Sundays

The Sundays seem to be coming thick and fast at the moment. Last week - baptismal service. Next week - Harvest thanksgiving. Three weeks time - baptismal service. It will be Advent, Christmas and New Year before before we know it. I also need to fit in two weeks holiday before the end of the year. They do say time passes more quickly the older you get.

Away fans

Came across these pictures of a football stadium in Poland. I suppose it is one way to deal with the away fans. Now which away fans would I consider right for this? Up in Scotland the colours would be just right for Partick Thistle or even Motherwell. But if you look closely you might see the colour of the scarves being waved. Say no more.

"All over 60 welcome to this free event"

Feeling slightly depressed today after a flier advertising an event to celebrate the United Nations International Day of Older Persons arrived from one of the Town Centre Churches. As I read it through the part which brought on this feeling was the line 'All over 60 welcome to this free event'.
I realized that in just 16 months time I will be eligible to attend the service of thanksgiving, the lunch and the concert.( and of course use my bus pass to get there).

mustard seed

In the book 'Celtic Daily Prayer' there is the encouragement to pray that Christians may be faithfully planted as mustard-seeds of hope in the world. A considerable need and challenge in today's world.

To carry on the theme of planting here is a photo of a sunflower planted in our garden by our granddaughters and given some tlc by me. More photos to follow when the other plants finally flower.

Yorkshire Day

'Yorkshire Day' has dawned wet and miserable here in Harrogate. Time, therefore, to do some updating of the blog. I have added some new pictures to the album on the left. Some of the pictures are from the Holiday Club week. A few of the other pictures show the family in various settings. With the rain today it is just as well I did some gardening yesterday!!

Showstoppers

Holiday Club Family service this morning was led by the Showstoppers Cast. It brought to an end a great week when an average of 50 Primary School aged children met each weekday morning at church. The morning was filled with the usual mix of activities - music, movement, crafts, Bible stories, jokes, letters and fun. Already some of the children are asking when next year's Holiday club will be!
It was also great to have our grandchildren with us for part of the week. Emilia enjoyed being in the Potty Puppeteers and she and Esther soon caught on to the Showstoppers song. Hopefully some photos will follow.

Other good news this morning was a request for baptism from one of the Durban four.

Back to work

After a lovely holiday in Italy and a couple of days spent with our grandchildren, it is back to work tomorrow. Monday morning will also see the beginning of another Holiday Club at Church. This year the title is 'Showstoppers' and the stories to be shared deal with 'creation', 'David's trust in God', 'Daniel who stays true to God in exile', 'God coming to earth in Jesus' and 'the death and resurrection of Jesus'. All the stories are vivid and lend themselves to the dramatic presentation used on the dvd which comes with all the material. The aim is to encourage the children( and the leaders) to engage with the stories. It promises to be a good week with just over 50 children booked in.
This morning the August edition of the Expository Times arrived. The last page is now entitled 'And finally' and is often an interesting and anecdotal comment - a welcome contrast to some of the other articles which sometimes go right over my head. In this month's final page Johnston McKay reflects on the Edinburgh Festival and quotes from a former Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, John McIntyre who wrote that if we believe we are made in the Image of a Creator God, then the way we reflect that is when we exercise our imaginations in creative ways. And so the creative artists are sharing a creativity which Christians believe to be inspired by God in whose image we have all been made.
The article ends - " And those who believe in Jesus' form of communication recognise that the creative story is more powerful in conveying truth than the dogmatic proposition. As Don Cupitt has pointed out, asking 'Am I in this story?' is a far more powerful invitation to join in a creative journey that 'Am I in this statement?'.
I hope Showstoppers will be a creative way of drawing children and adults into the story of our faith.