Thinking ahead

Although I'm not officially back from holiday until tomorrow, I've taken the opportunity to get started on preparations for the weekend and beyond.

Spotting that the Funeral Director had attempted to phone yesterday afternoon and knowing that the person who is covering for me heads off on holiday tomorrow, I rang first thing to see if there had been a decision about when a funeral might take place and who was doing it. It turns out to be a slightly more distressing parish funeral, with the deceased having died on holiday abroad, so much of the planning is still in the early stages and won't be confirmed until the beginning of next week. However the day and time are provisionally set, and in the middle of B&Q this afternoon I set things in motion for something over a week away. In the meantime though I suspect that an early visit to the family over the weekend may be in order.

Having phoned the Funeral Director and set about my troublesome computer (it's only a year old), I looked at files of past baby blessings and finished putting together the order for this Saturday's. It's not something I do particularly often and have only ever been asked to do since coming to this charge. My first was for the family I revisit this weekend. They played a big part in the original wording and thoughts, and that order has changed as I've reflected upon the practice and purpose of such a ceremony. Fortunately my Kirk Session are supportive of this development, seeing it as an opportunity to touch lives of those more reluctant to commit fully to Christian faith. One or two of them usually accompany me to offer a church presence, and always find they are well received and invited to visit again. I await the parents' comments on the order as it has changed from their last child, and am hoping for a positive response as our two understandings of faith collide.

The hymns for both the services on Sunday are picked, and I'm relatively happy with how the orders of service have shaped up. Our early all-age service has a game and some making activity that I'm hoping that even if my children are the only children present others might feel they would like to participate in. The second service is the more comfortable traditional format. In between the two I'm hoping to encourage people through to a hall for some tea or coffee and maybe a freshly made scone. We'll see how I feel at 8am on Sunday morning.

So the thoughts for the second service. Lectionary based, I've discovered I've got the fabulous choice of David and Bathsheba or the feeding of the 5000, or the power of prayer. I've picked my theme - "Something out of nothing" - and suspect I'm going with the two New Testament readings. For a number of reasons I'll give adultery a bye on this occasion. I would kind of like to do that with the feeding of 5000 as well. Comes up every summer - not surprising when it is in every Gospel - and there are only so many times you can steal the congregations sweeties. Instead I'm thinking about looking at the family motifs that are undercurrents within the Gospel and the Epistle.

Perhaps more tomorrow when I take a closer look at the texts.