The plus side of having visitors staying with you - instant help when you decide to do a clergy mailing and envelopes need stuffed.
The negative - they go to the shops and buy a huge turnip and declare that it is what we are all having for lunch the next day.
I am not a sheep, even if we did do the Good Shepherd on Sunday!
How do I make a turnip the size of a human head vanish?
The last 24 hours have been a wonderfully refreshing time spiritually. A group of around 20 people were in the Godly Play stream of the much larger Mission & Discipleship Event at Carberry to learn and share experiences.
We heard 4 or 5 Godly Play stories while there and each was so special in it’s own way. Although the technique is mainly used with children, it works just as well with adult groups and the wondering can really push the boundaries of what we believe. I think I now have the confidence to try it out on my own church Sunday school soon. It was also exciting to hear how there seems to be momentum building to have a central Scottish Centre of some sort.
Being a Church of Scotland event, there was the chance of feeling like an outsider, but I managed to locate a couple of fellow Piscies to have a quiet snigger with about the “welcoming arrival drink” that we had been looking forward to.
Just ready for a nice glass of wine, we were greeted with a plastic cup of orange squash. It wouldn’t happen in the SEC!!
I’m a bit excited today. I’m off to a Church of Scotland 2 day conference about Godly Play.
It is at Carberry Towers which looks delightfully civilised.
And there won’t be any children there!
Blimey, now I understand why the Government hands out winter fuel payments to the elderly.
We have an 88 year old staying with us and the thermostat has been cranked up so high I’m not sure if I’m perspiring because of the heat or because of the impending gas bill.
I had ClassicFM on in the background today and two adverts which were on after each other set me thinking.
The first was for Volvo with the strapline “Life is better lived together” and the second for Nescafe telling us that “It’s all about you”. I wonder how many man-hours of deliberation go into these things and how two large companies come up with such contrasting slogans??
I neither drive a Volvo nor buy Nescafe, but if I had to choose… I think I’d rather be a Volvo girl!
Well, we had fun in our Sunday Club this morning. As is often an issue with such groups, you try and prepare stuff for the potential age range you might have without knowing who will actually turn up. Today we had just little ones.
So after they had found the pieces of the story hidden around the room and sorted them, all reading of the skit was done by the leaders. We then all made the road to Emmaus and acted out the story.
It was a busy road with snakes, grasshoppers, playmobil bin men and pilots, a bridge, palm trees… Jerusalem kept falling over due to non-sticky sellotape, Jesus broke a very large rice cake… we used our imagination which is what children do best!
Next week is the ‘good shepherd’ and then I get a few Sunday’s off. So I’ll finish in a frenzy of glue and cotton wool!
If you haven’t done so already, you only have until 12th April to sign the e-petition to the Scottish Government on the proposed removal of water charges relief to charities and churches.
http://epetitions.scottish.parliament.uk/view_petition.asp?PetitionID=215
Go sign - it takes about 30 seconds!
It’s that time of week when I start to think that I better work out what I will do with the Sunday School this week. This Sunday is “The Road to Emmaus” story. I’ve flicked around some of the resource books I have for ideas and so far am thinking along the following lines:
1) Hide snippets of the bible story around the room.
2) Get the children looking for something they can’t see and then gather the story.
3) Make a scene for the story using fabric, cardboard etc. and playdoh.
4) Get the children to tell the story using the snippets they found and the set.
5) A wee discussion, song and prayer.
As I am still quite new to leading our group, I am finding it is getting much easier over time asI get to know the children and what they like or respond to. And leading activities that I enjoy probably helps too!
Here’s something I’ve been asked about this week. Is it OK to breastfeed in church?
My personal response is that of course you can and that both my children have attended church from the week they were born and were frequently breastfed during the service. I imagine most of the congregation didn’t even realise and the few that did, were not fussed at all.
I know there is the recent Scottish legislation permitting breastfeeding in public places (which I presume a church is?!) but I’d be curious to know of anybody elses practical experience or thoughts?
