Keeping it Simple

A really enjoyable and rewarding day again today.  Thom didn't need to go into college today - he is working on a 48 hour project for his media class which involved his cousin, Harry, as an actor and Sara's help.  I look forward to seeing the result.  For me the day started at St. Lawrence's Church in Stratford with the curate, Tom and I, hosting the primary school children from Stratford-sub-Castle with a visit to the church to hear the story, again, of Peter from call through his denial at Jesus's trial and ending with the talk with the resurrected Jesus on the beach. Tom used the font at the beginning of the story - representing the Sea of Galilee and the cross in the chancel to represent the crucifixion and resurrection.  Again it was brilliantly executed by Tom and the children asked some really testing questions at the end which Tom and I tried to answer.  It was so good to see 7 year olds so engaged with the Easter story.  Following this, which lasted an hour, Tom and I attended Stratford Court residential home for the elderly (many of whom are suffering from advanced stages of Alzheimer's Disease) and we gave them a service of Holy Communion with me distributing the bread and Tom the wine.  I felt a great privilege to be doing this and it was a joy to see some clearly pleased for us to be there administering the sacraments to them and treating them in a special way.   Once again I felt a really strong call to pastoral ministry and Tom did remark that he could see why I was a chaplain.  I likewise praised him for his wonderful manner with both the children and the elderly this morning. It's a real pleasure to work with him - a truly gifted clergyman with a great ministry ahead.  It's going to be a great wrench to leave St. Francis's when the placement ends. The afternoon was taken up with finishing off my assignment on Intercessory Prayer at Sarum College and I was feeling really satisfied to leave the college this afternoon having completed the first draft with just some Harvard referencing to add.  This evening our Ecumenical house Group met at our home.  Sara had to take Harry back after Thom's filming and so missed some of the session.  Tonight we, looked, rather ironically, at "decisions" as we continued our examination of the film "Touching the Void".  There were six of us this evening - again a broad spread of three Winterslow Methodists, two from St. Paul's and James and me from St. Francis's.  Another really good session.  We ended the meeting with a short service from the Lent course book and shared bread and wine Agape-style in the manner which would have occurred in the early church.  Today the book "Beautiful Outlaw" arrived for me at Sarum College and I look forward to reading this, as recommended at our New Wine Ministers' meeting the other week.   Today I once more reflected on the richness of the simple Christian message as epitomised by the two services we conducted this morning.