Drinking....or working....?

When I was trying to work out what to do during this time I had a list of grand schemes and things that I would acheive. I have come to realise that in the words of the late and much missed 'Yes Prime Minister', that that is a load of CGSM (Consignment of geriatric shoe manufacturers.........geddit.....no...okay.... I'll get my coat then). Perhaps one reason why sabbaticals exist is to refocus & get rid of the idea of 'acheive'.

Ok---so what am I doing? Well, at the moment, I've not really slowed down. Last week I spent at the R.U.N. conference..... http://www.run.org.uk/R/Default.aspx (I haven't worked out how to put links in yet), of which more may follow. I've also been marking GCSE's and this is 'TOP SECRET': I have had to sign things threatening to have my tongue cut out and buried at high tide and my children sold into slavery or at the very least running the Conservative party, if I so much as breathe a word about this. So I won't. Ooops, I just did.......arrggh.

In between the lounging on a mediterranean yacht, playing roulette in St Tropez, cavorting with supermodels and heavy drinking which is what Methodist Ministers normally do on a sabbatical, I'm doing a lot of reading. I'm doing this because I like to- lots of stuff about post-church, post-modernism, post-evangelicalism, post-offices (hmmm....not sure about the latter). I thought it would be good to bounce some of this stuff off people I know well/a bit/ hardly at all/never met around some questions. And do this in 'third places' (more about this later).

These are the questions- I adapt them during normal conversation and how strong the beer is:-

1. Did you ever go to church?
2. What are your first impressions of the word ‘church?’
3. What led to you walking away?
4. What kind of church would you go to?
5. Is spirituality important to you?

Not the most original set....but I'm not original.

Last night after selflessly childminding the children until 9.30, I went out to the pub to meet Tudor (I'm changing all the names into code).

I think he is about my age- been to one of the 'Sunday Breakfasts' http://www.huttonrudbymethodist.org.uk/the_sunday_breakfast.htm and my last all-age service.

Between the beers I tested him and he looked impressed----- Ok he said 'Go away from me you weirdo, I just came here to drink'. I am pastorally trained, so I could tell this was code for 'Lead me to the Lord. Now'.

He used to go, until 14; Anglican. It was a youth club and then teengage years led him away, coupled with booze and fags. An initial response to 'church' was 'youth club'. I need to work on the other questions- or at least phrase them better. What kind of 'church' would you go to 'Don't know, really don't know'. I'm thinking that 'church' carries so much baggage that maybe its a bad word. Likewise 'spirituality', if just pitched in. The word just led to Tudor feeling 'lost' or it didn't mean anything. Either that, or it was beer...

Anyway, it was a great night. This post is too long. I do love my words. Off to mark something now that I'm not allowed to say what it is.....