threescore

So today we had Lily’s dedication. Except it was actually my husband and myself being dedicated in our parenting of Lily. The focus at our church is on the parents. A lot of child-rearing advice about in bookshops today is about child-centred parenting.

Here’s the original thought - empowering parents and nurturing them in their responsibilities, as a community. Up at the front, we looked out on a full congregation (and on a bank holiday half-term rainy weekend at that) standing to affirm our parenting and to encourage us. Wow. Their support was moving. Lily and her one-year old cousin waved to each other in the prayer, which was moving on a different level. The wonderful minister who dedicated us spilt some water on himself and the floor at the end, which I found theologically interesting, but kept my mouth shut. It rained heavily outside, so everyone got a little wet, which was meteorologically interesting but probably of no real theological significance.

This is what the service was for:

Thanksgiving to God for the life of mother and baby
Acknowledgement of God’s interest in the child
Seeking God’s blessing upon the family
Recognition of the parents’ responsibilities
Confession of the church’s responsibility to aid the parents by prayer and practical participation

After the service, which included interesting points about 10 shilling notes, searching for coins in the dark and a drama by Andy and Clare, we shared a large number of Sainsbury’s finest unhealthy chocolate snacks of the variety seen in staffrooms on teachers’ birthdays. They all went! We had some lovely presents from a lot of lovely people and spent the afternoon catering for eleven adults and two and a half children with various dietary and nutritional needs - all in the immediate family. (Dad decided he didn’t want just salad, which was lovely, especially as he brought sausages which were pretending to be healthy). Lily has another cousin due, which is very exciting, this time on her daddy’s side. It was a good time to catch up and see people, but as a result of all this I am now tired out.

Good thing I’m not signed up for any Baby Jumping today.

A number of recent missives arriving on my doormat over the past month have welcomed me to Spring. Why, thank you. How kind.

In fact, Spring, Summer and a little bit of Autumn have all been more than welcome, with or without supporting literature, in my postcode in the past week.

So thank you, concerned writers of letters I sometimes read. I do feel welcome to to Spring. In fact, I might even keep it a bit longer this year. You can have it back when I’m done with it.

I found out. I mentioned the park incident to a colleague and apparently they are on work experience, but have to miss two days of it for external exams.

When I am secretary of state for education, I have two agendas in mind:

1) Scrap year 9 and 10 and child benefit for those years. I feel 24 months of national minimum wage will do wonders for 13-15 year olds and they will not only perform better in GCSEs but have real life experience to bring to the working world;

2) Scrap pointless testing all through the national mainstream education system.

In actual fact, year tens are supposed to be on work experience this week.

So, why the uniforms?

I am thinking of not dobbing in four year tens from my school who I saw playing football in the park before 3:00 this afternoon. In all honesty, more was probably achieved by all concerned (and their respective classes) by their absence from lessons and they did at least keep their uniforms on.

However, this is now in the public domain. Should any of the parents contact me, I would not deny seeing their sons taking extra-curricular PE in the beautiful weather, right next to the ice-cream stall.

I got married in the church I grew up in. It is a family church with people of various ages and backgrounds. Some people have sad stories and some people have happy stories and there are many stories of changed lives. My dad has been very involved in the leadership for some time at the church. My mum has been very involved in the music. I grew up valuing the children’s and youth work and it set me on a trajectory of hope and purpose.  

This weekend ‘my old church’ celebrates its 200th anniversary. None of the members can claim to have been present for even half that time (although you wonder, occasionally). Today we had a shared meal and a barn dance. Tomorrow there will be special church services. There has been a flower festival and there will be an article in the local paper.

Here’s the thing. The guest of honour mentioned that the church has been operating for about 10% of the life of the Church. That made me think. I have been connected with it for roughly 10% of the time it has been going. A lot has happened in that time, and that is only about 1% of the time of the history of the Church. The older you get, the more recent history becomes.

I wrestle with churcheology and with religiosity and with knowing God personally as my Lord and Saviour.  I have a nostalgia for things of ‘my old church’ for good reason, but would be loathe to see it become a mutual appreciation society which loses the plot. I would hate to see a place and a family I love so much become something alien to God’s purpose and love for the world. The fantastic thing is that it is not. A slice of the history of the church belongs there and underneath all the present stories are lives changed and still being changed by truth and God’s love.

The best testimony you can have for faith is broken people being mended. I see many lives touched by ‘my old church’ which are mended over days, months, sometimes many years. I am broken. I am being mended daily. It is all part of the continuing story.

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

But if it is?

how should tasting touching hearing seeing
breathing any–lifted from the no
of allnothing–human merely being
doubt unimaginable You?

I love this poem by e.e. cummings and thought today was a good day to post it.

My daughter is singing and blowing raspberries into my arm. Thank you God.

(Ben Witherington has a funny post today - see the side bar).