Sunday, June 24, 2007

 

Some more serious stuff

So, some church stuff for a while. Lots going on. First of all, I'd agreed with Ian, my placement supervisor, that I'd visit the Sunday School this Sunday with Jo. It's at 1030 - the same time as the main service - in a separate church down the other end of the main street from the main one, probably about 3/4 of a mile (over a kilometre) away. It's been run for the last 33 years by the same couple, with various helpers. Ian, my incumbent, has never managed to visit, given the timing and where it is. As well as Jo, there were maybe fifteen children, from 4-13. We started with a short service. Well, at nearly 20 minutes, I was impressed with how the children coped, and how well run it was. A bidding prayer led into around 6 hymns/songs, well-chosen, and accompanied on tape. We then had a confession (our "sorry prayer"), followed by the Lord's Prayer (modern version: one of the children turned round to look at me when I started off on the old version!), some intercessions, a final hymn and a dismissal. The children read a number of the prayers (some of which were hand-written on large boards, and all of which the children seemed to know well). After the service, the children split into 3 groups: 4-6, 7-10, 11+. The activities seemed well chosen and enjoyed by the children: I wandered round and spoke to the children and watched what went on. I was impressed. It's not exactly what I'd have expected from a "youth" activity, but it compared very well with the style of Sunday School that I experienced as a child. At the end of the activities, we gathered at the front for a grace, and then headed off. I thanked the adults, who clearly appreciated our visit. It was exactly the sort of activity that it's really important for me to partake in during my placement.

On a different note, Jo did very well indeed. Although the nearest-aged child was 4, she joined in with the youngest group, sat on a little chair, stuck things down, coloured things in, and had a good time: she had no problem with my visiting the other groups. She was also very well looked after by the adult in charge of her group. She's really going to enjoy pre-school when she starts in September.

The rest of the day was taken up with a lovely meal at The King's Head in Gosfield. (our second visit in a couple of months: we'll be back), some time at home (dog poo clearance in the garden, yummy) and swimming at Halstead pool. Supper for Jo, then she went to bed - under five minutes. All very good.

"In my defence..."

... says Moo, "I was breast-feeding and supervising a toddler at the time." Actually, we were both supervising Jo, and she didn't need much help at the time. I told the Jesus-Giapetto joke (look up "Jesus Pinocchio joke" in your favourite search engine). "What?" said Moo, and was really surprised that I'd tell such a joke. It turns out that she doesn't know the Pinocchio story, and just thought that I was suggesting that Jesus lies a lot. And had a big nose. Why would I do that? Why, indeed.

SecondLife

Things are really moving. I've heard that The Ecclesiastical Law Society is interested in SecondLife and what we (the Anglicans in SecondLife) group are doing there. I'm hoping to get involved. And speaking of involvedment, the leader of the group, Arkin Arkantho, has asked me to lead a service for the European timezones in the cathedral. I asked Keith, my supervisor, if he was OK with it, and he is, so we just need to find a time, work on a liturgy, advertise it, and go for it. I'm very pleased.

Labels: , ,


Comments:
that joke is terrible- but kinda funny too.

Secondlife sounds interesting.
 
Post a Comment

<< Home

This page is powered by Blogger. Isn't yours?