Disconnect & Connect

The final presentation of my course, on Gospel & Mission, was this morning. I was quite enthusiastic about it but when it came to the bit where we had to draft a mission policy for the parish (we don't have one) everything seemed to get stuck in thick mud. It seemed (and I could be quite wrong here) that my incumbent was trying to stifle any initiative. Frustrated, I asked him, "Are you against evangelism?" He looked taken aback and I clarified: "I mean in a structured intentional way..." Afterwards Shirleyanne, my wife, said that my question was too strong, though she had felt the same way as me. O well...

In the afternoon a joined a few others in conversation about emerging church at the Bishop's house. We were all a bit tentative at first but it was good to sense the enthusiasm as well as the encouragement from the bishop and archdeacon. We didn't come to any conclusion (which was good) and there was no emergence either but we made some connections and we introduced some diversity into the system, so that was a positive start.

So, a funny day; all part of life's rich blah blah blah I suppose.