The Monster Raving Loony Party...

Elsewhere David has written about the weirdness of being a Returner at Ridley and watching many friends leaving as they graduate to ordination and learning how to be a curate. It is indeed, as he writes, why we are at Ridley in the first place – except I wasn’t, as for four terms I was an independent student paying my way, like most students would like to instead of racking up debts. Being freed up and resourced by redundancy enabled me to do whatever I wanted for a few years. And I ended up choosing to study theology in a theological college surrounded by ordinands and priests…adamant that God was not calling me along the path to ordination. Well, yes…
I was thrown on reflecting how I have got to where I am now – to be Revd’ed in a few days – when, by a series of coincidences, I met someone I haven’t seen for about 3 years. Ushered into a room and the door shut, the ‘How are things?’ conversation quickly changed into ‘How did you get to this stage?’ to me. You get quite used to giving your testimony as an ordinand – provides handy sermon illustrations if nothing else – so off I went. But by return came back the surprising statement ‘I am a Christian now.’ My history was described as ‘more dramatic than many’ by the Bishops’ Advisory Panel (why, oh why, choose a title with the acronym BAP?) but the story I was told was truly the work of God. And I indentified with the puzzlement and ‘How have I got here? What is going on? What do I do now my life has been turned upside down but makes so much sense?’ And the ‘I’m going to be put in the Loony category now…’ fear.
At college you are protected to some extent from the Loony label as you are all Loonies together and being Loony is normal. Several Ridley ordinands have commented that a problem with being at a theological college is that you spend nearly all of your time with Christians (and Muslims this past year), all Loonies. In less than a week I will be back in ‘normal’ society but firmly labelled as a Loony by my profession and dress. It helps that during the time at Ridley I still did ‘secular’ things that I had done before and my circle includes many non-Christians – some of whom are coming to the ordination. Moving to the Fens means that I have to find new groups to join – if I have the time. But one thing that I value about the Church of England is precisely that it is the Church of England. The cure of all souls in our parishes is given to me (jointly, of course) whether they are fellow Loonies or not. If I spend all my time with Loonies like me then I will not doing what I will be ordained to do. Quite how I get the balance right and manage to be be a Loony in a really loony world will be interesting to work out…
Please pray for my friend if you are a Loony, and if you are not, well, you can still pray…

Democracy rules...OK?

What is the Kingdom like? This morning we thanked God for the right we have in this country to be governed democratically and prayed for those countries and people who are not thus blessed. What is the Kingdom like? Was Jesus a democrat? Did he promote majority rule? What are our rights according to him? Are the needs of social justice, by definition concerning minorities, met best in a democracy?

It’s just that the difference between what rules our nations and what rules in the Kingdom struck me very forcefully this morning. Yes, pray for the removal of oppression and the denial of what most agree are rights for humanity. But pray and work for more than a democratic government system alone. Rights come with responsibilities.

But we have no rights at all really – just grace.

Beginnings and endings...

A new term dawns... This afternoon I have the first of this term's classes, with lots of texts that I should have read in preparation. The vacation tradition of morning prayer followed by breakfast on F Staircase continued this morning but for the last time, for me anyway. Brewed coffee, croissants, pains aux chocolat and good bread toasted and buttered while hot - not to mention the greengage jam and the homemade marmalade. Of such is heaven made... Now a lot a reading and the completion of my self-assessment form will fill the rest of the morning. And perhaps a bit of essay writing this evening.

The made-to-measure clerical shirts arrived on Friday - trying them on I was told that a black clerical shirt really suits me. In 10 weeks time it will be the second day of my curacy...

Lost...

You know how things are supposed to drop off and not work so well as you get older - or perhaps you haven't got there yet. In which case you will find out... I was watching the news on the TV last night and there was this item about a concert with the BBC Concert Orchestra, featuring the World Whistling Champion. My Dad taught me to whistle when I was a child. I thought I could whistle quite well but this guy is a virtuoso. Pursing my lips up to whistle along with him I discovered that I have lost my whistle. It seems that now I can't whistle. What has happened? No one told me that this might happen as I got older. Has anyone seen my whistle or perhaps someone has a spare one?

Quiet day: lunch

Called, we form
an accidental procession
along the double-bended
corridor, following
the old groove,
earthy threads worn
by our tread,
thin at tricky corners;
beyond a table spread,
bread for breaking,
wine for drinking.

The light of your presence…

Sitting yesterday in a wonderfully quiet and peaceful evening prayer, as writ in Common Worship, I got to musing about stained glass windows.
Wikipedia says the following about stained glass:
‘Although usually set into windows, the purpose of stained glass is not to allow those within a building to see out or even primarily to admit light but rather to control it. For this reason stained glass windows have been described as 'illuminated wall decorations'.’
(See en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stained-glass)
Looking up at the chapel’s east window, I could see very little of its colours and design because it was dark outside. When you are inside a church you need light outside to see the windows. But if you are outside in the dark, there needs to be light inside the church in order for you to see the windows.
A reminder that as tellers of the gospel we need to be both in the church and outside in the world.