Remember the days of falling in love with the church? The days of hope and optimism and joy?
A post on Episcopal Cafe called ‘Episcopal Nerd’ brought it all back and made me laugh. Oh how I longed for a job at the Cathederal School that would let me linger against pillars awash with coloured light. (I ended up instead at a school surrounded by tobacco fields and neon bible-belt signs. God’s sense of humour is sometimes over-rated.)
Sight
The bright black eyes and shining fur of a stoat popping up through the hood (bonnet) of my car as I waited for the ferry.
Sound
The tapping of leathery hooves on the road and the shifting of wool as sheep surrounded the car.
Smell
The warm sea and kelp at Kilchattan bay.
Taste
The just picked peas, a surprise gift, eaten immediately on the drive home.
Touch
The cool smooth runner bean, waxy and soft.
While working on a service for Sunday evening in Rothesay, I came across a clever feed for the daily office from the Church of England. I have added Daily Prayer links in the side bar that will take you to morning or evening prayer each day.
These links are on British time, though if you are reading from elsewhere the main ‘Daily Prayer’ link in the copyright information will tell you what you need to do.
You will find similar links on the websites for St Paul’s and Holy Trinity.
Happy praying.
Addendum: Molly has just discovered the ribbons on my new Daily Prayer book. At last she sees the point of the daily office. But she is horrified at the thought that such fun could be lost on line.
A lot of church life involves a huge input of energy for a very uncertain return. We live in faith, of course, but there are inevitable moments of thinking ‘was that worth it?’.
But sometimes, just sometimes, there is an unexpected return. And so it was with this summer’s project: The Growing Season.
The idea for The Growing Season came out of nowhere, during an hour spent thinking and writing when someone had failed to turn up for a meeting. The idea was simple: offer a set of challenges over the summer — something people could do in short bursts throughout the week, or in one hour long slot. Something that could be done anywhere, at any time, so that people could ‘catch up’ after holidays.
The only bit of careful thought was in choosing challenges that would be diverse, manageable, and — well– challenging. So, there was one on bible, one on prayer, one on life story, one on talking about God, one on asking someone about their beliefs, and one on acts of kindness.
I thought maybe half a dozen people would get involved — and that was an optimistic estimate.
But the response has been amazing. I know that at least 25-30 people chose to take part in most of the challenges, and others who claimed they haven’t have at least dipped into the odd challenge here or there.
Someone discovered that he really could read the bible so long as he used a new translation rather than the King James. A couple of people came to see that God had been present in their lives in ways and at times they had never recognized. Others had conversations about God and faith that they might not have had otherwise.
And then, remarkably, they talked about what they had done. We have just had an evening of very relaxed, wide ranging conversation about God, faith, and discipleship. The sort of conversation priests live for. And all from the tiny effort of offering six A5 sheets of paper with a weekly challenge.
Well done, all. It’s been a delight to listen to your stories.
wonderful exchange 
