From the Darkness Came Light…
The early morning dark walks are gradually becoming lighter and the glowing Collie with his eerily glowing ball will not be seen very often until next winter. How wonderful to have a dry day, a clear sky and a few less protective layers.
This week I missed the Sens Kernewek Course with my ongoing winter cough- and lucky I did because a few days later the dreaded extra line appeared on the Covid Test which took me by surprise as it is the first time I have had it….. that I have noticed! Thankfully the vaccines have done their job for me and it has proved only an inconvenience. My son, however has not fared as well and rues the lack of a booster vaccine for the under 50s!
Zoom, fortunately allowed me to meet with folk without risk of passing on any viruses and one of those was with a church warden in another area for whom “The Diocese” had provided no “spiritual leader” and were having some difficulties linking with other churches in their area. It seemed a bit of a revelation to him that they should consider looking within their congregation for someone to do Sens Kernewek, or Foundations in Christian Ministry or become a worship leader… there is much provided to support and encourage, but unless folks get the message by word of mouth or reading the mass of advertising, the notion that, “The Diocese,” like some benevolent parent, must provide continues to persist. Yes, fewer professional clergy, the move to oversight ministry and the dependence on volunteers is not ideal for maintaining the way things have been done in the last half century but it is also an opportunity to explore new avenues in building the kingdom of God. it is amazing how many people have said to me, “but we have always had a vicar every Sunday and had communion” and pointing out that when I first trained in the late 1980s my first years were a diet of evensong and matins and not a clergy person in sight.
Transition / Vacancy / Interregnum
This Sunday marks the 22nd week since the Rector fled over the border to England leaving us with one or two things to do! This week I breathed a sigh of relief having written the parish profile, consulted with many many people, re-written the parish profile (about 394 versions!), consulted about the advert and been general go between for committees and the archdeacons Office…. (thank goodness for the hard-working and ever cheery Fiona!) the sigh of relief is because the closing date for the advert has passed, the panel chosen and prepared, the short listing done and now all that remains is to pray for the discernment process and the interviews.
My other prayer is that God has someone in mind to appoint now so that I won’t have to go through it all again and re-advertise etc. We watch and wait till the period of great secrecy ends to find out.
Prayers and the Prayer list.
Please keep the chaplaincy team informed about Readers and their families who need prayer. This month keep those suffering dementia and those who care for them high on your list.
The Wardens Group and Reader Day
The group meets this week to raise matters of Reader Ministry. Part of the coming meeting will be planning the Reader Day in Bodmin on Saturday 13 April 2024. Please do put it in your diary and lets see if we can get a really good level of participation.