Blending

Day 3 and today has been one of those days where everything has run into everything else either showing a seamless diary or a confusing overlap.

The day began with prayer which rapidly melted into a slightly confusing discussion about notice boards. Once we had solved the conundrum I spent a happy hour moving stuff.

Moving stuff is one those things that vicars do… you find a pile of stuff that shouldn’t be in place (a) and move it to place (b). In this case it was electrical stuff but it could have been food, clerical gear or even people. Moving stuff is such a big part of vicarage life that I have been told that if you are at an event and you see people randomly moving furniture they are probably vicars or vicars’ children.

The task was made more jolly by the two amazing cleaning ladies in church. All our church cleaning people are volunteers and most seem to enjoy the work. The two this morning always make it a morning out, beginning with coffee and bacon sandwiches, picnic fashion before they get on to the serious dusting and cleaning. Sat in the pews they might as well have been on a day out to Blackpool!

After the moving came the sorting and a pretty complex wedding planning session with a young woman whose partner comes from abroad. It was so complex I was happy to eat my Lenten orange to revive me.

Popping into the hall to see what the noise was I discovered the Luncheon club who invited me to join them for some really scrummy food. It would have been rude to say no ( see yesterday ) and also Luke 10:8 "When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is set before you.

A session of spiritual direction followed with much laughter as well as serious talk, mostly around the question: “who am I.” Answers on a postcard to everybody who asks that question …

This melted into The Mix our 5-11’s group where we built the tower of Babel out of boxes and knocked it down. There was a point to this but I'm not sure we got it across.

Straight from that to governors and from that to home and a frustrating evening trying to write a sermon on temptation… which has finished with this… a blog.

A productive day? Not sure, but a day of many encounters, many mistakes and much blessing from those whom God has sent me to minister to.

I have a lot to pray about before I go to bed and I think the sermon can wait a day!