3-in-1......and no....I'm not on about oil!

This is actually intended as a double posting, it was going to report yesterday's events and those of today...but today kind of changed, but I'll tell you all about the changed events...but first, yesterday!

Yesterday was Trinity Sunday. It is slightly different to most of the church Kalender (and yes, that is spelt correctly). On Trinity Sunday we do not celebrate a feast as we normally do, instead we sort of celebrate a doctrine. The doctrine is that of the Holy Trinity, the 3-in-1 God, being Father, Son and Holy Ghost. I have to say the Holy Trinity is certainly more powerful than any oil that I have ever come across.

After mass it was tea and coffee as usual, together with biscuits. I was a bit of a rebel I have to say. Instead of having my usual two cups of tea I went out on a limb and had one cup of tea followed by a cup of coffee! I know, I certainly know how to live life on the dangerous side!!

Now we move on to today. The Bishop had planned a parish outing to Walsingham in Norfolk which is the home of the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham. Today marks the annual National Anglican Pilgrimage to the shrine.

Unfortunately the Bishop sent me an email last night (which I got this morning), saying that he was unwell and it was likely that our trip would be cancelled, as it was he, Roy, Jemima and I going. He sent a further email this morning confirming that he was not feeling any better, so he reluctantly called off the trip. I know that he did not want to do this, as we were all looking forward to it, however, he did not plan to be ill, and his well being is far more important than any trip in my opinion. I do hope that he is feeling better now.

So, today I spent the day with my family. Debbie and I took Ethan to Dover to the raceway there for the banger and stock car racing today. Hollie spent the afternoon with my mum as it isn't really suitable for kids her age.

We also took Deb's mum and dad and our friend Simon. It cost a total of £22 for all of us to get in and was a great day. There was a total of 12 races, including 3 demolition derbies! The last race was a demolition derby with bangers towing caravans...Jeremy Clarkson would love that!!!! The day started a 2pm and finished at about 7.30pm, so this represents a great value day out...fun for the family, oh...and very dusty!

Tomorrow is a big day for me. I oficially start work for Canterbury Church Shop, although it is not fully operational yet, so it will be a case of sorting out the stock which has already been obtained, etc, etc. I'm really looking forward to it, and want to prove myself, although there is a lot for me to learn!

Oh well....I'm off to bed now....early start tomorrow, I've got to be at work, in Lydd, for 10am!!! That will be my first lay in for about 2 years!

Back soon...............

Oink!! Oink!!

So what has happened to the sunshine? It has been going downhill since Tuesday, maybe it's preparing for a fantastic summer...or maybe not!

Yesterday was Wednesday, so it was mass at 12pm as usual. We seem to have a new attendee in our midst. Her name is Nina and she is originally from South America, and she has joined us a few times now. She is, of course, more than welcome, as is anyone!

I even remembered the right point at which I needed to go up to the altar to assist with serving for the Bishop...a long way to go before I can do it all or am anywhere near competent though! That reminds me, it wont be long before our cassocks arrive, Roy will be happy then, when he is no longer wearing polyester!!!!

After church I had to be home on time as Debbie, I and the children were going to Tunbridge Wells to the theatre there (Assembly Halls). We had booked some time ago to see Peppa Pig Live, we even managed to get front row seats.

The theme of the show is of it being Peppa Pig's birthday party. The characters are puppets and you can clearly see the puppeteers who also do the voices for the characters. I have to say I thought the show was great, as did Debbie.

Hollie, our 18 month old was fascinated, and had a big, big smile on her face throughout. When she first saw Peppa she was shaking with excitement and shouted out "Peppa" at the top of her voice!!! She was even dancing along and joining in with clapping, etc!!

Ethan, our 5 year old, also loved the show. He really enjoyed taking party in the audience interaction activities, such as dancing, etc. He appeared to be very happy indeed.

All in all the show lasts about an hour and a half, and at just £12.50 per ticket I thought was great value. The theatre was packed, so this is a clear sign of Peppa's popularity.

As we were sitting in the front row we even managed to get wet with a little help from George's (Peppa's little brother) tears....this surprised a lot of people!!!

We saw Peppa, George, Mummy & Daddy Pig and several of Peppa's friends....can't remember all of their names. We also saw Grandpa Pig's train, I think the train is called Gertrude. Their is also a human friend who kind of leads the focus of the show called Daisy, she was great and really got the audience involved!

All in all I would highly recommend this show to any Peppa fan....or maybe even any adult who is still a kid at heart!!

After the show we went for something to eat at Cosmo, which is a chinese 'all you can eat' restaurant. The food there is very nice and not bad value, they even have soem rather tasty desserts! I think that they are a chain, I know that they have another restaurant in Hastings which we have been to a few times before. Ethan likes these, as he loves the chow mein type noodles...Hollie eats anything, so she is not an issue. Ethan even ate soem jelly for dessert, which is a huge step for us as he is very fussy about what he eats and will never try anything new. This is associated with his autism. So the fact that he tried (and liked) jelly is great, as it is now another food that we can add to his rather limited 'comfort zone' list. One small step for Ethan....one giant leap for us!

Anyway, I'll try and update again on Sunday....or maybe Monday!!

Until then....in the words of Peppa "OINK OINK"!

I could never run a Swiss railway!

Late again! Actually, if I want to get picky with myself then I should mention that I did in fact miss a whole week out...not quite sure what happened there...time does indeed fly by when you are having fun!

So a quick update, to try and bring you up to speed....

Sunday 16th - Church as normal.
Wednesday 19th - Had bad toothache, so instead of going to church I had to go to that torture chamber, more commonly known as the dentist. Two injections, some drilling, grinding and filling later and the pain had gone!
Thursday 20th - My wife's 33rd birthday...I'm younger than her!!!!!
Saturday 22nd - Church for our patronal in celebration of St Augustine of Canterbury (our patron). We had mass followed by a parish lunch at Pizza Express, followed by Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament.

That brings us up to Sunday 23rd, which was Pentecost, also known as Whit Sunday. It was church as usual on a Sunday. Pentecost falls 50 days after Easter Day. According to scripture it is when the disciples were filled with the Holy Ghost (also known as the Holy Spirit), it descended upon them like tongues of fire.

This is what the bible says:

Acts 2: 1-6

And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven. Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language.

I find that quite descriptive of the Holy Ghost actually at work so to speak, but I can't help wondering whether or not they were scared, and whether or not the tongues of fire were hot or not. My mind really does work in strange ways sometimes!

Anyway, that has now played catch up with my blog and the next update should be on Wednesday....please not that I did say "should"!!!

Until then....................

The future's bright....the future's Orange!!!

I know that this is a day late, but what is a day between friends? And don't answer by saying 24 hours!

On Tuesday Bishop Damien, Roy and I went to the Christian Resources Exhibition, which was held at Sandown Park. It was certainly bigger than the vestment exhibition that the Bishop and I attended last week. Actually I thought that it was really good, and we made some rather handy contacts.

Roy also booked a stand at the next few exhibitions (held at various venues) for Credo Care, which is the fostering company that he and the Bishop, oh, and Greg, operate. The exhibitions could possibly be a good place to recruit foster carers for Credo Care.

At the exhibition Roy and I were also measured up for cassocks at one of the stands. We are having our cassocks made to measure, and Roy is rather proud of the fact that they will not be made from polyester!!! This is a long story, so I wont go into it. I actually can't remember what they will be made from, but I am sure that they will be good and last for some time. The purpose of them is for us to wear as servers, and mine will then be able to be used if and when I become an ordinand.

On the way home we went to Ikea to look at furniture and we also ate there. I had their famous Swedish meatballs!

We had a reason to be looking at furniture. Bishop Damien and Roy (with Greg's support) recently decided to set up a further business, selling various church supplies and certain religious items and gifts. It was decided to have a website and a shop, in Canterbury. They decided to offer me the post of manager. I am thrilled with this, so of course, I accepted their offer. I start on 1st June!

We have aquired a shop also. It will be at 13 Orange Street, Canterbury. This is just around the corner from our church, and a stone's through from the cathedral.

The business will be called CANTERBURY CHURCH SHOP and the website is currently under development, this will be www.canterburychurchshop.co.uk

We will sell a range of items from books to vestments and candles to statues!

This is a fantastic concept and a great opportunity for me to actually do something with my life. God has given me this opportunity, and it must therefore be part of His plan for me!

Anyway, I will post more on here as it happens!

On to Wednesday (yesterday)....I went to church as normal and mass started at 12pm. Nothing out of the ordinary happened. We had coffee afterwards, only today we had a latte from the shop at the end of the road, as we had no milk. We had a general chat and then said our farewells.

After church I had to go to Argos to buy a Peppa Pig bedding set for my daughter...she is made about Peppa, we're actually going to see a live Peppa Pig show on 26th May at Tunbridge Wells!

Today is Ascension Day, and as such there would have been mass at church. Sadly, I was unable to attend, due to work, but once the shop is opened then hopefully this will be a problem of the past!

Oh well, that's all for now. I'll be back on Sunday.

Until then...............

Ask and ye shall receive!

Today is Rogation Sunday. The word 'Rogation' stems from the Latin verb 'rogare' which means 'to ask'. So Rogation Sunday traditionally was a day when the parishioners and the minister would carry out a ceremony known as "beating the bounds". They would process around the boundaries of the parish and pray for Gods protection for the forthcoming year. This applied, in particular, to crops and new born animals.

God, being the one who always listens to us and our needs would no doubt answer these prayers and provide what was needed.

Indeed God continues to do this even in our modern times. Fair enough, if we pray to win the lottery then He is unlikely to answer that prayer (as it is somewhat selfish), but He will always answer our genuine and heartfelt prayers in a positive way, this is evidenced in the bible "Ask and ye shall receive" (John 16:24).

Prayer is an exceptionally important part of being a Christian, it is not good enough to just pray every so often, regular prayer is the way to go. We must remember that God wants us to pray, He likes us to talk to Him, He likes to know what we are doing, just as any good parent wants to keep posted on what their children are up to even if they have grown up and left home!

God doesn't have a telephone, nor an email address and sadly there is no postal service between heaven and earth, so our only means of communication is by prayer. The prayers do not have to be formal or prepared, they just have to be genuine! Remember the Lord does not demand anything from us, He will only take what we are prepared to give, and is a few minutes a day through prayer too much to give? Not in my opinion! The Lord gives us so much more than this!

So, be more like the chicken (from last Sunday) and look up often....and talk while you're at it! When I say talk, this does not mean that you have to speak out loud, it is perfectly accepatable to talk through your heart...just make it a regular thing! Give Him thanks for His goodness also!

I had better mention that I did go to church today, that's why I know that it is Rogation Sunday....I'm getting good at the church thing now....it has become a very important part of my life, the people there are not simply churchgoers, they are faithful people who I am proud to say are my friends! I thank God for this! I thank God for connecting me with the ACC....and I make sure that I remind Him of this thanks every single day!

Until Wednesday..............

The Bishop tours South East London & Kent!

I forgot to mention in my blog the other day that the Bishop recently appointed me to serve as his Nominee on the Diocesan Council of Advice for 1 year. I'm not overly sure what I am meant to do, but I'll do my best...and I'm rather honoured to be honest!

With today being Wednesday it was off to church for mass at 12pm. Nothing unusual happened. Jennifer had a friend of her's join us for mass today, and they went for lunch after tea and coffee.

Bishop Damien and I had arranged to go to London this afternoon to visit a vestment exhibition being held in Westminster. It was arranged by a Spanish company and was held in Westminster Cathedral Hall. I have a top tip for you here: If you are ever looking for Westminster Cathedral Hall then you will find the address given as 42 Francis Street, SW1. The entrance is actually in Ambrosden Avenue. We established this after several minutes searching and walking the length of Francis Street!!!

The exhibition was not quite what we had expected, it was somewhat smaller than we had imagined. Still, they had some nice items and the Bishop managed to obtain a couple of catalogues.

We then decided to have a look around a couple of Christian shops in the area. We went into St. Pauls Shop, which is next to Westminster Cathedral. They seemed to have quite a bit in there! Everything from greetings cards to clerical shirts. We then went into Westminster Cathedral and had a look around and said a prayer obviously. We then had a look in their shop to see if there was anything that took our fancy.

After this we went to Pizza Hut for something to eat, which was nice...I even got to visit their ice cream factory...I did control myself though and only made one visit!

It was then time to take a stroll back to Victoria train station, as we had arrived by train from Canterbury. We caught the train back to Ashford, and this is where his Lordship's tour started! It turns out that the train was the 'stopping' service, calling at all stations (plus some extra for good measure I think)!!! In fairness it did run 'fast' from London Victoria to Bromley South...but even I've lost track with the names of all of the other stations we called at, finally arriving in Ashford at 20.16hrs.

Roy met us at Ashford and kindly gave me a lift home before heading to Lydd on the continuation of the Bishop's lengthy (and unplanned) tour of Kent!! Somehow I don't think that the Bishop will leave the travel planning to me next time!

It was a good day though...with good company.

Anyway, that's it for today...I've got to get my sleep so that i'm ready to vote tomorrow..........................

Is it a sheep? Is it a lion? Is it a chicken? No, it's the Bishop's garden!!

Today is the forth Sunday after Easter, and as such we are still in the Eastertide period, that could partly explain the Bishop's inspiration to talk about chickens today in his sermon.

All of his sermons recently have made references to how we resemble certain animals in some ways, and today was no different. He spoke today of chickens, and how they are very vulnerable, but that they do have a certain element of survival instinct (which often involves running away). He said how that when they drink they take a very quick sip of water and then look up straight away to ensure that the situation is still safe for them. This reminds us that when we receive a small gift from God that we should look up to heaven and give Him thanks. In fact we should constantly be looking up to heaven, as we should always be giving thanks to God. As Christians we can be very vulnerable, but unlike the chickens we should not run away. Our Lord will protect us, so long as we believe and trust in Him.

The Bishop said that he had been thinking of chickens as a while back he was considering keeping chickens in his garden at home. These would make a rather nice addition to the sheep that have been known to occupy his garden through a hole in the fence. To the best of my knowledge he has no plans for a lion, but a hippo and a herd of shetland ponies have been mentioned. Perhaps he should have a kind of land based Noah's Ark....or rather Bishop's Ark!!!!

During the week Bishop damien had asked me if I would like to join him for mass at Rochester today, after mass at Canterbury. As I have previously mentioned, the Bishop currently conducts mass at Rochester on the 1st and 3rd Sundays of the month to cover for Father Ray while he continues to recover from his operation.

So after mass today Bishop Damien, Roy and I headed for Rochester. Services there are held at the Fort Pitt Military Cemetery Chapel. I believe that the Royal Engineers are responsible for this and they are very kind in allowing us to use it. It is set in well tended cemetery gardens, and is quite tranquil in it's setting.

I also had the great pleasure in meeting Father Ray, he seemed a very warm and genuine man, and it was easy to see why the Bishop speaks highly of him. He made me feel very welcome. I really do pray that his recovery continues and that his voice is soon fully returned to him. Currently he is able to speak in a hushed type of voice, but we are all praying for him, so I am sure that it wont be long before his voice returns to full power. I know that he means a lot to many, church and family included. I would ask anyone reading this to please also pray for Father Ray's continued recovery.

After mass at Rochester Bishop Damien, Roy and I had dinner (or late lunch!!) together at a restaurant near the cinema in Rochester (many thanks to Roy, as it was he that treated us!). After this we headed back to Ashford to take me home, but first we stopped at Maidstone services on the M20 for a latte at Costa Coffee there.

Then it was just a case of getting dropped of at home for me, and then continuing on to Lydd for the Bishop and Roy.

All in all it was a most enjoyable day (despite the weather)!

Until next time.....maybe the Bishop could consider getting a lama!!!