I had a really strange dream last night, I guess it reveals my anxieties about Stationing next year and the coming move... I missed notifications and ended up somewhere quite strange, on the plus side there were boats everywhere so Tim and the girls were pleased!!!
Thankfully the day was more normal, first a funeral thanksgiving service for an amazing man. John was 85, an encourager, a man of great faithand wisdom. John made a commitment to Christ as his Lord and Saviour at the age of 13, and never stopped learning and growing, he had just started reading through a new Bible version when he died and asked for the readings today to be taken from it. How wonderful to be able to celebrate a life well lived. John had encouraged and inspired many of us, his family spoke warmly of a Dad and granddad who will be sorely missed, we have been privileged to know him.
From the funeral the storytellers and I went to lead an assembly at one of the towns Primary Schools. The school have recently purchased a projection system and screen, the year 6 (read 5th Grade in the US) pupils were preparing the screen, they had written up:
Hooray it is Sally's assembly!!!!!
a bit of prompting from one of the teachers and it became:
It's Mrs Coleman's assembly!
To be honest I preferred the first one apparently I am doing something right! I am grateful to the storytelling team who come in with me, we act out gospel accounts and parables. At the moment we are working towards a Harvest Festival Celebration Service, both the school and the Church are keen to strengthen links. This will be the first of many services the school attends this year; we will be going to the school for a special performance of their Christmas play. I am privileged to be a part of this growing relationship.
I have been a Methodist Lay Worker for 5 years now, I am entering into my sixth and final year of this work as I will be Stationed as a Probationary Minister in September 09. When I candidated ( interviewed) for ordained ministry I was asked about my views on every member ministry, I said then and I still believe that the church needs the various gifts and talents of the whole membership to function as it should. I still believe this! Lay Workers ( who are now to be given specific titles to reflect their jobs) have long been an important part of Circuit ministry, often working hard in pastoral or evangelistic roles , and more often than not with those on the fringes of Church life and beyond.
So what is my gripe? Simply this, that Lay Work is often not valued or recognised by the Church membership, when it comes to prayers for Circuit staff often only the ministers and their families are mentioned, when it comes to other forms of recognition like the gift of a ticket to a Harvest Supper, again the Lay Worker is expected to pay their way while the Minister ( whose stipend by the way usually exceeds the Lay Workers income) is invited free of charge and made a fuss of. Lay Workers truly seem to come at the bottom ofthe pile. Now I am not calling for a parade, nor for a great fuss to be made of me, but simply from the knowledge that many, many folk involved in Lay Ministry feel forgotten and undervalued, many have given up good jobs to follow God's call, and it would be easy to say well then what are they expecting.
At a Harvest Lunch today I was asked when I would be Stationed, I replied with next Septembers date, the response was- "Oh we will really miss you Sally." My husband Tim with whom I job share said that he felt invisible at this point, we will move together, he has put a lot of energy and effort and prayer into his work here.... He too will be moving on, but one thing we have both noticed is the difference in the way that I am received and treated since being accepted for ordained ministry, and yet the work I do has not changed! We both need encouraging!!! So.....
This is my plea; call your Lay Worker; ask how they are, take an interest in their work ( you might be surprised at the things we do!!!). We need to value one another, both those in ordained and un-ordained (lay) ministry work hard, and both are following the call of God on their lives...
...having said all of that this encouragement is needed by the whole of the body of Christ, how many Stewards give up time and spend energy working hard for no visible reward? We need to encourage and value them!
How many folk give their time and energy to help their neighbours and friends? We need to encourage and value them!
How about those beautiful flowers that adorn our churches week after week, let's find the folk responsible, we need to encourage and value them!
Let's find our Junior Church/ Sunday School leaders and than them for all they do, we need to encourage and value them!
Let's reclaim thanks and encouragement in our dealings with one another, seeking to build one another up, so that we might all be those who serve with a smile rather that a sense of rejection and with a heavy heart!
Last week I blogged about how the Harvest Service in one of our village Chapels was transformed by the decision of one person and the response of others. The same happened this week, though in a different way. On Tuesday the Church Steward from our farthest flung rural Chapel called, they had decided to close the Church on the coming Sunday as there would be a congregation of two, and one of those would be the organist, was that OK? The congregation was asked to think about it, and after a short discussion one of the members felt that Harvest Festival was too important to cancel, and so she decided to return from her holiday two days early.
Somehow this decision became contagious, another member also returned to the village earlier than expected, also from a long break, and the Church Steward was present having had her holiday plans canceled at the last miniute. She will now go on holiday in January instead. There were several other folk present this morning who would have been disappointed to arrive to find a closed Church. Tim and I traveled out to support them, and a good time of praise and thanksgiving followed. Douglas Morris ( one of the Circuit Ministers) led an inspiring Service, and God made something out of what may have been nothing.
How did this happen, I firmly believe that the Holy Spirit is at work in our midst, and in this instance enabled a listening process to flow from what may have been a knee jerk reaction. Despondency was replaced this morning by a sense of joy and celebration. God is with us and for us! I also believe that the needs of the rural community were highlighted through the focus of harvest, it is easy to push a rural congregation into what we might consider to be vibrant 21st Century worship without considering the unique culture and needs of the community, even the "incomers" have moved out here for a number of reasons; one of the reasons often voiced is the need to reconnect with thecreation, if that is the case then a canceled Harvest Service is a dis-service to the community!
Rosabella ( with the dark hair) and Ellie (blond) have both just started school, Rosabella my grandaughter was 5 yesterday, and Ellie- soon to be my "adopted" grandaughter ( when Paul and Louise marry next July) will soon be five.
Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace.
Over at Revgals Singing Owl says: Raise your hand if you know that today is Johnny Appleseed Day! (I had no idea, but then I am English)
September 26, 1774 was his birthday. Johnny Appleseed" (John Chapman) is one of America's great legends. He was a nurseryman who started out planting trees in western New York and Pennsylvania, but he was among those who were captivated by the movement west across the continent.
As Johnny traveled west (at that time, the "West" was places like Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, and Illinois) he planted apple trees and sold trees to settlers. With every apple tree that was planted, the legend grew. A devout Christian, he was known to preach during his travels. According to legend, Johny Appleseed led a simple life and wanted little. He rarely accepted money and often donated any money he received to churches or charities. He planted hundreds of orchards, considering it his service to humankind. There is some link between Johny Appleseed and very early Arbor Day celebrations.
So, in honor of this interesting fellow, let's get on with the questions!
1. What is your favorite apple dish? (BIG BONUS points if you share the recipe.)
Plain and simple Apple Pie!
Ingredients For the pastry: 255g/9oz plain flour pinch of salt 140g/5oz hard margarine or butter 6 tsp cold water For the filling: 3 large Bramley cooking apples, chopped, stewed and cooled sugar, to taste caster sugar, to serve
Method 1. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6. 2. Sieve the flour and salt into a bowl. 3. Rub in the margarine or butter until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. 4. Add the cold water to the flour mixture. Using a knife, mix the water into the flour, using your hand to firm up the mixture. The pastry should be of an even colour and suitable consistency for rolling. 5. Divide the pastry into two halves. Take one half and roll it out so that it is big enough to cover an 20cm/8in enamel or aluminium plate. Trim the edges with a knife using the edge of the plate as your guide. 6. Cover the pastry with the stewed apples and sprinkle with sugar to taste. 7. Roll out the other half of the pastry. Moisten the edge of the bottom layer of pastry and place the second piece on top. 8. Press down on the pastry edges, making sure that they are properly sealed. Trim off any excess pastry with a knife in a downward motion, again using the plate as your guide. 9. Flute the edges with a pinching action using your fingers and thumb. 10. Prick the surface of the pastry lightly before placing the pie in the oven. Cook for 20-30 minutes. 11. When the pie is cooked it should move slightly on the plate when gently shaken. 12. Slide on to a serving plate, dust with caster sugar and serve.
2. Have you ever planted a tree? If so was there a special reason or occasion you can tell us about?
Not a tree, but a rose bush for my daughter Sarah who was stillborn, the rosebush was called breath of life, something she never experienced and yet somehow gave to us in a very special way. Breath of life is a climbing rose which flowers in early June, quite often the first flower bursts into life on her birthday.
3. Does the idea of roaming around the countryside (preaching or otherwise) appeal to you? Why or why not?
Yes and no, it is something I have done with evangelistic mission teams, and some of the methods now make me cringe. I do believe that in English village culture that being out and about in the Market towns and villages as a clergy presence is still looked on with favour, it is certainly something I try to do. Not to preach though, but perhaps to gossip the gospel through chance encounters!
4. Who is a favorite "historical legend" of yours?
Both a historical legend and a Saint. Saint Brigid of Kildaire, I wear a St Brigid's cross, and love her symbol of fire! Brigid is surrounded by myth and legend, and sometimes her true story takes a little untangling, more about Brigid here.
5. Johnny Appleseed was said to sing to keep up his spirits as he traveled the roads of the west. Do you have a song that comes when you are trying to be cheerful, or is there something else that you often do?
Music always affects me emotionally in some way, if I need to keep my spirits up I find that worship music is likely to lift me out of myself. My current favourite is:
It feels like autumn today, we woke to a cold damp morning, and it is completely dark now, the nights seem to be drawing in very quickly. Both Jo and Chris have returned to University, and Emma called to say that she had enrolled on her Masters Course yesterday. Jon is the only one left at home now, he goes back to Lancaster on Friday, then Tim and I will have the house to ourselves again, we'll enjoy it for a while, then start looking forward to the children coming home again!
My desk is disappearing under a pile of books for the Rural Ministries and Christian Worship and Human Communitymodules I will begin in October. My diary is also filling up with dates for courses and meetings that I need to attend before I am Stationed next September... suddenly life seems to be moving very quickly!!!
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