Yoblog - Musings of a Church Youth Officer

It was said many times at my grandmother’s memorial service last week how wonderful her hospitality was.  I am a bit of a grumpy hostess and I have been wondering what the secret is?!

Firstly, I think I need a cleaning lady!  Somehow when you have visitors staying, it doesn’t seem right to be hoovering around their feet.  Before someone arrives I am hurriedly trying to straighten the place out and then it degenerates rapidly…

Secondly, whenever someone stayed with my grandmother, you slotted into her routine.  Not that I complained about afternoon tea and sherry each day.  I think I make the mistake of putting my routine on hold and then get frustrated.

Thirdly - don’t have a job, such that you have to take time off or apologise for sitting at the computer.

Sometimes I think certain things were simpler a generation or two ago!

Gone are the days of me working in female dominated, huge, open-plan offices.  This is one of the days I slightly miss it, if just for the humour of the Valentine’s Day charade.

Huge bouquets of flowers would appear at reception; nobody wanted to check the name if passing, as it would presume that you were expecting something.  These flowers would then migrate mid-morning to desks in a proud display of “look, somebody loves me”.  By lunchtime, they had thought better of it and the sinks in the ladies loos were babysitting said flowers and people struggled to wash their hands.  By home-time, the ‘lucky’ recipient is cursing because they have to lug them home on a packed commuter train.  Romance might not be dead, but the flowers were close to it!

I bought myself a big bunch of flowers yesterday. Much simpler and pre-empts any disappointment!

Well, the one I was at last night was OK, although I found it a bit tricky to instantly switch from “In the Night Garden” language for pre-school age kids to exploring the theological meaning of “the son of man”.

Why do we all mumble in these groups? Are we afraid to say the wrong thing, or to show up huge gaps in our knowledge? 

Perhaps it comes down to the session structure - either it could be a talk on a topic followed by discussion or an open discussion on something to which there is no clear answer.

I think we were mumbling last night because there were obviously ‘right’ answers out there for those who new anything about the subject.  It felt like a school test when you haven’t done your homework for the rest of us!

At least the church was warm and had toilet facilities!

I’m doing some preparation for the next Core training session on Leadership Skills.  Part of the the introduction will be looking at world leaders (political, religious and from the world of entertainment) and their positive and negative leadership qualities.

I’d already put the Archbishop of Canterbury in the pile before the latest uproar.  It’ll be interesting to see what people put down for him now.

I love our old church buildings and all the history they hold, but so often they are not ideal for their current users - too big, too cold, too crumbling…

If you are at a turning point in your church fabric discussions then do the following if you want to make life easier for families:

1. Swap pews for comfortable seats that can be moved around. 

2. Install some toilets.  (The fearful words ‘I need a poo’ were heard during the service from a 2 year old on Saturday in a church that only had a formidable chemical toilet in the churchyard!)

Any more??

Standing outside a church on Saturday afternoon waiting to go in, my 3 year old son is asked by an old lady if he had ever been in a church before.

He said ‘no’!

I like to think he meant he had never been in that particular church before! 

I had thought it a bit of a strange question, but thinking about it, I bet there are loads of 3 year olds who have never been inside a church or know what happens there.

I’m reading this poem at a memorial service on Saturday.  At least I have remembered to print it off….now the bit of paper needs to make it into the right handbag!

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Take Some Time By Leon Hansen Copyright 1999 by Jack Canfield & Mark Victor Hansen

Take some time to smell the flowers, as you walk the paths of life.
Take some time to ease the tensions, from the challenges and strife.
Take some time to hear the birds sing, as they usher in the dawn.
Though the day be just emerging, too soon it will be gone.

Take some time to watch a sunrise, now and then a sunset too.
Just be sure that seeking pleasure isn’t all you ever do.
Take some time to count your blessings, though you feel they’re not that great.
You will find they’re more abundant than you thought, at any rate.

Take some time to banish hatred, when and where you can.
Just detest man’s evil ways, and not your fellow man.
Take some time to love your children every moment you are free.
The benefits far exceed a university degree.

Take some time to love your neighbour, and even more important still,
Take some time to love yourself, or not many others will.
And if you don’t like that image, of yourself that others see,
Take some time to make some changes, be the best that you can be. Take some time to help another, who you think might need a hand.
You will find the satisfaction leaves you feeling sort of grand.
Take some time to live by virtue, in the best way that is known,
And respect the rights of others, as equal to your own.

Take some time to just appreciate the fact that you are here,
And to know that Higher Power, and to trust It without fear.
If you do these things with diligence, you will eventually be glad.
If you don’t attempt to do them, you may one day wish you had.

Although this no doubt could impose, upon your time for seeking wealth,
There should be little question, that it could improve your health.
And though you might not be as wealthy, nor drive so fine a car,
You’ll find you will be richer, in other ways by far.

I’m one of those people who are easily spooked.  I detest horror films or ghost stories close to bedtime.

Last night, I caught the latest reality programme on German TV - The Next Uri Geller.  Each week each contestant performs weird and wonderful tricks (or not tricks, if you believe the hype); some mind reading type things and some more sinister.  Last night there was a very weird seance with a bleeding table and somebody firing nail guns into parts of his body.  Fortunately, people are posting videos on You Tube of how some of these are done.  It made me think about faith and belief and explaining the unexplainable.  Why do people struggle to believe in God?  

Although I’d convinced myself the show was all elaborate trickery, I nearly died when our paper shredder started up all on it’s own after I had gone to bed!  

I did something very politically incorrect this evening.  I read my son “Little Black Sambo” as one of his bedtime stories.

Having cleared out my childhood bedroom last month, I have a pile of my old children’s books which we have been reading recently.

Something made me miss out the repetitive  “little black” as I read it, so it was about Sambo, Mumbo and Jumbo.  He enjoyed it as it was all about tigers and ended up with pancakes.  Perfect.

I notice you can still buy these books on Amazon, but there is still a taboo hanging over them these days that makes me feel cautious at even admitting to having them. Is this silly?