Categories: uncategorized
Date: 23 January 2007 11:10:45
Having an unexpected morning sans work today, thanks to plumbing problems elsewhere. So I shall occupy the time in procrastination and update you on my adventures on public transport. (I must have started a trend as I see that wiblog/steve/read.php?21481 has also chronicled his experiences. ) Sadly I received no glowsticks, although in cases of potential delay and inconvenience I always try to position myself as near to the buffet car as poss, in the hopes of being offered a complimentary gin or three.
So, travels of a Miffy: Continued on Saturday as I once again chugged my way down the line - to a 'Seabird,' meeting this time. All went well: I watched a profession for the first time - and was relieved to see that it was a quiet, low key affair. That augurs well for when my own time comes - likely in a couple of years time. As budgies go, I'm a retiring sort of bird and anything smacking of fuss and fanfares is enough to make me take wing and migrate!
The actual adventures started on the way home, when, put discreetly, I experienced what could only be described as a minor but annoying incidence of bullying by a gathering of persons of younger years. And, much to my astonishment, stood up to them! More details than this I will not give, in deference to the worries of my offspring who fear that I am now a marked budgie who will forever need to travel incognito unless I wish to have various bits of me distributed all over town.
Sunday - on the road - or rather, on the train yet again; this time to see CartoonBlog's very own Dave in full flood at a church in Wokingham. (Sorry, lost the link here). Had a great time (thank you, P!). I'm sure other folk have written about the talk - part of a series on the Cartoon God - far better than I - so do hop over to Cartoonblog and have a peep, if you've not already done so. It was good that there was a real, live cartoonist available. Next time round the talk will be on Shultz's Peanuts, so for obvious reasons, there will be no VIP visitor that week!
It's always good to have break from your own place of worship once in a while - and I'm glad that I battled public transport system, tiredness, and creeping cold to try it. It's an odd, but strangely positive feeling looking round a place from the point of view of an 'outsider,' seeing the old, familiar parts of church life with new eyes. Here are the children coming out - it must be nearly Communion time. Ah, look - that lady striding down the path with a purposeful glint in her eye - she must be the advance party on the coffee rota. They 'Pass the Peace' here, too (!) but (thanks be to God) they DON'T hold hands and grin during the Blessing!
As I mentioned to P, what gave me some new ideas to pass on was the liturgy and in particular the choice of songs and hymns. These were mostly what I can only describe as rather more 'outward focussed' than those I'm used to. It's tricky to describe; maybe if I say Iona type stuff that'll give you an idea of what I'm referring to. A welcome change indeed from -and I don't just cite my own church in this - a diet of either what Rev. Gerald Ambulance would call 'O Lord, you're just really Lord' choruses http://www.wibsite.com/features/inflatablechurch/ (I give up on the hyperlinks) or worse, the perennial 'Jesus is My Boyfriend' ditties. Not that there's anything wrong with either of those categories per se. After all, one of my favourite hymns is Wesley's 'O Thou Who Camest From Above' http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/t/w/h/twhocame.htm, surely one of the greatest 'Jesus is my boyfriend' songs of all time. But you can have too much of a good thing - and there are only so many ways I find, that I can say 'O God you're wonderful' before I start to run out of words. Maybe that's the solution - we need to stop chattering and lose our dependence on words. More apophatic worship; that's what's needed! 'Fresh Expressions of Silence.'