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 'Maureen's Musings'
July 2010
Well, after my rather doom-laden scribbling of last month
I am delighted to be able to share with you that we seem to have
had an answer to prayer in the form of not one but TWO new people
to take over the tasks that Elaine Coleman and Margaret Lingford
have so ably carried out for so long! A huge big THANKYOU and
welcome to Mike Moss and Lesley Jones. I am looking forward to
working with you both - and the future of this magazine seems
assured for a while yet - Phew! And we are of course grateful
for the superb job that Elaine and Margaret have done for the
last few years - (I won't embarrass them by revealing exactly
how many!)
I am writing this the day after conducting an experiment with
the Fellowship Group. Don't worry, we all survived the experience(!)
and curiously, today one of our Bishops was commenting that he
had not often heard in his travels around his area, of creative
approaches to Bible Study. So I was able to tell him that we
had spent an interesting hour or so considering a well-known
Bible passage from the standpoint of each of our senses in turn;
sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch. There is nothing difficult
about this, but it does make a new way of looking at a familiar
story and maybe encountering it - and the God who meets us within
it - in a new way. (Ha! Pattingham leads the way - again!)
Finding new and fresh ways to meet Jesus in our daily lives and
hear afresh the message of the gospel speaking to us; interacting
with us in all we do - is something that excites and energises
me - and I hope you too. It is a joy at present to spend time
with some of our young people as we explore together the path
to confirmation. They show no hesitation in engaging with the
gospel message and this is proving a really encouraging experience.
I am also aware of several adults who would be interested in
confirmation .... and it is never too late. I am hoping that
we can persuade Bishop Clive to come to Pattingham at some point
in the autumn. And the more candidates I have, the more likely
he is to make a special trip - so if this is something you have
been wondering about, please contact me as soon as possible.
There is nothing very hard or frightening about taking this step
of fuller membership into the Church - but I believe strongly
that it enhances our experience of belonging and of worship.
Talking of belonging - the great Church & Village Fete occurs
at the beginning of July - so let's pray for lots of lovely fine
weather and record breaking crowds to reward all those who I
know are working so hard to make it a success. Have you got
your raffle tickets yet?!
Oh and congratulations if the football team you were supporting
made it through to win the World Cup .... and commiserations
if it didn't!
Maureen
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