Prayer Vigil - Follow the vision

Reasonably busy Sunday as I was the President and Preacher at the 9am Family Eucharist. It seemed to be a while since I had done this so it was good to be back. Having deaconed at 11 am I decided to get some exercise on the bike only to discover that it had a flat tyre and a buckled wheel. Took it to Halfords they were not interested. "Can't touch it mate " he said "cause its not from here." Oh well!

After coming back I spent some time preparing for the Franciscan slot for the Follow the Vision Prayer Vigil taking place in the Cathedral from Sunday night to Monday night. I have decided to use some meditations on the Crucifixion and Resurrection indispersed with silence and readings from the Third Order Principles. Hope it all goes alright and I must be honest I am glad it is the last thing I have to do before I enjoy a few days leave. Thought with this post I would include the view from my study window of the Cathedral and on a franciscan theme an icon on the meeting of St Francis and St Clare. I intend to have a break so no posts this week I think!

Society of Catholic Priests @ Llandaff Cathedral

It was splendid on Thursday the Feast of St Vincent de Paul to be the principle celebrant for the Local Chapter of SCP and to hear a talk after by Jeffery John, Dean of St Albans about his book the Meaning of Miracles. I must admit I have not read it but he entertained us well for an hour with examples of the true spiritual meaning behind miracles. That was certainly useful to me this week especially in preparing a sermon about Building on the rock or the sand. Feel very much this week that I have been built entirely on the Sand as I feel terrible and so have survived on Red Bull and ibubrofen (kids don't try this at home). But hopefully from today on I will feel a little less grim, especially next week as I am on leave from Cathedral duties.
Hoping to keep on with the diet and that the scales will go in the right direction but most of all I am looking forward to the space to chill and be peaceful. Here's hoping anyway!

Wenvoe and St Lythans

Hard to believe it is a week since I last posted. But it has been a frantic week with so many competing things to do. Four funerals and planning to take Rhodri back to Trinity College, Carmarthen. But it was delightful today to preside at the Eucharist in Wenvoe and St Lythans. Both of these churches are very beautiful and both reasonably well attended. Took ages to get any inspiration for the sermon today about the Untrustworthy Steward Luke 16:1-13, but got there in the end. Heartened this week by the fact the Archbishop feels unable to sign the covenant. Really hope that he sticks to this because I would find it difficult to belong to a church that insisted on adherence to a very narrow view of human sexuality based on taking small extracts from the bible out of context. What the archbishop said to the Governing Body can be found on the Church in Wales website and is well worth reading http://www.churchinwales.org.uk/

So as I begin another week which tomorrow will be focused on a Spirituality Committee meeting and seeing a directee in the afternoon I hope that the battle for an inclusive, tolerant and loving church is not one that will be lost!

Exhausted!

Well nearly three months after I should have done something about it on Friday morning the exhaust fell off the Rover. I can remember reading something in Steven Covey's The Seven Habits of Highly Effective people about the maintainence of equipment. When will I learn. Luckily whilst doing a funeral Paul from Pigeons the undertaker was able to put me in touch with a garage who would not rip me off so I will get on to that on Monday.

On cover today in Dinas Powys but waking up at 6am when it was very dark disorientated me considerably. That and the fact there was no coffee in the house meant that I was quite sluggish by the time I arrived for the 8am in St Peters even more sluggish at the 9am in St Andrew's but mercifully I was invited back for coffee to the Old Rectory between the 9am and the 10.30am so I could revive bit. Realised when I got up into the pulpit at the 10.30am that something was missing my sermon notes which were still on the pulpit in St Andrew's. In fact in some strange way the attempt to remember what I had written was better than what I had delivered in the 9am. Trying to focus to finish off my book review for my MA which I think I will try to do tomorrow. Also had to funeral visits this afternoon and going to preach in compline in a bit. So a busy day!!!

Feast of the Triumph of the Cross

Today the Triumph of the Cross as the Roman Missal puts it or Holy Cross Day as the Church In Wales Prayer Book calls it brings to mind Holy Cross Church where I worshipped during my teenage years. So it was good today to be able to Preside at the Eucharist twice. First at the Cathedral at 7am and then at St Luke's Canton at 6.30pm. I had not presided at St Luke's before so it was a special privilage and wonderful to celebrate in the Anglo Catholic tradition that I had been used to before my ordination.

Very challenging funeral this morning! (Enough said) Being told to Shut up within the first thirty seconds was not a good start. Nevertheless it went okay after that. But it was a large contrast with the memorial service of Linton Slack one of the Cathedral parishioners which was a model of Anglican dignity. After that I headed out and about to deliver some things to parishoners and did some visits. Back then to chaperone choir practice before Youth Group. No one turned up tonight apart from my helper and we had a chance to chat about meditation etc. The early arrival home meant that no one else was back yet so I took the opportunity for some meditation which when I have done it always makes me think I should be more disciplined about it. Though today as well about some of my current projects and commitments and looking at how many of them I need to consider cutting back on.

The Rover backbox fell off this morning which was inconvient if not a little funny but more on that later!

Exercise and assorted pastoral duties

Got back on the bike for the first time this week. Think just about everything that could began to ache. However once I had got going it did get easier. Llandaff Fields and Bute Park are at least superb for cycling. It was a wonderfully sunny day too and I was suprised at how few other people were around. There were a few joggers, cyclists and dogwalkers but otherwise it was peaceful. Having gone and cycling I know feel better. At least (hopefully) I will lose weight (eventually) but it is a start. I suppose if I can stop putting it on that is at least a positive beginning.

The rest of the day was given to a funeral visit in Ely and then a visit to Busy Bees, a toddler group in the parish and then to visit an elderly parishioner who is very unwell. The rest of the day was given over to other pastoral duties including thinking about the Sunday sermon and what to do with the Sunday School scheme of work.

In the midst of life

Sad day today with two funerals of reasonable young people one 45 and the other 65. Although both died as a result of long term illnesses nevertheless their death dealt a sudden and swift blows to both families. In the midst of all this tragedy it is easy to be caught in a cycle on negativity and despair. Despite this there was however a certain amount of joy in both of the funerals as we celebrated the distinct gifts that they had to offer.

After that back to the study where I have the annual joy of trying to sort out the study and compile my expenses ready for my tax return. One day I will learn to do this as I go along!!! In fact if am probably so keen to post today because it enables me to put off sorting the reciepts out. Having preached on Jonah Chapter 2 yesterday in Compline I am now having a think about what I am going to use next week as well as root through the Lectionary to find out the readings for next Sunday for my cover in Dinas Powys and I bet I will have written them too before I even consider sorting my expenses out.

Simple beauty and peace

Yesterday afternoon I arranged to meet Fr Adrian Berry who I am doing locum cover for in Wenvoe a week sunday. It being a fabulously sunny afternoon I arrived a little early to do some exploring. St Mary's Wenvoe is certainly a facsinating church. With a wonderful Comper reredos behind the altar and a beautiful piece of stained glass designed by the late Frank Roper. It takes the form of a Jesse Tree with the Virgin and Child framed within the tree.

What was more amazing however was the sense of peace that I found in the graveyard sitting on the steps of the preaching cross and medidating 20 minutes of pure peace, calm and tranquillity. From there we drove out to the church at St Lythans which I must confess I would not have been able to find and would have began to panic if I had left it till the morning I was there on cover. Wonderfully tranquil for a Saturday afternoon and a good way to relax before the busyness of a Sunday morning

Out and about!

This week has been a week of cover and funerals elsewhere. Presiding at the Eucharist in Taffs Well on Monday and Tuesday and Tongwynlais on Wednesday. Despite the current climate of despair about the Church and marginalisation by some sections of the media it is good to go to other Christian communities and to find them in good heart.

Reflecting on the Gospel readingsfrom the Revised Common Lectionary Luke 14: 1, 7-14 for last Sunday the twin themes of humility and hospitality ring out as a message for the Church at this time. First we need the humility to sometimes take the criticism that the world offer us when our deeds and our words do not match up. But also we need to have a profound awareness for the need for hospitality, a welcoming inclusion for those who we would regard as usually being from outside our number. For when we are welcoming even of our sternest critics it shows that we are embracing the challenges that the world sets before us.

You've got to start somewhere

Well to begin at the beginning and we all have to start somewhere. Having finally learnt how to master facebook I though a blog should be next. So as today is September 1st and being full of that Back to School type of thing as every bold ex-teacher should be this is my first post. So as long as this current facsination lasts I will share some of my life and thoughts on this site.