Freaked!

Hi World,

(Here is a picture recently brought up from the past. My and my big brother playing in my Granny's back garden.)

I'm a bit freaked cos I realised the other day when I did the school assembly and I was asked to teach the first and second class that I am starting to enjoy the interaction with children. I know, I am a bit worried! They were all dressed up in their hallowe'en costumes and I asked if I could stay in the school for the parade - me looking to do overtime with groups of children, and no valium! What is happening to me? I start teaching in the school Monday week.

Waiting in St Vincents last week to find ouot which ward a parishioner was on, the receptionist glanced up and then said "Yes Sir, how can I help you?" I started to laugh and then he looked up again and apologised and said that he only looked up as far as the collar. As I asked someone later when telling the story was there not a bit of a give away that I wasn't a "sir" below the level of the collar as well? :-)

Children's Address

Heavenly Father may my words reflect your word and may our ears be always ready to hear your call. Amen

One of my favourite things to do when I travel is to go to a supermarket and find foods that I can’t get at home. Some people don’t understand why, when I am on holidays I would want to go around a supermarket but my trip out of the country would not be complete without it. Any one else do that? I know I’m not the only one.

On my recent trips I have found a wide variety of crisps) and in Europe have enjoyed toffee filled Oreo cookies (definitely all gone), very large bags of Lays salted crisps, blackberry mustard, Chocolate sprinkles for toast, and moose jerky. From the US Peanut butter M&Ms etc.
In our house I collected up freeze dried crickets from Bosnia etc-
All the countries I have travelled to had one thing in common – full shelves.
I remember when I was small and growing up in the country we had to go to lots of harvest services as my Dad was rector of 5 churches and often got asked to preach at other churches. We called them home and away matches, and every year would ask how many of each there were, and more importantly how many we were expected to go to. I have to say of all the sermons I heard I only remember the one about the pooky man because it made me my brother and sister laugh so much my Mum glared at us and threatened to take us out of the church – I don’t remember what was even in the pooky man sermon.

I don’t remember the sermons but I do remember the tea after the services. In the country at that time anyway the ladies went all out. I think there was a competition to see which church could do the best spread. The sandwiches always had butter not margarine on them, there was no one paying attention to the number of homemade biscuits or slices of cake we ate, it was great.

One of the other things I remember from when I was small and I think if we are honest, from when most of us were small is having a tantrum and shouting “Its not fair! Or That’s no good” I know I stamped my feet on occasion when I did it. Would you like to join me in remembering - stand up and try! I think there won’t be many occasions when we are encouraged to act like we are having a tantrum in church so I think we’d better make the most of it.
Its not fair
That’s no good.

The world we live in has a lot of occasions when we scream and stamp and say it’s not fair and that’s no good! It seems to me that we say it when someone else has something we want, something that we feel that we should have.
Harvest is a time of year that we need to be reminded to say it on behalf of those who don’t have what we have.
We are going to try a little tantrum on behalf of those people to make this point a little more strongly. For each of the following statements I want you to shout -
Its not fair. That’s no good. (you can stamp as well)
23 million people in East Africa are at risk of starving because there hasn’t been any rain for a long time to help food to grow………
Cheap clothes for sale in some of our shops may have been made in poor countries by women and children working long hours for very little pay………
In some countries boy babies are thought to be better to have than girl babies……...
Some of the vegetables for sale in our shops have travelled more air miles than we did for our holidays from countries where people don’t have enough to eat……...
These are only a few examples, I expect that you can think of many more ways that we are lucky and others are not.

Now we are going to do it again and say it differently in a way that makes us think about what we can do about it because it is not simply enough to shout about it, God wants us to realise that it is the responsibility of all of us here to act for those who find themselves unable to be heard when they cry out for help. This time we will say
Its not fair. That’s no good.
23 million people in East Africa are at risk of starving because there hasn’t been any rain for a long time to help food to grow.
Cheap clothes for sale in some of our shops may have been produced in poor countries by women and children working long hours for very little pay.
In some countries boy babies are thought to be better to have than girl babies.
Some of the fruit and vegetables for sale in our shops have travelled more air miles than we did for our holidays from countries where people don’t have enough to eat.

We sit quietly close our eyes and pray -
May we who have much remember those who have little.
May we who are full remember those who are hungry.
May we who are loved remember those who are lonely.
May we who are safe remember those who are in danger.May we who have so much learn how to share. Amen

Sermons

Over the last two weeks I have been preaching, and in the course of doing research, I found the following news stories. The first I didn't use when preaching the passage of Jesus walking on the water but the second I hope to use on Sunday when the reading inculdes Jesus telling His followers that he is the bread of life-

Walking on the water
A priest has died after trying to demonstrate how Jesus walked on water. Evangelist preacher Franck Kabele, 35, told his congregation he could repeat the biblical miracle. But he drowned after walking out to sea from a beach in the capital Libreville in Gabon, west Africa. One eyewitness said: “He told churchgoers he’d had a revelation that if he had enough faith, he could walk on water like Jesus. “He took his congregation to the beach saying he would walk across the Komo estuary, which takes 20 minutes by boat. “He walked into the water, which soon passed over his head and he never came back." August 31st 2006

The Sandwich
The meat had been cooked, the sandwich almost assembled and assorted Guinness Book of Records dignitaries were patiently waiting by to give it their official stamp of approval.
But cooks in Iran were left in despair after their bid to create the world's longest sandwich failed when the crowd started eating it before it could be measured.
Event organisers had planned to stuff the 1,500-metre-long sandwich with 700 kg of ostrich meat and 700 kg of chicken, and display it in a park in the capital TehranBut as the sandwich was being measured, chaos ensued. The giant snack was gone in minutes, leaving the three Guinness representatives with a problem.One of the event’s organisers said video footage of the sandwich would be sent to Guinness officials.
"We still think the sandwich will be recorded in the Guinness book because of all the evidence and footage that we will send them," claimed Parvin Shariati.
The stunt had been organised to encourage Iranians to eat a healthier diet.
Ostrich meat is far leaner than much of the Iranian diet with as half as much fat as chicken, lots of iron, and very little cholesterol - as well as being extremely tasty

I hope that you enjoyed the irony as much as I did!
Keep an eye on the blog, I hope to keep it more updated soon.

A Steep Learning Curve

It has been an interesting time since I first donned the collar the day of the Ordination. It was quite the day. I didn't realise that I was bracing myself to endure it until the service started and I realised that I was really enjoying it. It was a fantastic day and I thoroughy enjoyed it from start to finish. It was lovely to have so many people travel to be with us and it was also wonderful that Mum could be there. It was really nice to have a reason to celebrate with those who have had reason to support our family during less happy times.

Since starting work, I have been very conscious that the sight of a woman in a collar isn't as common as I would have thought judging by the number of double takes I have seen. On Monday evening, while in Jury's Inn in Cork for a classmate's ordination, I was asked by the young very French barman if I would rather be called "Father" or "Mother"! I really had no answer except to say that it really didn't matter. In response he said that he really had to know so I told him that Rev covered all. How do you get your head round that?

In the parish school I had to choose between Rev Ruth or Miss Elmes. I asked the principal if I could just be called Ruth by the children and the response was that I had to be called one or the other. Isn't it funny that as all else is changing that it seems so important to hold onto something so simple as your Christian name to keep some sense of identity.

Its My Birthday!

It wasn't the most auspiscious start, the stress all caught up with me but following a good nose blow, I got on with all that had to be done. I spent an afternoon on the floor of the new office putting together bits and pieces of flat pack furniture. I built the filing cabinet and the in/out tray (thanks IKEA for the fact that it went together as it should). After my success I vacuumed the newly laid carpet, admired the motion sensor glowing a serene blue in the corner (alarm system now installed and fully up to date), and with my mp3 player randomly selecting music I moved boxes of books round in synchronicity with the music.

During the afternoon I got Jonathan to help me to take the desk down from the attic. It struck me as very fitting that today I took the desk down. It had been a birthday present originally from Garry, my late husband, before we married. It was he who had helped me put the desk up in the attic when Jonathan was small and needed his own room and we dismantled the desk "for the moment" to give him space in his own room. It is funny how life moves in circles sometimes.

I am now a week away from ordination. I woke with that thought this morning and didn't get back to sleep. I don't mind the thought of work, it is the transition period that is so much on my mind. I remember my first foray onto the wards when I was expected to know everything because I wore a uniform. I will be wearing a new uniform soon and that will have its own adjustment.

On retreat next week. I look forward to the silence.

All Over

So the last of the exams have been done (for the moment at least), Jonathan and I have packed up all my belongings from the college (I really had that much?!), and I have caught up on my sleep a little. I can't quite believe that it is all over and the 3 years has passed by so fast. It has been a little surreal saying au revoir to all my calssmates and knowing that it will never be the same again. I am not really uspet as I have spent most of my adult life moving on and not always by my own choice.
I will be on line a little more I hope tracking the life and times of a green curate. I think it is all a little surreal at the moment. I have the uniform, the ember cards have gone out, the teasing has increased and now the exams are over it is the next thing on the calender. I have been astounded by the support I have had and the interest that there is my ordination. So many people seem to care, its humbling.
That will be an even stranger day than leaving college I imagine.

Hey, such a long time no blogs. Am on the last round up now. Term has ended and the study weeks have begun. It's a little more complicated this year as there is all the pre ordnation stuff to do as well. I have had my medical and all clear. I have had my eyes tested and all has become clear! Ember cards are written and being posted. The wall between my and Jonathan's bedrooms is being moved mext week as he is growing and I am getting shorter (discs compressing - it happens with age...). The outdoor office should be in place by the end of this month as there is a roomful of books in the college that is due for transfer here. I have clerical shirts on order (can't quite believe it myself), and need to shop for a suit to wear to my ordination.

So far this year I have packed in a trip to London with Jacq, my little sister for her big birthday. A trip to Berlin with my lovely children to have the chance to hang out with them for the weekend, and a spin to Barcelona with some of my classmates because the chance presented itself. Its no wonder I'm tired.

Despite the long silence, I would hope to be more active on the blog as I learn the new job and get back to life in the real world.

The Frightened Motorcyclist

On my way to college in the morning, if I time it right, I come across the frightened motorcyclist. I can see him or her from quite a distance away as the brake lights glow like a beacon from quite a distance. On drawing closer, I can see that it is a small cc bike, the type of moped that is not quite a scooter - not quite a motorbike.

The brake light is almost constantly on as I follow it at around 20 miles and hour through the quiet side roads. The intrepid traveller seems so focussed on the danger of the task that there seems little pleasure in the sensation of travelling. Their backpack seems to add to the burden of the journey. Helmet on tightly, hands in protective gloves, raingear ready for bad weather. They travel along with their feet off the footplate, soles down, ready for the need to stop and connect with the security of the road surface.

It struck me this morning that this is a very good example of the way that people (including myself on too frequent an occasion if I’m honest) live out our Christian lives. We protect ourselves with layers that prevent us from feeling the impact of our journey, saving us from hot and cold of contact with life. We brace our feet, ready for the possibility of a crisis. We keep the brakes on, not because we need them – but just in case…

What would happen if I got on the motorbike of my Christian journey and travelled the road with the wind blowing my face and hair, brakes off, full throttle shouting “YEE-HA!” fully connected, exhilarated, and trusting in God to keep the bike on the road? I think I am about to find out as I start the new phase of my life in God and with God. Its going to be quite the journey!