Some of the things that I’ve come across or heard in the last few days:
- A granny was robbed of gold necklace after she collected her grandchild from our school nursery. Lunchtime yesterday.
- A friend’s business was burgled a few days ago. When police came round to look at the break-in they smelt something suspicious. They raided the unit next door and found a cannabis factory.
- 2 men (dad and an uncle?) were taking a young lad, maybe six years old, to the ice-cream van, just as school was out and streams of kids were passing and queuing. They were dressed in t-shirts bearing what I have found are sometimes called ‘comedy‘ phrases. I wasn’t very amused myself. I don’t shop at Blue Inc, or I’d be boycotting their business.
- A kid who thought that ‘the taxpayer’ would pay for our broken windows, so it wasn’t such a big issue after all.
And these are just the stories that I can tell in public. The evil and brokenness around us here can sometimes be heartbreaking. Despite that, we are encouraged regularly. This week some kind builders have been supplying us with wooden pallets (for burning and for storing logs on) and some tree surgeons gave us a tree that they’d been chopping down. Vicarage warmth is assured for next winter.
Like every week at the Vicarage, it’s been a fair old mix, but perhaps more of a mix than most people enjoy. It makes me remember that old hymn and resolve to employ my heart and tongue as I should.
Through all the changing scenes of life,
in trouble and in joy,
the praises of my God shall still
my heart and tongue employ.Nahum Tate and Nicholas Brady
The Vicar's Wife 
You have my sympathies. My wife did her curacy in an inner city parish and to be honest I was glad to see the back of it. I feel much safer where we live now, more importantly I worry less about the safety of our children.
While we’re not entirely wedded to where we live now you couldn’t drag me back to an inner-city parish.
Hi Harry.
Sorry to hear that you didn’t enjoy your inner-city experience. Tho’ it’s sometimes tough here, we love it. People here need Jesus just like those in leafy suburbs and rural idylls. Couldn’t cope with a leafy suburb myself – all those successful monied folk would lead me into terrible temptation and ungodliness I think. And I like not having to use the car, which is a curse of rural ministry. We love the openness of people to the gospel and the honesty of our neighbours.
We love the multicultural swirl that gives us and our children a wide perspective on the world – we have 22 languages in our church school. We’re thankfully not in an area where I have serious fears for the safety of my kids, just my windows… All in all, it’s a wonderful place to be sharing the love of Christ and seeing God’s kingdom grow. It’s just that here we see the brokenness of the world close up and not on the news.
God has given us a passion for this ‘great city’ – our town is the size of Ninevah (Jonah 4). Praying that you would find passion for your place and people too (and the many animals).