Had a very interesting weekend in Derbyshire, spending time at Willersley Castle at the MET Prayer Conference.
We were looking at Ephesians, with the excellent Tom Stuckey, and learnt much about blessing and grace. We also prayed for revival. Prayed fervently for the power of God to sweep throughout the country and to breathe new life into our churches. It was wonderful to spend time with such enthusiastic and committed people!
Enjoyed a walk by the river with a view of Arkwright's Mill and reflected on the power of the water that had inspired the building of the mill in that place. The force and noise of the rushing torrents at the weir made me think of the noise of the rushing wind at Pentecost. Lord, send the power and might of your Holy Spirit into the lives of your people today.

I cannot believe that it is October already! The summer has gone, even though it feels like I have only just returned from my holidays.
I spent most of September with my husband. That is something out of the ordinary, as we live in separate countries most of the time! Richard's job is based in Italy and involves a lot of travelling to the Middle East. So to spend more than a weekend in each others company was something of a novelty.
We enjoyed a relaxing cruise on the Mediterranean, a cruise that coincided with our 30th wedding anniversary. Our marriage has not always been plain sailing and sometimes the seas were particularly choppy, but we have managed to keep afloat. (Sorry, I know awful!!)
My Christian journey has not always been plain sailing either, but I have weathered the storms so far. Thank you God for the many blessings in my life. May I always be as faithful to you as you have been to me.

Yesterday, 26 August, saw the 100th anniversary of the birth of Mother Teresa.
This one tiny lady answered the call of God to travel to a strange land and there founded the Missionaries of Charity of Kolkata.
At the time of her death, in 1997, the Missioaries of Charity were operating in 123 countries. Mother Teresa herself worked tirelessly for over 45 years, ministering to the poor, the sick, the orphaned and the dying.
Throughout her life she had her supporters and her critics, but she carried on working to the end, resolutely fulfiling her mission.
Looking at what was accomplished for the good of humanity and for the Glory of God, by the work of this one woman is very humbling. It also reminds me that God works through every one of us and can do great things if we are open and obedient to his Will in our lives.
"Spread love everywhere you go. Let no-one ever come to you without leaving happier" Mother Teresa

It seems so long since I have posted anything here.
The Conference was very interesting. Portsmouth was very hot!
Much has happened since my return. A great deal of time was spent with Circuit and Church farewells to the Superintendent Minister, on his retirement.
Yesterday I was preaching at Harrowby Lane. My "Trial Service". Fortunately I had an excellent assessment and live to preach another day!
I was particularly aware of the extraordinarily diverse gifts of so many of the congregation at HL. From singing, acting, playing instruments to listening skills, hospitality and welcoming skills - the list goes on!
Thank God for the blessings God pours down on us!

I am making final preparations for the trip to Portsmouth tomorrow, where I will be a representative of the Nottingham and Derby District of the Methodist Church, at the Methodist Conference 2010.
Looking at the agenda, there will be several very important debates. It will be good to be involved.
Hoping to meet some old friends in Portsmouth - including someone I knew at university and who I have not seen for over 25 years.
I pray for guidance for all the representatives, that they will make decisions in line with God's will, for the future of the Methodist Church in the UK.

I have just returned from a few days in Rome. June 2 was the Italian national Day and a public holiday. The Festa della Repubblica was celebrated in Rome with a huge procession of military and state might, ending with a fly past of military jets, swooping above the Colisseum and towards the Victor Emmanuel Monument. I watched the procession live on TV as the crowds along the way are always too dense to see anything much - especially for a short person!
I also visited theBasilica Santa Maria sopra Minerva, with important Dominican links and site of the body of St Catherine of Siena. (the head being in Siena.) I was pleased to pray in the quiet of the Basilica and remember St Catherine's words "All the way to heaven, is heaven."

After a few days of uncertainty, the UK has a new Prime Minister in David Cameron. The Conservatives have formed a coalition with the Lib Dems.
A key word in David's first speech as PM was "difficult". There will be "difficult" days ahead and "difficult" decisions to make.
We are "fishing from the other side of the boat" and doing things differently, butweall must pull together to ensure success.
This may not be the government many of us wanted or expected, but we have a duty now to work to ensure some form of stability and economic growth in this country.

Election Day in the UK has finally arrived. I know we have a fairly short time of campaigning, but a much longer campaign would still not have helped my thinking and decision-making.
This has been the most difficult choice I can remember in my voting history! I don't think that any of the three main parties tick my boxes.
I just pray that, whoever wins, Christians in the UK become more involved in the government and leadership and realise how incredibly important it is to engage with the political.

Yesterday I went to hospital to have a couple of cysts removed. One, on my face was quite large and required 3 stitches after the cyst was removed.
I had been given local anaesthetic so it was not painful, but the surgeon asked the nurse to get me some painkillers to bring home with me.
After a ten minute wait the nurse re-appeared with a small foil pack of 6 paracetamol tablets and said "They were none in the pharmacy, so Ibrought you these from my handbag". A kind gesture on her part, but what sort of hospital has no painkillers?
My friend's teenage daughter is due to have her baby any day now. I hope the hospital can find her painkillers for the birth - a couple of paracetamol from the nurse in charge is not going to help much there!

Greetings on St George's day!
Over the last week there has been complete lockdown of all air travel in the UK and large parts of Northern Europe, due to fears about flying through clouds of volcanic ash that have emanated from an eruption in Iceland. Thankfully, things are getting back to normal and the many people, whose journeys were cancelled and who have found themselves stranded, are gradually able to resume their normal lives.
Mankind likes to think that it is all-powerful, that advances in technology have meant that we have tamed the world around us and we are in control. The events of this week have shown us that nature, once again, has the upper hand, and how easily our world comes to a standstill.

This has been another busy week and one in which I have struggled to keep up with everything that must be done.
Last weekend I was in Rome, and on Monday I enjoyed conversation (and ice cream!) with a Dominican friend.
This led me to think about the very different personal callings we have. In our encounters with the Risen Lord, he meets us where we are, he understands our capabilities better than we do and he invites each one of us to get involved with him, from our own unique starting point. All have different personal callings, but all are joined to community in Christ.
We all have our own song to sing, our own message to deliver. Let us all listen for the voice of the shepherd in our lives and follow,or come alongside, or be sent out before, the One who calls. And let us be confident in that calling, that sending. Let us have the Risen Lord at the centre of all we do in his name.

After early rain showers, now a beautiful Spring morning.
Christ is Risen! Alleluia!
Bless His Holy Name, let all His Creation rejoice!
Death, where is thy sting? Grave, thy victory?
Alleluia, he is victor over all!

I seem to have several different projects "on the go" just now, all jostling for attention - trying to keep them all in my head is very tiring!
One of my tasks is to put together a service for 18 April for one of the rural churches and I find myself trying out sermon outlines in the shower, choosing hymns as I walkthe dog and meditating upon the readings as I drift off to sleep.
I am also writing a talk for a pastoral group meeting and trying to digest the Candidating Information on the Methodist Church website.
Just as well we women are used to multi-tasking!
But in the midst of this busy life I will be taking time to pray and contemplate over the Easter period.
God "broke in" to the world in an astonishing way. He emptied himself of everything but love and became man to die for us on the cross, to put an end to death and sin. And on the third day he rose again and lives today. Alleluia!

Yesterday I was leading worship at a little village called Skillington. The old chapel stands at the top of a hill, in the centre of the village and overlooking the village green. An idyllic picture.
Mothering Sunday is always a special time as we recognise and honour the mothers amongst us. Our worship was tuneful and joyous and blessed by the presence of two delightful children, in a chapel that is usually without children on Sundays. The two girls, sisters aged three and two , handed out flowers to the ladies present and the three year old (adorably cute) sang a song about Jonah and the Whale, using the microphone and with no trace of nerves.
Such a joy!

My first ever complete sermon seemed to be well-received this morning. Topic of perseverance, keeping on to the end, even when you can't see the final outcome.
Standing behind the pulpit meant my knocking knees were not on display!
When I first read the lectionary readings for today, I immediately thought of an old Harry Lauder song that my grandad used to sing.
"Keep right on to the end of the road" and I used this to weave the sermon together. The final lines of the chorus are:
"Tho' you're tired and weary, still journey on,
Till you come to your happy abode,
Where all the love you've been dreaming of
Will be there at the end of the road."
The perfect description of our faith journey!

Heavy snow overnight has meant that the service in the village chapel where I was to preach this morning, has been cancelled.
"Lent" is a Teutonic word meaning "Spring," but there has been nothing Spring-like about the weather so far!
I had not listened to a weather forecast so was unprepared for the white carpet that greeted me this morning. I actually gasped with surprise.
Being astonished made me think how God so often does things that take us by surprise. The most astonishing being the Incarnation. Who would have expected such a wonderful, astonishing gift!

It has been quite some time since I have had the opportunity to update the blog. Several days in Rome were followed by a very busy day at the church yesterday. Friendship Club was entertained by a musical group called "Collage" and this was followed by lunch.
This morning I am reflecting on the Lenten season and entering into the wilderness with Jesus. Holding my life up to God for scrutiny.
This Sunday, the first in Lent (Temptation Sunday) I will be leading the service at one of the Circuit's village chapels and delivering my first sermon there on Temptation and its relationship to faith.
As a Lenten discipline I am also joining the brothers and sisters of the Anglican Dominicans in studying and reflecting upon the Nine Ways of Prayer of St Dominic. Dominic was a man for whom praying came first. He used his whole physical presence in his prayer life. Every part of him was united to God in prayer. It is my desire to enter more fully into a prayer life that embraces the physical as well as the spiritual.

I have had an interesting couple of days listening to the business of the General Synod of the Church of England, streamed by Premier Christian Media.
The highlight today was the Presidential Address given by the Archbishop of Canterbury.
One thing that stood out to me was the assertion that unity was not above integrity, but that unity leads to Christian integrity. Maybe the Anglican Communion needs its own Pope to be a central, executive figure of authority?
So much talk of division and schism can only be detrimental for the Communion in the long run.

Last weekend saw the sixth anniversary of the new building that is our local Methodist Church.
There has been a church on this plot for many years. It started as a tin hut, then a brick building. By the grace of God, the church family grew so much that a new building was needed to seat the congregation.
The new Harrowby Lane Church is also a Community Centre and has excellent facilities, including meeting rooms, hall, internet cafe and fantastic kitchen and hall, all under one roof.
This year we celebrated the anniversary by having a day of teaching on discipleship, mission and service. The day was led by Revd Dr Pete Phillips from CODEC at Durham University. We had a wonderful day and the teaching was fully interactive and Pete made use of video clips and other media too. We all left feeling renewed and motivated!
On Sunday Rev Phillips preached at the morning service and gave us a strong message that was particularly relevant to the situation the church finds itself in at the present time. During the service there was an opportunity for people to re-commit theirlives to God and his work. Virtually the whole congregation came forward to do so. God is at work, make no mistake about it!

I am pleased to report that the Anglican Dominican Order of Preachers is growing!
One more Formation House has recently opened, with another one planned for after Easter.
God is working in the Order - evidenced by the numbers of people showing interest and numbers of seekers who are prepared to make a commitment.
The Dominican Mission is an active one. We are a dispersed Order and, like the early Dominicans, we are sent out to heal and to preach, and to bless those we meet. The Dominican infinitives - To Praise, To Bless, To Preach become imperatives in our lives.
The early church lived with a sense of urgency, they felt there was little time to spread the Good News. Early disciples fully expected the Second Coming within their lifeimes and they were charged to spread the news of the Kingdom to as many people as possible before that time. The harvest was plentiful but the workers were few! Today, we have to a great extent become complacent - I am not sure our church congregations are expecting the Parousia any time soon.
The reality is that the mission to spread the Good News is as important and as urgent as it was in the first century and it is wonderful that there are people hearing the call to go out, in humility, and make God's love manifest in small acts of service and kindness in the many and varied communities to which we have been sent.
To God be the glory!

Tomorrow my son will be flying to Rome to spend a couple of weeks with his dad. Naturally I am sorry to lose his company, but I am looking forward to playing my favourite music without using headphones (he can't bear my taste!) I will play my favourite CDs loudly and may even sing along - something else that normally gives rise to complaints! Teenagers can be so intolerant of the older generation!!

Today the news is full of an aftershock in Haiti that has caused even more devastation. News pictures included the miraculous discovery and rescue of a young woman found unscathed and in good health after a week buried in the rubble. The joy on her face and the reactions of the rescuers moved me to tears. She has been given the gift of new life after what must have seemed a living death entombed in the ground. I can't help but wonder what her future will hold?
The same news programme showed a hospital car park. Patients and staff had been evacuated from the building following the renewed tremors and on the car park staff were helping mothers give birth. Bringing forth Life - urgent and unstoppable life. May God anoint these new creations, born to a people in turmoil.

Today was the last day for nominations for Church Stewards and I have tossed and turned and changed my mind repeatedly this last month about whether or not to put myself forward for this post.
I am already heavily involved in the church with Worship Leading, Local Preacher training, pastoral work and Bible Study; not to mention being Circuit Administrator. Was this a step too far, would I be overstretching myself?
At the very last minute one of my friends offered to nominate me and I watched my form go in the box along with the others. Time will tell if I have done the right thing. If I were to be ordained at some point, I am sure my full-time ministry would include administration, teaching, preaching, leading worship and pastoral care of others, so maybe the practice will do me good!

As I write my first blog entry for 2010, the snow is swirling outside and getting deeper on the ground, minute by minute.
Looking outside, it is difficult to tell where the pavement ends and the road begins. A soft blanket covering the treacherous ice underneath. What we see on the outside, a picture of calm tranquillity does not reflect what lies beneath.
The same is often true of people. The face they present to the world, a calm, assured exterior, often covers a mass of anxious thoughts and insecurities. It is so easy to put on a front that masks what is really going on inside.