Yesterday, we woke to about 2 inches [4cm] of snow and to much excitement from our children who got dress much faster than I can remember for a while. Despite that, I was out of the door first on my way to morning prayer, therefore the first in our family to take in the full beauty of the whitened South Oxfordshire countryside and the first to crunch my boots down the garden path. It was great, a sight and experience that I have not had for a long time, even I was excited.
However, by lunchtime the landscape was much more colourful and the paths around college were more of a wet slush and unpleasant to walk through. By the time the school bus arrived the kids had to work hard at finding enough snow to fill their palms.
Since I had spent the morning reading about mission it was not surprising that such a parallel as this should occur to me:
Mission by the church is [at least in my experience], a little bit like an English snow fall. Very exciting at first with peoples enthusiasm and willingness raised. It is easy to find the extra effort to over come the difficulties that arise and it is even beautiful to see. But after this initial stage it all begins to fade away until it is more like a damp mess and it is both a source of disappointment and relief that it will all be over soon. By the end of the day we are actually very glad that things are back to normal and ordinary life returns. Glad of the experience, but also relieved that that doesn’t happen everyday! We’ll probably have a few photos embarrassingly showing ourselves over excited that it did snow even if we can’t actually remember it.
general, ministry, mission
How many people can afford to take a month off?Well we had a great Christmas and now we are back into term time and life feels a like more normal. Two things are on my mind to blog about, the first comes out of the themed study week on Faith and Work, the second should be the second episode of Flipside of Leadership.But can’t publish the first blog since Apple’s launch of iPhone and not mention it.Just amazingEach time Kate and I watch one of these keynote episodes when Jobs shows off the latest we remind ourselves, that at the lowest point of Apple’s stock price, back 10 years or so, we said “we should buy shares”. Our shins are still sore!!
general
A pdf of our Christmas letter and some ‘Best of 06 Photos’ are now up on our family site: www.thestaceys.tv
Enjoy!
general
Thank goodness, at least there is no pressure here then!!
general
I’m back on my placement for the next 2 weeks and my family have gone back home after dropping me off.
Two weeks is long time to be away from home and something that we would not normally want to do, but this is the way it worked out - hey-ho!.
I am staying with a local family in their gorgeous house in which I essentially have a flat to myself. I will be working on finishing my placement report. This is made up from the blogs I have and will be posting on this time here in Chipping Campden.
I will also be aiming to finish my Liturgy and Worship Essay entitled Common Worship Eucharist: Building community in a fragmented society. This will be looking at the mixed references [Ricoeur] and the ‘performativity’of Eucharistic language. Basically looking at the effectiveness of the community language in a Eucharist service and what effect it has, or how to increase its effect, in a society that has little concept of what community might be.
Picture is the lounge area of the flat in the house where I am staying with the mess I have managed to create in less than 24 hours.
general, writing