WOW!

Worship on Wednesday!

We've had the first gathering of the informal and interactive style of worship ... it was relaxed and fun.  The camera was ignored apart from one shot taken before anyone arrived.
Our theme for Advent was "Journey" ... The journey of life and our spiritual journey as well as the journey of Joseph and Mary from Nazareth to Bethlehem ... and the centuries earlier journey of God's people out of Egypt to the Promised Land.

Some of the symbolism from the Seder plate resonate with life's journey ... the bitter tears and grief ... thanksgiving for help given and received ...
Bread rolls were provided at the first "station" and there we reflected on Jesus - the bread of life.  When we travelled to the west end the fillings of egg, lettuce, parsley and bitter herbs were added - symbols of the good things that we enjoy with the other meanings still in mind.  Finally, at the font, we received a bottle of water and thought about many of the ways that water is used ... even to the Water of Witness ... another understanding of WOW!
After fellowship over the food we regathered for a time to pray and to sing .... "We are walking in the light of God ..." as our onward journey takes us out of the building and back into the world.
With one thing and another today has been fairly tightly packed ... an early start before the traffic began to build up too much ... and now ... a late night ... it turned out to be a twelve hour working day ... maybe that's a bit longer than it ought to have been!
Eliot had the right idea ... he abandoned me and went off to the sofa ... where he is not allowed to be!  Even when the camera appeared he just looked sleepily at me and didn't budge one little bit!
 He'd crawled in behind a big rug ... it looked as if he was trying to pretend that he wasn't really there at all!
It won't be long until I end up in bed with the same dozy expression on my face and with my eyelids closing ...
It is good to have him around ... even if he does ignore me most of the time!

I should have been printing the Parish Magazine this week ... but the photocopier has a problem ... the colours need to be realigned and I don't seem to be able to do it.  That means waiting for the engineer ... hopefully he'll be with me tomorrow so that it can be printed off before Friday.
Kenya is getting awfully close and there are a few things to do before that!  I may even resort to making a list ... that would be novel!  Actually, I do often do a "packing list" so that (in theory) everything is remembered.  Now I just need to do a "last few days" list as well!
Five sleeps!
Just five sleeps!
That's close.  Best go and get one of them over!

Lead me, Lord, lead me in thy righteousness,
make thy way plain before my face.
For it is thou Lord, thou, Lord, only,
that makest me dwell in safety.