Posted in Church, tagged #ClapforOurCarers, #lentowrimo, EasterMeansHope.com, Holy Week, rainbow, trombone, Vicarage, Vicarage life, window on 9 April, 2020| 1 Comment »
Tonight we made a rainbow for our rainbow shaped window. This Holy Week is the week we especially remember the hope that we have. We are joining with EasterMeansHope.com to share the hope of Christ with our neighbours.
We had the window ready for this evening’s #ClapforOurCarers, and the Joker joined in with extra noise tonight – a rendition of Somewhere Over the Rainbow on his trombone.
Posted in Church, tagged #lentowrimo, Abram, all families, all nations, blessed, English, families of the earth, Farsi, Iranian, Irish, nations, promises, Punjabi, Scots, Vicarage, Vicarage life on 10 March, 2020| Leave a Comment »
There’s something very beautiful about studying this passage in a small group with people with Punjabi, Irish, Iranian, Scots and English heritage, all together. And reading it aloud in English and Farsi.
We are blessed in Christ – in forgiveness and in the promise of eternal life. And we are blessed in the families of the earth coming together in the red room in the Vicarage – marvelling that those promises to Abram are fulfilled in us today, so far distant in time and place.
Posted in Church, tagged church magazine, First World War, history, magazine, music, storm, storm dennis, telephone, Vicarage, Vicarage life, wind, wiring on 28 February, 2020| 1 Comment »
Storm Dennis decided that the Vicarage needed a bit of break. So our phone line stopped working two weeks ago. The winds had whipped around the Vicarage and dislodged the wire precariously attached to the side of the house as it makes its way into our junction box and wifi hub.
The phone fixer chap arrived this evening and made some interesting observations:
The information about the wire reminded me of a snippet I read just the other week in a bound collection of church magazines I found in the churchwardens’ vestry. These magazines were published in 1925, and so I can tell you that the first phone line was installed in our house in October 1925. Don’t forget our number: West Bromwich 172. Sadly, our telephone number, unlike the wiring, has no continuity with the original. And I doubt the Church of England will give you advice if you’re moving overseas either. And alas, we have no choir, for ladies or anybody else, but any offers of help in the matter of church music would still be most welcome.
Posted in Church, tagged Cake, chat, community, faith, kitchen, parish, parish life, Vicarage on 28 February, 2020| 2 Comments »
We’ve been here in our parish for eleven years now – we moved in February half term in 2009. Almost since the beginning I have hosted a weekly coffee morning for people from the church and the community – including school gate mums, bringing baking from the Vicarage kitchen. We call it Cake and Chat, which captures the essence I feel.
Pistachio and citrus peel cookies and blondies were on offer this week
The group who meets includes those who’ve been coming for eleven years and others who’ve joined us in the last few months. We moved last year from meeting in the hall which is tucked away from the road and has an echoey floor. Now we gather in the church itself, where we now have some café seating and can have the main doors open.
Over the last few weeks we’ve discussed what we’d do with a lottery win and the allure of gambling machines, we’ve chatted about the local lads who race their cars up the dual carriageway on Sunday nights, we’ve wrestled with Bible verses and with questions of identity and relationships. Our group includes Christians and Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs and people of no faith at all. Mostly we speak English but other times you can hear Polish, Punjabi and Patois. We begin around 8.30am and can still be chatting at noon. Some of my most precious times in parish life has been spent with this group.
The God of the Bible is the God who speaks, who breathes everything into being through his Word of life. Is it any surprise that chatting brings such joy and delight? Speaking makes things – it can make relationships. As we seek to build relationships of love in our community, time taken to chat (especially when there’s cake aswell) is never time wasted.
Posted in Church, tagged 40acts, Bag of Blessing, blessing, Church, Church of England, community, daffodils, door to door, Lent, neighbours, parish, sweets, Vicarage, visiting on 10 February, 2016| 2 Comments »
So today we launch into Lent. I already have a couple of disciplines on the go this year – Doing the Next Thing and the February declutter (just about up to date, I’m pleased to say, mainly children’s books that my kids have now grown out of).
So my main focus this Lent is going to be something partly inspired by the 40acts initiative – we have the family wallchart up in the kitchen. And it’s partly inspired by the door to door visiting that Dreamer and I did in the new estate in the parish. Before Christmas, we went to every house with a paper lunch bag containing a home made Christmas decoration, a bag of chocolate coins, details about regular church activities and invitations to our Christmas events. People were surprised and pleased to be given something with no strings attached. We called them Bags of Blessing.
So this Lent my plan is to take 40 Bags of Blessing round to people in the parish – houses and shops and other places. I began today with a family who live opposite us. I often talk to the mum and admire her as she shepherds four lively boys down to the school gate every day. So today I knocked on her door and handed over the bag, which was almost immediately ripped open by the 3 year old, who identified it as containing goodies. Tomorrow I’m going to visit the pharmacy on the High Street with a bag. I’m enjoying planning who I could visit. The next few will contain a few sweeties, a bargain Lidl daffodil plant, a homemade heart decoration and few leaflets about church activities that might be useful. I’m going to adapt them as Lent progresses and depending on who I’m visiting.
What are you up to for Lent?
Posted in Doing the Next Thing, tagged decluttering, Doing the Next Thing, DTNT, game, Hope for Justice, Shed, soup lunch, trafficking, Vicarage on 2 February, 2016| 1 Comment »
Today has been pretty busy in the Vicarage. The Vicar spent most of the day helping Jolly, who’s been staying in our shed. He’s been at the police station about it and has met the team from Hope For Justice, who have been brilliant. With their help, we expect Jolly’s story to improve immensely from now on. He ate supper with us this evening and he told us some of his story, which has had some amazing twists and turns along the way. We are glad to have been a part of it.
I’ve been cooking for our community soup lunch tomorrow. But I’m not sure that the mountains of vegetable peelings properly count as decluttered objects, alas. But when I was in the bathroom this morning I realised that a couple of bath lilies were really quite scraggy. So they’ve gone out. And I’m going to chuck some more bathroom debris as I go to bed tonight. I need to get some control over that collection of almost empty shampoo bottles…
Posted in Church, Vicarage, tagged counting, decluttering, Do the next thing, DTNT, February declutter game, game, mess, throwing, Vicarage on 1 February, 2016| 7 Comments »
I am terrible at throwing stuff away. I can always see a use for it (the curse of creativity) and so the clutter slowly covers all surfaces and occupies all cupboards. So when a vicar’s wife friend started a declutter “game” on Facebook last February I joined it. The idea is to declutter on each day of February, starting with chucking one thing on 1st February, two on 2nd February and working up to 28 (29 this year!) things on the last day of the month. In a non leap year, that gives you a grand total of 406 items disposed of, and 435 this year, if you keep going to the end.
There are no formal rules, so today I chucked a load of out-of-date pulses out, and I’m counting that as one item. Later in the month I might have counted each individual extra wizened chick pea to make the total for the day (sometimes I found myself needing to stretch the numbers last year).
No counting rules!
Last year I managed about half the month, and it was definitely worthwhile. Obviously you get most done in the second half of the month, but I still managed some fairly effective clearing out. I found the focus of getting rid of something every day very helpful. Counting is a good way to Do the Next Thing. This February I’m giving it another shot, and if you’d like to join me, I shall be posting progress on here.
Posted in Church, tagged bible overview, LifeWay, Sunday, The Gospel Project, Vicarage, video, visitors on 10 January, 2016| Leave a Comment »
It’s been a busy Vicarage Sunday with the treat of special visitors to add to the usual joy of meeting with the saints. We’ve seen the Joker’s godparents, who brought much cheer and their lovely 18 month old, and former Ministry Trainee Rocky, with Bee and their gorgeous 15 month old, with encouragements from their parish in the next tow-un. So now we’re collapsed with our tea and some telly, smiling and slightly exhausted.
So tonight’s blog is just this great new Bible overview video for kids. The Vicar is thinking of using it for assembly tomorrow!
Posted in Church, tagged barbecue, Christian, Church, friends, Fun, garden, Gone, life, sun, Vicarage on 2 August, 2015| Leave a Comment »
All the usual things happened this afternoon:
1. We had a barbecue. Rev Ted and his family joined us, together with Dreamer, for a lovely lazy lunch to celebrate the Queen’s 14th birthday. (FOURTEEN! HOW DID THAT HAPPEN?). We ate lots of salad and fruit as well as the obligatory meatfest. Because it’s after camp where we’d overindulged in carbs in a big way. Our insides need to recover a bit. There was lots of laughter and many tales of teenagers in Devon.
2. The family from over the road who have no garden and lots of children had a picnic in the churchyard. I’m very glad the churchyard is there for families without grass outside their house. They asked me where we’d been and I told them I’d been to Devon with lots of teenagers. They looked enthusiastic when I told them that the twins (aged 9 now) would soon be able to join us.
3. Gone let himself into the garden, very drunk and smelly. He talked at me for ages about how hard he’s finding things, and the Queen brought him some crisps to eat (he didn’t want a cup of coffee). Then he asked for food to get him through the next few days and I rummaged through the cupboards (which haven’t been restocked since camp) for some things he can eat. He’s not able to prepare much because he broke the microwave. So he says. Then I came into the house to get him a new notebook for remembering things.
Whilst I was in the house, he stripped off his TWO fleeces and started to help himself to the Joker’s damp t-shirt from the washing line. When we let him know that this wasn’t totally acceptable, he stormed away, swearing as much as possible. He took the bag of food, but thankfully not the t-shirt (it’s a favourite Dr Who one). I’ve put the washing on again. And I’ll see if I can get some cheap t-shirts next time I’m shopping.
So it’s good to be home. Tales of camp to come next week. Spoiler: we had a great time.
The garden is the place to be today
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