The weekly report

It has been another busy week with various activities filling much of what might otherwise have been "private time".  The coming week, by contrast has fewer commitments that will allow some free time, but also space to do a few office based jobs that have accumulated.

Last Sunday's special joy was having Leslie Freer, our Church Secretary, lead our morning meeting at Yelvertoft with me bringing ministry from God's Word and leading communion.  This was the first time since I came to Yelvertoft that we have worked as a team in leading worship and it was a real joy to me.  Our theme exploring how the Holy Spirit enriches relationships will be developed a little further this Sunday morning.

On Monday my car went to the local body shop for long awaited repairs after being struck by a lorry outside our home.  What was expected to take two days was done in less than one.  Then, after pointing out that a very small nick in the paintwork had been missed the mechanics mixed up enough paint not only to do this minor defect but also to carefully touch up a different part of the car while I was waiting.

It was my monthly visit to take Assembly at Lubenham Primary School which ended in my getting "high fives" from all the Year Six leavers.  After this I had been invited to have an aortic aneurysm scan (part of this areas preventative provision to check for abnormalities) and was told I was "normal".  Some might have a different opinion.

Tuesday was my weekly prison ministry.  We have only three more practices before the concert and we are far from ready!  On Wednesday I had an early start to travel to Rugby for a working breakfast with church leaders there.  In the evening I sat with a young couple, Matthew and Sonya, preparing for their marriage.  On Thursday, after a morning of office work, I set off for a working lunch in the village of Grandborough, Warwickshire where I met with the Diocesan Rural Officer and a newly appointed incumbent in one of the larger villages nearby.  Thursday is my day for pastoral visits in and around Yelvertoft so that filled my afternoon and early evening.

On Friday there was a meeting of my local management committee and preparation for Saturday's "Rural Mission" event organised by the Diocese of Leicester where I was able to have a presence.  So it was off early to Broughton Astley to set up my stall.  And what a great day that proved to be.  The Bishop of Shrewsbury (an old friend and formally part of the Rural Evangelism Network) was the main speaker and people crowded  round by stall at times likes bees round a honey pot.  The most encouraging aspect from my point of view was the high level of interest in the "No Ordinary Man" Project.  For more pictures and audio files from this event go to http://sbg.dioceseofleicester.com/?p=325.

Through this week I also set up three new websites, two of which are proposed to take the place of the existing website.  The current website was set up to be interactive with a network of people doing rural mission putting their material on it and using it as a facility for shared administrative work within the Rural Evangelism Network.  But few have taken up the opportunities this excellent facility offers and i have been largely left to manage it myself.  So it has become like having a Rolls Royce when a Vauxhall Astra would be more than adequate.  There is still work to be done but if you would like to see how this is progressing do take a look at www.ruralevangelism.net (the new REN website) and www.ruralmissionsolutions.org.uk (the new Rural Sunrise website).  Both are still missing the "resources" pages.

This Week
We start with conducting two meetings today: Yelvertoft this morning and Theddingworth this evening.

On Tuesday I am taking a school assembly at Yelvertoft and then working in the prison.

A planned meeting for local rural church leaders on Wednesday will almost certainly be postponed.

On Thursday I have a telephone conference in the morning as I am involved in planning a major international conference for 2013.  Then I expect to be in Yelvertoft for my weekly visits.

Between these activities there is work to be done on the new websites, a mail-out for the Rural Evangelism Network, and some very important papers to finish for the report being prepared for the House of Bishops of the Church of England on the pastoral care of those who have suffered sexual abuse.

Do please pray for us each day if you can.  With some ingenuity you might be able to print this posting off.  I value your prayers for Doreen, my wife, whose peripheral neuropathy makes walking very difficult.

A big THANK YOU for standing with us in prayer.