Deiknuo's blog: the reflections of David Lewis

#bbcspoty

2011-11-29T16:38:00.001Z

#bbcspoty is Twitter-speak for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year. The shortlist of nominations was announced yesterday, and has caused a certain amount of upset (an understatement). Many, including myself, are incensed that there are no female representatives amongst the nominations. This year the BBC might as well rename the title BBC Sportsman of the Year.

Just because there are no women on the shortlist doesn't mean, of course, that there weren't women eligible to be there, or deserving of being there. Many female sports stars, including multiple world champions, have been omitted or ignored. Names such as Rebecca Adlington, Jess Ennis, Keri-Anne Payne, Chrissie Wellington, Helen Jenkins or Beth Tweddle would have graced the shortlist and wouldn't have been consider undeserving. But no, not a single woman is on the list.

There are a number of factors which might be taken into consideration when we ask why this has happened. Here are a couple.

First of all, the way that nominations are made militates against women appearing on the shortlist. Sports Editors from a number of newspapers and magazines are asked to submit ten nominations each, and these are aggregated to come up with the ten most 'popular' sports stars. However, the publications polled include the men's magazines Nuts and Zoo, for instance. So the nomination process is skewed towards men being nominated.

And secondly, sports coverage on television, on the radio and in our newspapers is dominated by men's sports. Partly that's the fault of the media organisations who choose to do that, and partly that's our fault because they are only responding to what the British public want to see.

But I suggest that the BBC could have used BBC Sports Personality of the Year to educate and to challenge, and to open our eyes to the wonderful women sports stars that we ought to be proud of and voting for.

So BBC I suggest that you look at the way that the shortlist is drawn up. The way that it is drawn up at the moment is not a public service but a public disservice!

A new granddaughter

2011-10-03T05:27:00.003+01:00

I've become a proud grandfather again. Rachel Grace was born early last Thursday morning, weighing 8lb 1oz. And just the following day we went to visit!

Welcome, Rachel

Congratulations to Phil and Liz, who will make brilliant parents. And welcome Rachel into the world.

The downside of Othona wildlife

2011-07-15T10:46:00.000+01:00

At the moment the downside of Othona wildlife consists of mosquitos and thunder flies. I have a leg that has a couple of nasty mosquito bites, and at the moment there seem to be a lot of thunder flies in the air. I hope that thunder is not on the way - it's a clear blue sky at the moment.

The wildlife at Othona

2011-07-15T10:31:00.004+01:00

The wildlife at Othona is brilliant, and by wildlife I don't mean the party scene or nightlife. Because we are right on the sea's edge, we have a number of different species of wading birds within a hundred yards or so. But closer still, coming into the Othona grounds we have rabbits and hares (I've never seen hares this close to before), and all kinds of birds that I don't normally see in my garden at home. We have mistle thrushes and a whole throng of swallows (all right, I know that the collective noun for swallows is a flight of swallows). I'll try and post some photos that I've taken when I get better internet access.

Apparently there are badgers as well, but I haven't seen any of those as yet.

A swallow fledgling

A hare, with mistle thrush behind

Sunday church

2011-07-11T10:36:00.000+01:00

Yesterday was Sunday, and I went to church! Not very surprising, I know. In the morning I went to the Anglican church in the village of Bradwell, St Thomas' Church. It was a Baptism Roll service where all the families who had brought children to be baptised at the church in the last two years (38 invitations had been sent out) were invited back to renew their baptismal vows. Not many children turned up, which was a real disappointment to the clergy and congregation, but the rest of us enjoyed a lovely family service, and participated in a Teddy Bears Picnic and Pass-the-Parcel. I was introduced to the congregation and made to feel very welcome.

In the evening there was a special service at St Peter's Chapel. Every Sunday evening during the summer months a service is held at St Peter's, led by different groups of people. The service yesterday evening was led by the Canonesses of the Holy Sepulchre. In a very creative way they led us to think about the Word of God (in this year of the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible) and about how God's Word was passed on from the very beginning, and is still passed on today.

The VAPs have arrived

2011-07-09T20:51:00.001+01:00

Today the VAPs have arrived. VAP stands for Volunteer Action for Peace, and the VAPs that I'm talking about are twelve young people from all over the world, from as far away as Taiwan, who have come to spend two weeks working at the Othona Community. They will be involved particularly in working on the reed beds that form a vital part of the community's drainage system. They have come to share together in community life, to meet and learn from people from a wide range of different cultures, to work and to have fun.

It will be great getting to know them, and to learn about the places that they come from. VAP 'works towards creating and preserving international peace, justice and human solidarity for people and their communities. Through a range of working projects ... VAP provides volunteers with opportunities to work together with people from around the globe and in partnership with local groups to enhance and empower communities.'

Our VAPs are all sleeping in tents, so I hope that it doesn't rain too much over the next couple of weeks.

Friday morning

2011-07-08T22:39:00.003+01:00

Wednesday and Thursday were spent at home and visiting some of the family, but I had to arrive back early this morning because I had an appointment at the local primary school in Bradwell. At the pilgrimage one of the people I got chatting to was the head of the school in the village, and she invited me to go and look around the school. This I duly did this morning.

I've now been invited back to the school next week, to take an assembly there and tell them a little about Othona. Those who know me well will know that I love going into school and interacting with children, so this opportunity is right up my street.

Tuesday evening

2011-07-08T22:21:00.002+01:00

I think that I'm going to have to give up on the counting of the days, I've lost count.

Tuesday evening was an interesting occasion. We were due to eat our meal at 7.00pm, but because some of the community core members had gone to Chelmsford for the afternoon the meal was postponed until 7.30pm. No problem!

But then, at about 7.20pm, a man with a couple of youngsters came in the door of the community. It had just started raining and he explained that he was leading a youth group barbecue on the beach adjacent to the community but because it was raining they wondered whether might they be able to come and take shelter with us. 'Of course,' they were told, 'and bring your sausages and we'll heat them up in the oven.' Over fifty youngsters then traipsed in, together with their leaders, and we all set to to make them welcome, give them something to drink, and making sure their sausages were cooked through.

It was great to show some Christian hospitality to these youngsters, but it did mean that our meal was delayed. We eventually began eating our lasagne at 8.45pm!

Sabbatical - Days 4 and 5

2011-07-05T08:09:00.000+01:00

The Sunday after pilgrimage was a quiet day. We enjoyed a late breakfast, and then went up to the chapel for a service (thank you, Rosie).

I then took Margie home, and we met up with Hannah and Chris, and the lovely Daniel, for the afternoon.

I went back to the community on Monday afternoon, after taking Margie to the doctors and her occupational health appointment in the morning. It was good to spend the afternoon and evening on some of my sabbatical reading.

There aren't many people in the community at the moment, just the core members. It's a chance to get one or two jobs around the community. Unfortunately one of the jobs is stripping and retiling the shower room of the core block, where I am staying with some other members of the core community, and so showering might not be so easy for the next week! If you're planning to come and visit, bring a peg with you for your nose!

Sabbatical - Day 3

2011-07-02T22:01:00.001+01:00

Well, today has been another busy day. It's been the Bradwell Pilgrimage today. On the first Saturday in July each year pilgrims come from all over Essex, and further afield, to walk the couple of miles from the church in Bradwell village to St Peter's. This year the guest pilgrims, for want of a better phrase, were Bishop Thomas, the Bishop of Brentwood, and Bishop Stephen, the Bishop of Chelmsford. Hundreds of pilgrims came this year, as every year, from every denomination. A short service is held outside St Thomas' Church in Bradwell before the pilgrims walk to St Peter's, and then another, longer, service is held at St Peter's. People bring lunch with them, or else they can order lunch at the Othona Community.

Two large marquees are erected adjacent to St Peter's chapel, and various organisations have a stall in these marquee (think mini Christian Resources Exhibition). Margie and I were delegated to staff the Othona stall in one of the marquees, in addition to two more seasoned Othonians.

After lunch, and having had the opportunity to look around the marquees, or just to sit and chat with friends, there is a Songs of Praise before the pilgrims return home.

It was great to have had some of my congregation from the Union Church joining in the pilgrimage and also to meet up with old friends from other churches in Essex and to make some new friends. A fantastic day was had by all, and the weather kept fine.

This evening, after dinner, the community came back over to St Peter's for another brief service, led by me.

Once again we're tired, and off to bed. But we're glad for the day that we've had, and for the new friends we've met at Othona.

Sabbatical - Day 2

2011-07-01T22:38:00.000+01:00

Wow, it's been a hugely busy day. It's now half past ten and it feels like I haven't stopped all day.

After breakfast the Year Six class left, homeward bound. We then had to get the rooms ready for the next lot of visitors - these are members of the community who have come to share in the Bradwell Pilgrimage, which takes place tomorrow. My task was vacuum cleaning of the bedrooms and corridors; I became well acquainted with a cleaner called Henry! Unfortunately I gained some unwanted credibility with Margie, she didn't know that I could hoover.

After that I found a little time to do some of my sabbatical reading whilst drinking a welcome cup of coffee.

Our new visitors started to arrive late morning. They are a lovely bunch of people, and I'm humbled by many of them. A woman with motor neurone disease, for instance, cared for by her husband.

After lunch I found work in the kitchen - peeling vegetables and then helping to make a liver and bacon casserole for 45. That took most of the afternoon.

This evening after dinner we went over to St Peter's Chapel where Jonny, one of the community members, led us in our thoughts and prayers. And then back to the community for the warden's talk from Gail.

I'll tell you tomorrow about the Bradwell Pilgrimage, but we expect hundreds, if not thousands, to turn up. Marquees and portable toilets have appeared by the chapel, and gazebos and a bouncy castle have been erected on the Othona Community lawn. Apparently my job, along with Jan and Flavia, is to staff the Othona stand in one of the marquees.

But sleep, I need sleep!

Sabbatical - Day 1 (continued)

2011-07-01T05:43:00.001+01:00

The bangers, mash and beans were great, and the Arctic Roll with peaches for dessert took me back to the 1970s. Then, after dinner had been cleared up, we set to making sandwiches for the following day as the children are leaving for home soon after breakfast and are taking a packed lunch with them.

Later that evening we were royally entertained by the youngsters as they put on a talent show for us - and there was some serious talent on show!

As the sun was setting some of us made our way to the nearby Chapel of St Peter-on-the-Wall to share in prayers. What a privilege to be praying in the oldest church building in England; St Peter's was built by St Cedd in 654. I wish I'd taken a camera with me, because the setting sun shone in through the small windows causing such a golden glow in the chapel.

Sabbatical - Day 1

2011-06-30T17:37:00.000+01:00

Today I began a two month sabbatical. I am doing some reading - two large tomes by James Dunn - and I have also been invited to be Resident Chaplain at the Othona Community in Bradwell-on-Sea. This is the first time that Othona have had such a chaplain, and so we are feeling our way forward together.

I arrived at Othona this morning. There are about ten core members of the community who are in residence. As well as that, this week the community has a Year Six class staying for an activity week. This afternoon the children have been building and firing rockets, and making 'art' down on the beach.

As well as getting settled in, I have been spud bashing this afternoon. It's bangers and mash tonight for forty hungry children and adults.

The Royal Wedding

2011-04-30T08:00:00.001+01:00

Daniel, our grandson, enjoying the celebrations!

I wouldn't say that we were ardent royalists, but we enjoyed the coverage of the Royal Wedding yesterday - so much so that we watched the highlights all over again yesterday evening. (I know, very sad)! As you can see, Daniel got into the spirit of the occasion.

I think it was a great event: hats off to all involved. I wish more people had been singing the hymns enthusiastically, though.

It will be interesting to see in a year or two's time whether the Royal Wedding has created more demand for church weddings or not.

Naming a road

2011-04-28T11:24:00.003+01:00

I've been at the Primary School where I am a governor for an assembly this morning. We were very excited because the mayor came to visit the school. The school is having a completely new build, on part of its grounds, and we hope that the new building will be ready for the school to move into in November.

The reason that the mayor was in school this morning was to launch a competition to name the new road that will lead up to the entrance of the new school. The children will suggest names, the best three will go to the local council who will decided which of those three names is most appropriate.

I'm sure that the children will come up with some great names, but I wonder whether any children will suggest one of the following ideas

Inspiration Alley
Learning Place
Don't Run Walk

Any other suggestions will be gratefully received!

(Apparently the road is crescent shaped, if only it was sharply inclined as well it could be 'Steep Learning Curve').

The Star of Bethlehem

2011-01-02T21:01:00.000Z

Our family service on Christmas Eve featured a Christmas Card from God and also four angels and a star. The angels and a star were helium balloons, high up in the roof, with messages from God.

The angel balloons, being made of latex, very quickly deflated, but the golden star continued to fly high in the church on Christmas Day and Boxing Day.

I arrived at the church today, to find the following scene

The Star of Bethlehem

The Star had come down from the rafters and, on Epiphany Sunday, had come to rest over the place where Jesus lay - and it stayed there throughout today's services.

One Artist meme

2010-12-15T09:07:00.000Z

Thanks to Phil Ritchie for suggesting this. Using only song names from one artist, answer the following questions - without repeating a song title. It's harder than you think

Pick yourself an artist - The Proclaimers
Describe yourself - I'm on my way
If you could go anywhere, where would you go - (Sunshine on) Leith
Your favourite form of transportation - King of the road
Your best friend is a - Disgrace
You and your friends are - Over and done with
If your life was a TV show what would it be called - The doodle song
What is life to you - I want to be a Christian
Your current relationship - Beautiful truth
Your fear - No one left to blame
What is the best advice you have to give - Don't turn out like your mother
I would like to die - Cap in hand
Time of day - It's Saturday night
My motto - Make my heart fly

Christmas Tree Festival

2010-12-12T05:14:00.003Z

Earlier in the year we sent out invitations to all the groups connected with the church in one way or another, and to schools and community groups, asking them to participate in our first Christmas Tree Festival. Forty groups responded positively, and this weekend is our Christmas Tree Festival weekend. Our church sanctuary, and several of our other rooms, are filled with Christmas trees of all shapes and sizes, decorated appropriately for the group which has entered the tree.

The front of our church sanctuary with some of the trees

I have been amazed by the creativity that has been shown. We obviously have some great talent locally.

Our church was open all day yesterday, and we saw a steady stream of visitors coming to visit the church and view the trees. We served tea and coffee and mince pies, and soup and ploughman's lunches at lunchtime.

The local WI tree on the left, and one of our Keep Fit groups on the right

We are grateful to the Hutton and Shenfield Choral Society, and the WI Choir, for entertaining us throughout the day.

I admit to being sceptical when the idea was first suggested in our Mission Committee, but I have to confess that I have changed my mind. Hopefully this will become an annual event, and I will be the first to enter a tree next year!

Here are some more photos for you to enjoy.

Detail from the Hutton Horticultural Society's tree

The Tennis Club's tree

Detail from our Flower Team's tree

Detail from the tree of one of the Badminton Groups using our premises

Test driving my New Year's resolution

2010-12-06T19:41:00.001Z

I have been shamefully absent from this blog, and can't put a finger on the real reason why. So thinking ahead, I'm considering making a New Year's resolution to blog a little more. And I've decided to 'test drive' that resolution over the next few weeks.

So forgive me, folks, for my absence from here, and do prod me from time to time, should my appearances dwindle again.

(And I'm also thinking about being creative and starting a fictional blog: but more about that another time).

Edna and Evelyn, part 2

2010-11-13T11:53:00.000Z

Almost a couple of months ago I mentioned the death of Edna on this blog. Edna, together with her sister Evelyn, was part of this church for 88 years.

I'm sad to have to say that Evelyn, Edna's 95 year old sister, has now also died, and her Thanksgiving Service will be held at the church on Wednesday afternoon.

We have truly come to the end of an era. Both sisters could remember, and spoke fondly of, every minister of the church. They were devoted to their Lord and devoted, too, to the church. Both of them served in the Sunday School for many years, and they had a real passion for working with children and young people. They also had a heart for the wider mission of the church, especially the work of the BMS (Baptist Missionary Society). They began going to BMS Summer Schools in the early 1930s, and continued to enjoy such holidays for many years, and they headed up the church's support for BMS for a number of decades.

Evelyn was also a member of the church choir for 65 years, only giving up (for medical reasons) in her 80s.

What is fascinating is that Evelyn left behind a diary, detailing the significant events of her life, and it will be great to be able to pay tribute to her by reading from this diary. Significant national events as well as more trivial personal events are recorded in her diary, which will find its way into our church archives after next Wednesday. I smile at the entry for 20th April 2004: David and Margie came to tea, and stayed until 4.30pm. Evelyn dedicates the diary 'to my beloved Parents and to my sister Edna who has been such a good companion to me from childhood.'

Neither Edna or Evelyn were married, although Evelyn's diary tells of romance and an engagement which, in the end, she felt she ought to call off. It would seem that the sticking point was that her fiancé wasn't supportive of her Christian faith and her church involvement.

I will miss these two sisters dearly, visiting them was always a highlight. I only pray that on Wednesday I will be able to do justice to Evelyn's life and the contribution that she made to the church and the wider kingdom of God.

Walk Through the Bible

2010-10-11T06:09:00.000+01:00

On Saturday we had a Walk Through the Bible New Testament Seminar, led by Paul Keeys, the Director of Walk Through UK. This built on the excellent Old Testament Seminar that we held last year. Thanks, Paul, for your input which was greatly appreciated.

Though I've been a Christian for forty years, and in ministry for over twenty seven years, it was great to get some fresh insights on the New Testament and on the four hundred years of silence between the Testaments.

I heartily recommend the Walk Through concept to any church!

Funerals

2010-09-22T10:32:00.001+01:00

Over recent weeks we have had a number of funerals of members of our church family. To learn of the deaths of three of our folk in one week is something that knocks not just the minister but the whole of the congregation. I am so grateful for the way that our folk have rallied around and been supportive of the bereaved. It is at times like this that we see the real value of being in Christian community.

Today is the last of the funerals. We will be celebrating Edna's life today. Edna died at the age of 95, after 88 years of association with the church here. Edna was a spinster, who has a younger (93 year old) sister, Evelyn, also a spinster. Edna and Evelyn had lived together for the whole of their lives, and supported one another in good times and difficult ones. In fact, for the last few years it is Edna who had been caring for her younger sister.

Edna and Evelyn were not well-travelled people. Indeed, some doubt whether, since the war, they have travelled outside the environs of Brentwood and district, except to go for hospital appointments. For years they cared for their elderly mother, who died aged 98, and then they looked after their dogs and their garden and home. But although they didn't travel far, their eyes and minds had wide horizons. For many years Edna was Missionary Secretary of the church, for 70 years she ran the Baptist Missionary Society Birthday Scheme in the church, and she was enthusiastic in her support of the mission of the church in other parts of the world.

And although they had no children of their own, both Edna and Evelyn were also passionate about the church's work with children and young people. For many years they taught in Sunday School, and led the various Sunday School departments. And long after Edna was not able to share in that work she still remained concerned for it. I cannot remember a time when I visited her when she did not ask about how that work was going.

I will miss Edna, but we give thanks to God for her, and we celebrate her faithfulness in so much.

Our fathers owned Thy goodness, and we their deeds record

Four questions and a refusal

2010-06-13T14:35:00.000+01:00

This morning's service was an interesting experience. As usual, I went up to church early to finish my preparation for the service, and print off my sermon and orders of service. This I duly did, but I had a strong feeling that the sermon that I was going to preach was not the one God wanted me to preach.

In our morning services at the moment we are working our way through the early chapters of Exodus. We have got to that point (chapters 3 and 4) where God confronts Moses at the burning bush. I was going to preach about Moses this morning, but felt called an hour before the service to preach as Moses. So the sermon script got torn up at the last minute and, instead, I came down from the pulpit and stood on the platform, with my 'staff' in my hand, and 'Moses' talked to the congregation about his encounter with God, looking back at it from near the end of his life. He (I) talked about his four questions and his refusal.

I wouldn't want to go through the same experience every week, and I came away from the service quite drained. I was heartened, though, by the reaction of the congregation, including one dear woman who said that it was the best sermon I had ever preached.

(On a more light-hearted note, we had a couple of interesting songs in the service, given the huge mistake made by Robert Green, the England goalkeeper, in the England v USA match at the world cup the previous evening. I decided to have a South African song to mark the world cup, and chose 'What a mighty God we serve,' with its third verse, 'He has all the power to save.' And we also sang 'I, the Lord of sea and sky,' which includes a line '... my hand will save.' There were many wry grins in the congregation as we sang those words)!

Tomato growing

2010-06-10T21:32:00.000+01:00

Those of you who followed my blog on wordpress.com, before I migrated back to blogger, will remember that last year I grew some tomato plants and impressed myself with the harvest that the plants produced. Have a look at this and this and you will see what I mean.

So this year I decided to go one step further, and grow my tomato plants from seeds. Instead of the three plants I grew last year, there are now about a dozen growing on the patio this year.

But I noticed last week that the plants had branches that were curling under, and I was worried that they had some dreadful disease. I called in Margaret, the expert in all things to do with tomato growing, and she assured me that the only thing wrong with my tomatoes was that I was showing them too much love, and giving them too much water. So I have improved the drainage of the pots, and stood them on bricks rather than in trays, and my plants are looking much more healthy now.

Hopefully there'll be some photos later on in the summer!

Baby-Scan Jesus

2010-06-10T07:41:00.002+01:00

'He's on his way' is the latest campaign from ChurchAds.net. The campaign is a reminder that 'Christmas starts with Christ'.

The campaign strikes a chord with me particularly as I've become a grandparent over the last few months. I look back on the months of anticipation, and the joy of seeing the scan pictures and the way that the unborn baby was growing inside mum.

This is what the creators of the campaign say about the reasoning behind their campaign.

Research has revealed that 85 per cent of people agree with the statement that "Christmas should be called Christmas because we are still a Christian country". But it also shows that only 12 per cent of adults know the facts of the Christmas story in any detail.

So if we Christians really want to keep Christmas focused on Christ, we must constantly re-tell the story of his birth in ways which engage positively with the public's interest.

In the 21st century, proud parents-to-be proudly announce the coming birth by showing friends and family the scan of the baby. Our new Baby-Scan Jesus poster uses this convention to place the birth of Christ in an ultra-contemporary context.

It is highly impactful. It has a sense of immediacy. It creates anticipation. And theologically it speaks of both the humanity and divinity of Jesus Christ.

There is no doubt that it will capture people's attention, generate headlines and create countless conversations about the true meaning of Christmas.

I couldn't have put it better!

The World Cup

2010-06-09T10:53:00.002+01:00

I'm gearing up, with many others, for the start of the World Cup this weekend. I'm looking forward to seeing some of the matches, but I'm not expecting too much from an England point of view!

In Dave Walker's Cartoon Church Office Sweepstake I've drawn Nigeria, so I'm not expecting to win the sweepstake either.

But whatever the fortunes of the teams I'll be cheering on, I'm looking forward to the next month or so.

And at least I know where South Africa is, unlike one American TV News Channel!

Pastor sets a challenge for his young people

2010-06-02T06:49:00.000+01:00

Hats off to Al Fenner. He's the pastor of a church in Port Huron, Michigan. He challenged his young people to raise $6000 towards a camp they were going to attend, though he didn't believe that they would rise to the challenge.

But they did! And because they did he found himself preaching one Sunday morning whilst his wife gave him a Mohican haircut.

(Writes memo to self: don't make outrageous promises if you're not willing to keep them)!

You can find the full story here.

Raising money in a fun way

2010-05-18T09:11:00.000+01:00

We've been raising money, over the last six months, in order to put in double glazing in our sanctuary. We have a large area of glass to double glaze, which will help us make savings on the enormous gas bills that we run up during the winter months, and we've gone a long way towards reaching our £30,000 target.

To help us raise the amount that we still need a couple of our members are running a Bring and Buy stall in our coffee bar on a Tuesday morning, and many of us have, in one way or another, contributed to the items that are sold on the stall. Someone has produced vast quantities of rhubarb from their garden, someone else has made some jewellery, and so on. Earlier on this Spring I sowed some tomato seeds (the very first time I've done that) and many of the resulting seedlings have been sold on the stall.

It's been a fun way to raise some extra money, by utilising the gifts and skills of our church community. And it has also led to interest from other users of our coffee bar and premises, who have then made their own contributions.

Helping at school

2010-04-28T10:36:00.000+01:00

One of my real pleasures each week is the time that I spend in one of our local primary schools. I go in one morning a week to help in the classroom, and then I eat lunch with the children before leading a school lunchtime club.

We have built up a real partnership with the school, and many of the youngsters who come to our Junior Club are pupils at the school.

It's a joy to be welcomed at the school, to be greeted so cheerily by the children, and to build up a rapport with the staff.

Although I go into the school as part of my ministry to the local community, I do not go in with a set agenda. Rather, I offer my time to the school, for them to use as they see fit.

Because of the relationship that I have built up with this particular school, I was recently invited to become a school governor, and I'm looking forward to seeing that role develop as time progresses.

Filling the pulpit when the minister is away

2010-04-19T20:16:00.001+01:00

I am away for a weekend in the near future, and the people who are responsible for finding someone to 'fill the pulpit' (isn't that an interesting phrase?) when I'm away have been really struggling to do so, particular because it's a communion service, and because it's also the Baptist Assembly in Plymouth, and so some members of the Baptist family who might normally help us are elsewhere.

We have particular sensitivities in our church because we are a Union church (joint Baptist and URC), and therefore there is concern from some members of the congregation that the person who presides at the communion service ought to be ordained.

I don't know about your church, but it does seem increasingly difficult for us to fill the pulpit when the minister is away. Perhaps it's because there are fewer lay preachers, or perhaps it's because there are more smaller churches who need someone to take services because they can no longer afford full-time ministry.

I'm glad, though, that unlike some of my fellow clergy from other denominations, I'm not the one who is ultimately responsible for finding a replacement when I'm not there.

Daniel at two months old

2010-04-19T11:36:00.000+01:00

Daniel, our grandson, is growing up fast and beginning to smile. I'm glad that Hannah and Chris live reasonably close so that we can pop across to see them every now and again.

Here's a photo I took last week

Holiday Club

2010-04-19T11:22:00.000+01:00

We had a great Holiday Club last week, on the theme of Planet Heroes - looking at various Old Testament heroes. Some 30 primary school children enrolled altogether, and we must have averaged around 25 children each day for the three days of the club. I reprised my 'Captain Ketchup' role of a few years back - a Super Hero with the power to make any meal taste good.

The youngsters thoroughly enjoyed themselves, and we hope that some of them will enrol in our Junior Club which meets each Thursday evening. Many thanks to Princess Pink (Jeni) and Flame Boy (Dan) for their organisation.

Out of Europe, now out of the title race

2010-04-15T13:35:00.000+01:00

Well, last night's defeat to our arch-rivals Spurs means that we are now no longer in with a realistic chance of winning the Premier League.

But I can't begrudge Tottenham's win. After all, it's the first time that they've beaten us in the league since 1999. Let's hope that they have to wait another 11 years before they do it again!

The possibility of a hung Parliament

2010-04-09T21:29:00.001+01:00

I enjoyed reading this article from the Christian think-tank, Ekklesia, regarding the desirability (and inevitability) of a hung Parliament, if not at this election then at some time in the future.

Living in a constituency which is amongst the top 160 safest constituencies in the UK, where my vote might well count for nothing because the outcome of the vote here seems to be a forgone conclusion, I long for some kind of proportional representation. It would seem to me that to encourage people (especially young people) to participate in the election they need to be assured that their votes count, wherever they live.

I dislike the present adversarial climate in politics. In watching, reading and listening to our MPs, I get frustrated by their playground antics, the constant mudslinging and their unwillingness to work together. A hung Parliament, where politicians have to learn to work together, might be no bad thing.

The European Champions' League

2010-04-09T21:03:00.001+01:00

It's been a sad week for English football with both Arsenal (my team) and Manchester United being knocked out of the European Champions' League. This will be the first time for seven years that England won't be represented in the semi-finals of the competition.

But what amused me was Sir Alex Ferguson's response to defeat, where he blamed the players of Bayern Munich for intimidating the referee and getting one of Manchester United's players sent off. The phrase that he actually used in the press conference after the match was 'Typical Germans', although there weren't very many Germans actually playing for Bayern Munich.

Because there is so much money in football nowadays, there does seem to be a lack of graciousness in defeat shown by many top managers and players. But I felt that Alex Ferguson's outburst was ironic, given that he seems to be an habitual offender when it comes to intimidating referees.

I did hope that Manchester United would progress in the competition - I cheer on any English team playing in Europe. But if you do lose, please can you try to do it gracefully?

I've returned to Blogger

2010-04-09T11:57:00.001+01:00

After an absence of nearly two years I've returned to Blogger from WordPress. I haven't blogged in earnest for a few months, but I have missed it. So I am going to begin blogging again.

But there will be changes in my blogging, which I hope you will see. In the past few months I had become obsessed with statistics, with trying to increase the traffic to my blog: from now on, I'm going to be blogging for my own pleasure. I'll be delighted if you continue to visit, and if you feel you want to comment or interact with me on the blog, but I don't want to be driven by the need to see the statistics regarding the number of people who have passed this way. Hence one of the reasons for returning to Blogger; every time I powered up WordPress I was confronted with a screenful of numbers about visitors my blog had had.

For the time being, as well, I've dropped the 'deiknuo.com' url, which made me feel important but which wasn't really necessary.

I'm probably going to be blogging more frequently, and more personally, so I want to make clear that all that will be contained on this site are entirely my own thoughts, and don't imply any validation from the church I am privileged to be minister of. That doesn't mean that I'm necessarily going to be controversial; I just want to cover all bases.