Month: July 2024

A second day of rain, so again no morning run. Hot breakfast, sermon work, cleaning-up and reordering in anticipation to Steve and Melinda’s visit. More sermon work.

I suppose my favourite moment from Labour’s electoral victory so far (apart from so many Tory front-benchers losing their seats, or just giving up) came when Sir James Timpson was appointed Minister of State for Prisons, Parole and Probation. Prison reform need not mean teeth-grinding threats of making prisoners of His Majesty more miserable; here’s hoping Labour gives him enough latitude to work as effectively in government as he has done as an employer.

So, I didn’t run this morning because it was raining. I had my fruit and coffee breakfast, then went to Morning Prayer; but a school assembly was on-going in the church (no one told me!), so we prayed in the parish office. Then home, odds and ends involving utility tables, lunch, a trip to Waitrose to pick up special ice cream for Margarita (it rained), home again, puzzling over Sunday’s sermon, out to check messages at the parish centre (it rained yet again), and home for the evening.

Two slightly chilly miles this morning, coffee and fruit, shower, Morning Prayer, obtained a table at Sue Ryder and carried it home, then a whirlwind of paperwork searching and printing. A pleasant farewell lunch for an Abingdon clergy colleague at the King’s Head and Bell (The Bell, then the King’s Head, then the Old Bell, then and now The King’s Head and Bell). Came home, sorted two wedding orders of service, banged my head against a sermon for the 8:00 on Sunday, and it’s late afternoon on a day that’s not even set aside for church work, so I’m calling it for today.

Two miles in light rain, coffee, hot breakfast, showered and dressed, Morning Prayer, a short break and then back to the Parish Centre for a staff meeting, this time with the Area Dean with specific regard to the responsibilities that will fall to the rest of the clergy staff when the rector retires later this year.

Meeting with a couple inquiring about marriage after an early dinner…

We made a flash trip out to Exeter and back for our friend and former student Alex Honey’s ordination to the diaconate. It was a lovely service in a lovely church, with plenty of friends supporting parishioners; all went famously although I extended myself too much with too little nourishment; my blood sugar crashed and my ears popped, it was difficult to hear and speak, and eventually I just curled up and went to sleep in our hotel room. That shouldn’t take away, though, from the delight of participating in Alex’s deaconing, nor of seeing Fr Richard Keeble and Clara, his wonderful spouse. I just reached the end of my tether before other people were near the beginnings of their own tethers.

Yesterday mroning, then, we made a prompt trip back to Abingdon, delayed at Castle Croy by hundreds of Glasto leavers who were crowding the platform even though our train wasn’t to stop there. Lunch with Deanery colleagues, on the bishop, then home midafternoon to shift into neutral for the remainder of the day.

Two miles again this morning, fruit and coffee, cleaned up, Morning Prayer, and now a spell of public office hours, working at R&R.