Progress! A mountain climbed!

Regular readers of my diary blog (if such exist) might have been disappointed to find that nothing has been entered since 16th of October.  The reason for this was the need to keep my nose to the proverbial grindstone (never sure what that  means!) and complete some urgent work.

The first major task was an editing job on a report to go to the House of Bishops of the Church of England. The topic is the pastoral care of people in churches who have been sexually abused at some time in their lives (not necessarily in a church context).  About eight different people (including me) had been working on this and had written various sections.  I offered to do the editing thinking I might have some space during August.  Once that opportunity was lost it was impossible to find sufficient uncluttered time to focus on the onerous task of making it into a single cohesive document with appropriate content and style.  It was an enormous challenge but one that is of great importance and some urgency.

I had the work finished as far as possible by very late Thursday 21st and emailed copies off to the team ready for our meeting in London last  Monday.  To my relief my work was well received and no one seemed to be offended by my editing of their material.  A mountain had been climbed!

My next task was to give serious thought to undertaking an MPhil research degree.  In my immediately previous posting here I mentioned my visit to Winchester University.  My original intention back in 2004 when I was accepted at Bangor University was to do a piece of work that was empirical and put stress on data gathering.  I only just managed to get started when our lives were disrupted by the move from the SE to the East Midlands, changes of home and office, work, etc.  Then the department at Bangor closed!  By contrast the Head of Department at Winchester indicated that they would like a slightly different approach.  While there were advantages in this my question was whether it was still going to achieve what I had intended.

I have felt all along that there was value in this being a piece of accredited work that would then offer value to others coming after me in rural ministry and mission.  Obtaining a Masters - or even a Doctorate - was not the primary purpose.  So there followed a lot of heart searching and prayer.  Then came revisions of my original proposal, correspondence with the University and a few good friends before submitting my application yesterday morning.  I now feel I have a clearer vision of what is involved and its relevance in my life and ministry.

Meanwhile a mail-out to members of the Rural Evangelism Network had been in the queue.  A newsletter had to be completed and various other bits and pieces put together ready for the mail-out with copies of "Country Way".  With the able assistance of Doreen the task was finished by early yesterday afternoon and then in the post.

There remain other unfinished tasks and my office is in its usual untidy state as I have rushed from one task to the next without properly tidying things away!  Also within the work described above there have been meetings, ministry, pastoral visits, all kinds of domestic duties, Doreen and me both having endoscopies, and preparation of materials for the big Conference this coming week.  One aspect of that has been the opportunity to get my book on Effective Rural Evangelism reprinted in a better format.

Previously I have asked that friends pray for the Lord to raise up others to whom I can delegate responsibilities - perhaps "apprentices" keen to learn about rural mission work.  I am grateful that a friend who is a retired Anglican clergyman has kindly agreed to take some of the work off my shoulders relating to evangelistic articles for Country Way.  I am grateful, but clearly need my eyes open to see other sources of assistance.  Some of this needs to be local to me but other aspects might be anywhere in a world that has shrunk with modern technology.

So to the week ahead....


Sunday 31st October  9.00 service at Gartree Prison while Dr. Gordon Temple takes the meeting at Yelvertoft.

Monday 1st November  The monthly 9.00 Communion Service for the staff at Torch Trust for the Blind.  (This is where Doreen works part time and we have very good relationships with them)

Monday and Tuesday will also be final preparation for the Conference.

Tuesday 2nd  My afternoon at the prison.  In the evening (if my work is completed) a Church Meeting at Theddingworth.

Wednesday to Friday  "Faith & the Future of the Countryside" Conference at Swanwick, Derbyshire.  During this Conference I have an information and resource stand and will be leading a fringe meeting on "Appropriate Evangelism" on Thursday.

Sunday 7th I will be at Yelvertoft once more and facing a busy week that includes a Sunrise Ministries trustees' meeting in East Sussex.

Those good friends who urge me to do less will be glad to know that Doreen and I hope to take a few days break in November and that much of December will remain clear.  Regular fixed holiday periods will go into the 2011 diary.  I do appreciate the concern shown and realise that postings like this must make it look as if I have no spare time.  However, I can only do one day's work in a day, and I do allow time for fellowship with the Lord and with my wife.  In the past both Doreen and I had health problems because of a work regime imposed upon us by the director of the mission in which we once worked.  That has made us more sensible - though, together, we continue to want to live this life in the service of one who never makes tyrannical demands of us.

Thank you for your love and fellowship.

Barry