare Place but went back to Winterslow instead.  Sara's car was not at the pub, nor at home so I rang her to find that she was at the doctors' surgery following one of her patron having collapsed at dinner - an elderly lady of 89.  I returned with Sara to the pub and waited with her whilst the paramedics and ultimately the ambulance arrived.  My day, so far had become quite disjointed.  I did some work in the family room this afternoon and this evening Sara and I watched some programmes on Kennedy's assassination which occurred 50 years ago to this day.  It is quite interesting to go back and reflect upon my life over those 50 years - from a moment in time I can remember quite vividly up to the present time.

Carberry in the First Ashes Test

A day mainly at home today.  Sara took Thom to the Wallops for his bus and then spent the morning first with her niece at the gym and afterwards at work at Fugglestone Red.  I popped over to "Truffles" for a coffee and to read my devotionals, but spent most of my hour there chatting to David M, the Baptist deacon. I spent some time this afternoon on Complex work for a couple of clients and began to write up the service for Sunday - Christ the King.  I managed to find an excellent website with special resources for this celebration and once the hymns and reading were sorted out I was able to populate my service template.  I just now need to write the intercessions and my sermon.  I picked up Thom from the Wallops this evening and made a large wood fire - the weather is beginning to turn bitterly cold. We had a full large house group this evening - seven of us - and we watched the first introductory video for the Alpha Course with Nicky Gumbel.  I think that the warm atmosphere with the fire had dried out our brains a bit as no one had a great deal to say afterwards.  I watched the first hour's play of the first Ashes Test match from Brisbane tonight.  England managed to bowl Australia out for 295 with the last two wickets falling in the first few overs of play.  Hampshire's Carberry ran out the last wicket.  England started to bat well and when I went to bed England were 28 for no loss with Carberry and Cook batting steadily.  Australia looked to be in a weak position.

Supporting Morning Star

I am pleased to say that I am now back on track with my postings and realise the importance with my journaling - not just for the amusement (?) and entertainment (??) of my readers but also for my own self-reflection and record of my life.  Today was not the most stimulating of days.  Sara took Thom to the Wallops for his bus to Peter Symonds College in Winchester which meant I could have a bit of a relaxing morning to begin with and Sara went off to Morning Star to make the sandwiches for the Wednesday Banquet Run.  I attended Mid-week Eucharist at St. John's Church, the first time for several weeks, which was taken by Cynthia.  Following the service I drove to Pitton for the coffee morning at Pitton Church which was held in aid of Morning Star.  I spent about an hour there before driving to Booker's Cash n' Carry for some essential supplies (including Doombar bitter).  Sara was out all day until about 6.30 p.m. so I had to pick Thom up at the Wallops and prepared supper - spaghetti bolognaise.  This evening Sara spent a couple of hours with the new editor of the Parish Magazine assisting in the handover of the editorship.  She seems to be quite resigned to handing over and now sees it as giving her an opportunity to do other things.  I decided to have an evening off and watched TV and read up in our bedroom whilst Sara had her meeting.  I have had a busy few days this week with Complex work and now need to think about preparing for Sunday's service at East Grimstead.

 

 

A Big Catch-Up

An enormous apology to all my regular readers.  I know a number of you have been concerned that there have been no postings here for a while.  I am very fit and well but since returning from the Bahamas on 3rd November I really haven't stopped.  Work for Complex Services Limited has suddenly taken off with another employment tribunal looming and some work for a UK subsidiary of a USA company. I also had to prepare and present at my Ambassadors' Breakfast Group - on the topic of legal pitfalls of social media for employers.  Coupled with catching up on my other mail, paying bills and taking the Remembrance Day Service at West Grimstead as well as a special Deanery Service for Morning Star (and now preparing for another All Age Service next Sunday), I seem to spending all my time in the study or on my laptop - not a good thing.  I can't believe that Christmas is only just around the corner and I have two University assignments to complete before 10th December too!

 

Life is so interesting though.  Sara is now doing some work for one of my Ambassadors' colleagues, has given up editing the Parish Magazine and is attending an Alpha Course at St. Paul's Church, Salisbury, where she is now a regular attender.  Mary has also joined the Youth Group there and I have become an Associate Member of that church, attending services there when my duties as a minister in the Clarendon Team permit. It is good to attend St. Paul's as I have a responsibility for outreach (evangelism) at Clarendon and St. Paul's is very much an evangelistic church.  Some great ideas being tried out there which I hope to be able to bring to the parishes out in the sticks.

 

Today (Wednesday) I met with a couple of clients who I met through St. Paul's at their SP2 coffee shop.  Excellent coffee at a much reduced price compared with Costa. My work as chaplain at Alabare's .drop-in has also kept me busy and I have been asked to put together Alabare's carol service in Salisbury.

 

The moral of all this is to be careful what you pray for!  God has certainly put me in a position where there is no way I can feel "retired".  In fact, I am sure that I was much less busy when I was in full time employment for a large financial organisation.  Each day is full of richness.  Even Southampton Football Club are now 3rd in the Premier League!

 

Talking of sport, Richard and I went to the Lights Theatre in Andover last Tuesday for "An Evening with Blowers" - Henry Blofeld of Test Match Special (TMS) fame telling anecdotes about his life as a cricket commentator.  A wonderful evening.  I could have listened to him for another three hours easily.  A great institution.  I wonder whether TMS can continue to attract eccentrics like "Blowers", "Johnners", "Tuffers" and the like in the years ahead.  I do hope so otherwise the game will certainly lack something.  I have renewed my membership of Hampshire County Cricket Club and certainly hope to improve on my attendance next year.  A few county games will make for some quieter afternoons.

 

I must return to my journalling on a regular basis.  We all had an absolutely wonderful time on Paradise Island and now we are well back into the real world.  I really do not like these long dark nights and look forward to the time when I can again say - the nights are getting shorter.  We have, however, had some wonderful sunrises and sunsets and I have put one of those on this posting - taken with my Canon EOS camera given to me as a retirement present by Friends Provident.  Enjoy the picture.