Jim and Pam's 25th

Party at Jim and Pam's

Tonight was Jim and Pam's 25th wedding anniversary.

Jim had prepared a big party for over a hundred guests, hosted in their house and garden. A marquee filled much of the garden with the rest of it pressed into service as a kitchen and serving area.

In one corner of the marquee was a disco. People congregated in the house itself as well as in the front and back gardens.

Children were happy to play on the bouncy castle in the front garden.

Many of the guests already knew one another, a reflection of Jim and Pam's widespread circles of friends, both church based and in the wider community.

Donna and I knew many of the people there through one route or another. It was a truly great evening and everyone had a lot of fun.

(If you liked this you might also like Journeys of heart and mind and Quote me on this.)

Gibbous coffee

This cup of coffee is partly shaded, like a half moon. When a moon or planet is more than half illuminated it is said to be gibbous, hence a cup of gibbous coffee.

Coffee half shaded

Gibbous is astronomical jargon, a useful term with a precise meaning.

The coffee was part of our breakfast this morning at 'The Ambiance Cafe' in the Riverside Park in St Neots.

It's a popular place for people wanting a snack, a drink, an ice cream, or a simple meal, neatly and conveniently positioned between the car parking spaces and the grass and trees of the park itself.

After our breakfast and coffee/tea we headed off for a bench under a shady tree for the next part of 'The Forgotten Ways' by Alan Hirsch, a workbook we've been studying. This time we completed the section on the 'Missional-incarnational impulse' so we're ready next time to begin 'Apostolic environment'.

If this all sounds double-Dutch, please be reassured that it's most certainly not. It's actually a very interesting study on how church works and what makes it really fly. In a sense this book is telling us that we need to be fully in the light and not half in the dark, like the gibbous coffee.

(If you liked this you might also like Journeys of heart and mind and Quote me on this.)

A third place

Here I am at McDonald's on the A1 just south of St Neots. We had eaten at home but wanted a dessert and we also wanted to continue working through 'The Forgotten Ways Handbook' together.

Working in a third place

So Donna and I took our notebooks and pens and our copies of the Handbook and headed a couple of miles down the A1 to McDonald's where Donna had a flake McFlurry and I chose a banana shake.

Then we got stuck into Session 1 of 'The Missional-Incarnational Impulse'.

The book calls places like McDonald's 'third places'. They are not home, they are not the workplace (or in our case church), but they are places where the community gathers. They are therefore good places to go if we want to connect with the community in a real and natural way.

It was interesting to look at it in this way, and I was able to have a friendly chat with a family in the queue just ahead of us. Small children are great conversation starters, and this group's three-year-old was no exception!

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A busy day ahead

I took a friend to Hinchingbrooke Hospital this morning. He needs special shoes and had to visit for some measurements.

The foyer at Hinchingbrooke Hospital

There's no hospital in St Neots, our nearest one is Hinchingbrooke on the edge of Huntingdon, a twenty minute car journey if the roads are clear, a bit longer at times of peak traffic.

Back at home I need to get the automatic watering system working and replace some broken glass. As I was mowing the grass yesterday evening a stone flew up and took out a large pane.

Then there's some weeding to keep me busy and I have to make a trip to town for food shopping and to drop in some paperwork at the Open Door office.

I also need to visit the tip, clean the car, pay in some cheques and finish a blog post on Journeys of Heart and Mind, so it seems like a busy day. Enough writing about what has to be done, it's time to get stuck in to all those tasks!

This evening I plan to be doing a Lyfe study at The Bridge House pub with a few friends. It's been good so far, this will be our third meeting.

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Abandoning the washing up

Today was Tuesday, and that means Small Group. Donna helps our friends Roger and Carolyn run an Open Door Small Group and tonight we were meeting at our house.

The washing up

We begin with a meal together, then we decamp from the dining room clutching mugs of coffee (or tea) and head to the lounge to share in singing, prayer, Bible reading and discussion.

We just abandon the washing up in the kitchen. Everyone helps clear the table and stack the dirty plates, cups and cutlery around the sink.

When everyone has gone home I usually load up the dishwasher and set it going, often a second load is needed in the morning.

We only host the meeting once every couple of months, mostly it circulates around from house to house so everyone gets a turn at washing up - it's good for the soul!

Even washing up can make a good photo. Look at the range of colours in this image, some vivid, others subdued. Then see how many different textures you can find, and the reflections. There are transparent objects, translucent ones, metallic ones. An astonishingly rich scene.

(If you liked this you might also like Journeys of heart and mind and Quote me on this.)

Organic growth

I've been battling the weeds in my garden. For a variety of reasons I fell way behind with this work and now I'm paying the price!

Weeds in my garden

The weeds in my garden are a wonderful example of organic growth, similar to the kind of growth I'd like to see for the church.

For a start it is spontaneous. I left this plot tidy at the end of the autumn, in March there were a few weeds, but now look at it!

In the cleared area at the front you can see a courgette plant that I just put in today. And in the background a massive array of weeds of all sorts. All I had to do to produce this massive growth of weeds was - nothing!

They all grew from tiny, insignificant seeds. Little specks of life wrapped up in hard shells, just waiting for warmth and rain and sunlight. When the conditions were right the seeds sprang into life and voila - weeds.

Not only that, each type of seed produced its own kind of weed. So if I want to see the church grow, I'm going to need an insignificant-looking seed of the right kind. Then I need to place it in the right place at the right time and it will grow, just like that. But it had better be the right seed, the right time and the right place.

What does this say to you about planting churches?

How will I know the right time and place?

Where will I find the right kind of seed?

(If you liked this you might also like Journeys of heart and mind and Quote me on this.)

Little pathways

I've been meeting on Saturday mornings with my friend Mo. Today we walked to town from his home, had breakfast together in Cupcakes cafe in the Market Square, and then walked back.

One of the little paths we followed

Rather than follow the roads we decided to use the network of small pathways between the houses. Although the roads are well served with pavements, the traffic is noisy, sometimes kicks up dust, and emits fumes I prefer not to breathe into my lungs. That's why we chose the small paths.

It was a cloudy day, but dry. The paths are surrounded by greenery, there are areas of grass where people walk their dogs and childen play safe from traffic dangers, there are trees and bushes, and sometimes small bridges over rivers and streams. This all makes the walk pleasant and a source of gentle and healthy exercise.

It struck me later that the contrast between the busy roads and the little paths is much like the difference between traditional church and meeting with friends informally at home in a local coffee shop, pub or cafe. And it's like the difference between the banking system and simple exchange or barter. And it's like the difference between reading a manual with detailed instructions and learning a skill as an apprentice.

Roads, traditional churches, banks and manuals are structured, often rule-based (try driving the wrong way down a one way street) and somewhat staid. Little paths, informal church, simple exchange, and apprenticeships all work by watching, doing and exploring. They are free, open, and natural.

Long live the little pathways!

(If you liked this you might also like Journeys of heart and mind and Quote me on this.)