Greenbelt

This bank holiday weekend saw us pile into the car with tents cooking utensils and everything but the kitchen sink ( we used a plastic bowl instead!)to head off to Cheltenham for the Greenbelt Christian arts and music festival.

We first headed off to my uncle's house in Gloucester to catch up with our Catchpole side of the family and chill out a bit before the camping fun began,.
It was a nightmare journey ...as any involving the M25 seems to be these days but was great to spend time with the family. Daniel and my cousin George aged 9 got on like a house on fire and it was so nice to see them playing so well together.

But Friday morning came soon enough and it was time to head down to Cheltenham and begin the queue and hunt for a good tent pitch.
As a family we love Greenbelt but the camp set up is always a little stressful; making sure we have enough space, have put the tents up safely and are close enough to all the amenities .
But things went really smoothly and after a little wait and queue we managed to be up and running just after lunch time.

Greenbelt for me is an awesome experience, a chance to chill out with family, to catch up with friends, to explore new musicians, to enjoy faithful acts such as Martyn Joseph and Simon Mayo that never fail to satisfy. But it's also a chance to be together with thousands of other people exploring and expressing their faith.
This year we had the privilege of going to some sessions exploring Pioneers and getting the chance to meet other like minded people going through the same sort of struggles and joys, the stresses and the delights that we are. It was a chance to network and be in a place where we felt people really understood us.

Greenbelt is also fantastic for families and Daniel absolutely thrived there, He loved watching, listening, making and doing. He slept better than he ever has done and ate brilliantly..he clearly is made for living outside!

This year there were many highlights, I loved as already said Martyn Joseph and the Rising, Simon Mayo talking about his new book Itch Rocks,Duke Special, Lemar, The Temperance Movement, I loved being able to sit and listen to Steve Chalke who was awesome, animated and really moving talking about community engagement...everything he said felt like it struck our heart strings for the work we feel called to do, I loved sitting in the Kitchen at CMS and re connecting with old dear friends . I loved being in the childrens play area and meeting people we haven't seen for years and years and I loved being with our family.

Greenbelt is an experience and I loved every moment if it !!

FRIENDS

This morning I had the real pleasure of meeting up with a friend from my youth. Naomi has seen me through good times and bad, through the teenage anxt and the excitement of uni days, through getting married and learning how to be a real grown up!

Of course like with a lot of things life takes a turn and suddenly  2 years have past by since we have seen each other until today!

It was so nice to be able to meet up and catch up on news..more importantly Naomi's imminent baby due in November..I am so excited for her and Brian :)

Today has gotten me thinking ...throughout the whole of my life I have had to move from hither to tither and obviously friends have been and gone. Today it is much easier to stay in touch thanks to social media and mobile phone connections but nothing beats being able to come face to face with an old friend have a hug and a good chat.

To all those friends who have been a massive part of my life and I don't get to see so much...I do still think of you and miss seeing you, but hope and pray life is everything that you dreamed it to be.
For those new friends I have acquired along the way..thanks for being there and I really appreciate you being there for us!

Friends are vital so I hope that you appreciate your friends each day and take time to let them know how much they mean to you!

Can't wait to meet Naomi's little bundle of joy :)

Car boot

Today saw the return of the car boot to Wainscott and my chance to be there for the whole morning (6-12.30!) As usual sleep was pretty non existent last night wondering if I would wake up in time, neighbours house alarms going off and waking Daniel and general unrest. However at the carboot I felt pretty awake and raring to go.

Today seemed a little quieter than usual, the eager beavers were there even before we got out of the car asking what we were selling but we only really had 2 conversations before 7am and it was probably more like 8ish until more people came to chat.

There were as always a few highlights today, one was a man living in Upnor a fellow Christian who had read my article in the Peninsula Times and so had come along to explore what we do and also to encourage us in our ministry which was really lovely.
We also experienced interesting conversations with those of other faiths mainly Hindu's and a Muslim man and were asked to pray for several people who had been diagnosed with cancer.

However noticeably today we did have some synics and a heck of a lot of people wanting PALM readings and feeling a bit dismayed to discover they were PSalm readings instead. It made me realise just how many people are desperately searching and longing to know what the future holds for them. People feel the need to know what is a round the corner.

During the quiet times we explored what other experiences, interactive things we could provide for people to explore spirituality...so watch this space the next 4 weeks will be a time to experiment and see what else works.

13 years!

Today is our 13th wedding anniversary....13 years ago minus a couple of hours Marc and I had the best day of our lives surrounded by wonderful family and friends, 13 years ago we made a massive step into a whole new realm of committmnet, 13 years ago who knew where we would end up!

I have to say over the last 10 days I have done quite a few weddings, I have tried, in the talk, to give some pearls of wisdom and advice on what it takes to make a successful marriage.
However statstics now say that the 7 year itch has been reduced to 4 years, fewer people are getting married and it is so quick to get a divorce now its scary and saddening.

I cant say the last 13 years have been a breeze...I am not the easiest person to live with at times and have had my moments but Marc is an amazingly loving and forgiving soul who I just would not have survived without.

As I sit back and reflect about the huge journey we have been on, the great ups and the terrible downs I can hear him and Dan playing in the garden happily and its music to my soul.

I first met Marc when I was just 18 years old and am so grateful that I was guided to ST Martin's Lancaster because one slight different choice and we may never have met.

Thank you Marc for the journey so far...here's to many more years of adventures!!!

For those who are just embarking on their journey I pray that it is as much a blessing as we have received...marriage is a great institution!

Community spirit

Today I feel exhausted, achey, tired but absolutely exhilerated!

Yesterday was the day; the day that we have spent months and months getting ready for; the day we have had blood sweat and tears over! Yesterday was the Hoo Community Fun Day!

The day began early, with Ian being away I was covering all the services, 2 eucharists, 2 different sermons and an all age. By 12pm I was finihsed and zooming back up the road to The Village.

The day really did exceed expectations, we stopped counting people after 4,300, the clouds cleared and the sun shone, it wasn't too hot and Daniel was amazingly well behaved considering the hours he was there and the amount of temptation in his way.

The day was great because it summerized everything  about community I would want to gain from my role. People of all ages were present, people of all walks of life were there and people from the original village and the new estates were there. People were having fun watching the strongest man competition, teams got together to join in the tug of war, different groups came to show their music and dancing skills, there was a fun fair, craft stalls, demonstrations and a real life fire engine that had to speed off half way through for a call out!!!!
It was great to see so many groups from the community and i was so grateful to my air cadets who came and stewarded and sorted the car park for us!
It was also nice amidst the chaos of being part of the organizing team being able to walk around and speak to so many people we know, it was lovely seeing Daniel stop and chat and play with friends he has made and it was great to be part of such a big thing.

The real touching thing though came at the end when I was approached by a lady who spotted the dog collar and wanted to chat...she'd been building up the courage all day to talk and am so glad she was brave enough to make that step.

Something like yesterday took a lot of work from a great team of organizers and volunteers...it was a real pleasure to have been a part of and look forward to more community events...well done everyone..I love being a pioneer!!!

Dyslexia

This week the issue of Dyslexia has come up no end of times, I know so many kids/ young people struggling at school because of it, so many adults not diagnosed soon enough struggling with it and people just not understanding what a big difficulty it is to have.

I myself have always struggled with my writing and spelling, at school from a young age I would write lines and lines of words on top of each other and could read them perfectly, trouble was no one else could! I was made to stay in and re write stuff, I would have lines to write to ensure the misspelt words were correct and even as old as 17 I would be made to stand up in class and spell words I had gotten wrong in my A level course work in-front of my peers.....yet I had a very high reading age and could read in class with the best of them on a good day.

Despite all this I slipped through the net like so many others and like some still today. It was only when i went to apply for my Masters during a routine entrance test did they pick up that I was probably dyslexic. Unfortunately the tests to confirm and guide you to the skills, colours etc to help cost so much at the time I couldn't afford them so have had to learn by trial and error how to get by.

Now I still struggle, I have to write and read constantly in my job doing so many talks, services and sermons, essays for further development course (KIME) and the other things that go with my job. My dyslexic traits get much worse under pressure and tiredness so things slip through the net and mistakes get made.
Computers are great but unfortunately only pick up some errors not all so you can often be left feeling silly.

Why say this all now.? Well as I said it has been a week of issues raised, people not understanding how difficult life can be for us who suffer and assumptions being made. Dyslexia is not always obvious in a person, it is not a sign of weakness but can make you feel very vulnerable. To those of you who suffer or are parents of children suffering my heart goes out to you...never ever would I want anyone else to go through what I and so many others have done and i just hope that the world will become a bit more tolerant of those who struggle in different areas of life.

Rant over off to battle another sermon and wedding talk...enjoy the sun!!!

mixed emotions

Today has been a day of total extremes, traditional to new expressions, old friends mixed with new!

8.30am arrival at St. Philip and James:
This morning began like any "normal" traditional Sunday you would expect for a minister in the Church of England. I was leading a Morning Worship service in the beautiful village of Upnor alongside 20 or so other worshippers, we sang hymns, listened to a sermon, prayed and had readings from the Bible.

10 am trek off to the carboot fayre:
The sun was shining beautifully as I left the Victorian building in Upnor and headed towards the carboot. over the last few weeks we have had a team of people being a Christian presence at the car boot using body, mind and Spirit tools. It really was a hot and sweltering day, it was a fairly quiet day for the car boot but still people came with their queries, their questions, their confusions and their complexities. Again hearing people's stories was a total and utter privilege.

1pm home:
We finally reach home for lunch, house work ( washing on the line etc) clear some emails and catch the first part of the Wimbledon Final

3.20pm: out again
Desperately trying to keep an eye on the tennis and the success of Murray we head off in a boiling car at this point towards Rochester to our old church to show some folk from our church what Tea Time Together is like, to see how things can be done and see if there is anything we can learn ready for September to begin a similar venture in Chattenden.
It was wonderful to be back at St. J's to see something that was my baby still growing strong, to see my awesome youth taking an active leadership role and to see people who I remember as babies all grown up. It is emotional seeing how things carry on despite you, it's emotional seeing how much you miss the folk who have known you for so long and its emotional seeing people who's lives you have walked alongside

6pm: home
discovering Murray a great Scot, the 1st Brit male in a long time to win Wimbledon has done it, sat watching the news with tears streaming looking at his life story and how proud he and those who know him are.
Food, tax credit forms and getting , one very excited and exhausted boy to bed.

It has been an emotional day, a day of such variety that reminds me just how much I really love my Job and even more excited about how much I am looking forward to the pioneering side really taking off and having the time to get my teeth stuck in.... a day to be emotional , a day to reflect, a day to remember !!