It was in the job description
Whilst I know is part of what I do now I'm still nervous. Tomorrow is the start of the lent Bible studies I am running. We are doing the York courses Better Together (yes me using Anglican resources)so I have spent the day planning and thinning down. Not sure what I find the scariest so here is the list to choose from:
1. Will anyone turn up.
2. If they do will they come back again.
3. Will anyone talk.
4. Will we get past "we went to a bible study once in 1962 hated it"
5. Will my supervisor be there
6. What if all I have done is just crap
and so I go on in this kind of circular way. Church has a strange way of scaring me like this at times, am I really training to be a minister, oh give me the prison any day somehow there seems to be more honesty there, strange but true. Oh well till tomorrow.
posted by Stuart @ Wednesday, February 16, 2005
6 Comments:
Stuart...I'm leading a group on that same course here today,- and though I've done a few similar things in my past life, this feels rather out on a limb too. Not least because the group have signed up knowing i'm leading it, and its members include a lady who is currently Sacristan, but who is likely to de church herself when I'm priested, as she is still struggling, 10 years on, with the ordination of women. The real problem is that she is a love, and rather fond of me too....so a very sad situation...and the scope for hurting her inadvertently while exploring these topics is HUGE.
I'll pray for you...could you do the same for me, please?
Well...my troubled lady didn't appear, which was sad in some ways but made for a very relaxed and open group. Rather disturbing to realise how many of us are leading lives of quiet desperation, but a good session, even though we sat very light to the material. Far more about making relationships in the group than exploring them beyond...
I'm sure yours was great: would love to hear.
Well we had 11 there, now i know its about quality but numbers were important - let me explain: The 3 churches I am working with are looking to come together so it meant that having bigger numbers gave a more representative group. The group was relaxed and shared both the positive and negative about families. We to moved to relationships and how if they were to work we needed to listen, again an important insight in our situation. All together a promising start! Oh and my supervisor did come and was incredibly supportive. Glad to hear yours was good, I will pray about the awkward woman. Good look for your trail
Hi Stuart...I wonder how it's going for your group (and how you are too, come to that)
Just back from session 3, which has been the toughest so far...guess why?
Yup, the homosexual debate, if debate isn't too generous a word for it.
Hope your session is less polarised than ours...as a church, we're not good enough at making relationships to be able to afford this sort of discomfort yet :-(
Actually it went quite well. Yes we had that same predictable view point at first which went "well each to their own but the problem is 'they' have to flaunt it". But then we explored the theme of whether or not Christians main calling is to be prophetic or pastoral. We decided pastoral and by loving one another we might not always agree but we would learn live alongside each other and as a result grow. We read Matthew 25 31 - 36 and it seemed to have new meaning. For me it has been one of those God moments that Ihave seemed to lack in this last placement. However when we talked about asylum I was ready to swing for a couple of the sweet mis guided old ladies. Luckly however I chose education rather than violence. By the way I'm not so bad will blog shortly!!!
Good....was beginning to get a little anxious on your behalf.
Think God has been shut out by my timetable this week...reading your comment then made me realise this, which was a kind of wobbly sort of God moment in itself.Maybe if I'd managed to get my lot back on to looking at the Scripture suggested, we migh have felt a bit less shredded by the whole experience.
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