She’s Coming Home

I did consider, briefly, becoming a celebrant when my parochial ministry came to an end. It has often been said that I ‘do a good funeral’ (I may have that inscribed on my tombstone), but I would have had to choose between doing so and honouring my ordination in the Church of England.

A time for everything,

Bringing Compline to an end has not been an easy decision to make. Now though, continuing with Compline has begun to feel as though I am holding onto a past time, remaining tethered to a different time from the one we are now in.

Discombobulated

Following the newsfeeds, I shared the conversations with fellow clergy regarding protocol: London Bridge had fallen and Operation Unicorn was in place. Without a parish there was, there is, nothing for me to do to mark the death of the Queen. I feel discombobulated. I feel discombobulated, not only because I do not know how to minister, but because it is my daughter’s birthday.

Are We in Business?

Building any business during a pandemic is complicated, if not impossible. I haven’t yet made a loss on any retreat, which is good news, I have only had positive feedback, and have even had repeat custom. As a ministry this is good, Godly, growth, but I have to account for it as a business.

Advent Calendars

The same thing happened last year: on the first of December I present my husband (and the children of course) with a chocolate Advent Calendar. On the second of December I am gifted not one, but two, calendars which have miraculously arrived courtesy of next day delivery: a chocolate calendar and a tea one. As I boiled the kettle and plucked the teabag from it’s ‘window’ I had a flash back to this time last year.

Erasure

Seeing my name removed from the church notice board: just a shadow remaining where the letters had spelled out not just my name by my position in the community. I was quite literally, not just metaphorically, being erased.

Elvis has left the building…

Twelve years is long time when you are just 14 or 16. Twelve years is half our marriage, a quarter of my life. Twelve years is also the Biblical number for completeness: 12 tribes of Israel, 12 disciples, 12 years of ministry.

Sea Shells

My shell was so pretty, pink and white stripes swirling from the shell’s opening to its conical centre. It was a joy to hold, to observe, to pray with. As I held it I was reminded that shells aren’t simply beach decorations, but homes to sea creatures: this shell had once been a home.

She’s Leaving Home

We are moving out of the vicarage and somehow we have to work out how to take with us not just all our belongings, our memories, our collected lives of almost a quarter century of marriage, fifteen years of parenting, and sixteen of ordained ministry, but the large furniture too. We have three sofas. Three!