"Baldrick: Sir I have cunning plan……
Blackadder: Am I jumping the gun, Baldrick, or are the words “I have a cunning plan” marching with ill-deserved confidence in the direction of this conversation?"
Perhaps! But the cunning plan is this. On Friday 5th November, at 1030 I have booked “The Snug” at the Talbot Hotel in Oundle for a comfy said Celtic Morning Prayer and a snug and toasty place to think about how to move forward. Val very kindly met with me this morning as we both are in the situation of missing Celtic Morning Prayer already. However we realise that as we enter a new phase in this pandemic different ways of ‘doing things’ need to be addressed.
One of the main issues is that the pandemic messed with how we communicated with each other and in order to reconcile a new way of living and being we need to learn to nurture each other and ourselves again. Our weekly gathering of worship and then gentle chat and fellowship afterwards in various coffee houses did take a ‘hit’ for various reasons; 'elf and safety, my work schedule and your new commitments as we emerged, like butterflies from a rather constrained chrysalis. Mondays was always going to be a temporary solution, but it has not worked, that in itself is good as it shows perhaps it is time for something different. Perhaps the format has run its, course? One thing for certain is myself, Val and a few others are really missing the catch up afterwards and these catch ups are our place to make sense of the world we live in and how we engage with our relationships with God and each other. Just now I checked out the Lectionary reading for this coming Sunday and Psalm 62 but verses 5-6 caught my eye…
“…Yes, my soul, find rest in God;
my hope comes from him.
Truly he is my rock and my salvation;
he is my fortress, I shall not be shaken…”
Like Mr Bond, perhaps we have been shaken but not stirred? Perhaps we should be stirred! On Friday 5th November and if you are able to come along will you be stirred to join us for coffee in The Snug at the Talbot? The intention is this:
As a temporary measure whilst we discern to consider whether a regular first Friday of the month 1030 gathering at “The Snug” is viable.
We need to hear your views on what may or not be needed.
Do you want a regular Friday service?
If so how will you help to make this work?
Many of us are still gathering virtually online on Friday mornings and if that is the case then for the time being perhaps a once a month meet up makes sense?
Or do you want something different? Perhaps a book club based around the bible or personalities such as Julian of Norwich, even a combination of both? Or something else? Again I can commit to that first Friday of the month, if you want something then you need to speak. All of this is being held in prayer. As I mentioned this morning roses sometimes need a good prune to ensure good growth the following year. Perhaps this fallow period is our desert time to enable a new growth for the coming season?
Please email me to let me know if you are coming on Friday morning, 5th November at 1030 to gather in The Snug, Talbot Hotel, let me know by Thursday 4th so I can let them know we are coming!
A time for everything
3 There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:
2 a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
3 a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
4 a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
6 a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
7 a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
8 a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.
Ecclesiastes 3
https://youtu.be/FJXPbb6ldtM Psalm 62 (The Psalm 62 Music Video is from Simple Hymns: Songs Of Redemption. Psalm 62 was written by Aaron Keyes and Stuart Townend. Aaron Keyes is the singer in this music video.)
https://youtu.be/WB6jhbtDUZE Turn! Turn! Turn! Ecclesiastes 3 (Words by God, Arrangement by Pete Seeger, Music by The Byrds)
Peace be with you friends <><
Caroline :)
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