'There’s One Thing I Know . . .’ ‘It is 4.30am and I’m lying in the dark, in an unfamiliar bed, feeling rather miserable. It’s not just the discomfort caused by the varied symptoms of post-surgical radiation therapy, though I’m beginning to wonder how I’ll live with these ongoing symptoms. Will I continue to be able to ‘do it anyway’ – my life-long policy when faced with things that could stop me or inhibit my plans – or maybe this time, will it really prove too much for me? Does God want me to get licensed as a Reader in October and move into that ministry? Or perhaps God is saying ‘Time to give up – you’ve done your best, I know. No shame on you but let it go.’This is also the morning of my seventieth birthday. Who would have thought I’d be spending it in a city far from home, undergoing cancer treatment, in the middle of a Covid-19 pandemic with all the restrictions that we have/have not got used to. Well, that’s the reality, I think. So get over this misery moment and cheer yourself up before your hubby starts to stir in the bed beside you. Get ready to enjoy your birthday, and give thanks you are still around to celebrate your ‘three score years and ten’.So I find my phone and put in my headphones, searching my music library for the right music. Maybe my lovely Bach, my favourite composer – who shares my birthday, though he was born in 1685, not 1951. No, I know, I’ll play my CD of the Penguin Café Orchestra. That always cheers me up. I love the joy these musicians express in their playing together. So I click on the first track, feeling calmer and anticipating the opening strains of the cello section. But – what’s this? This isn’t the PCO. It’s a work by Gavin Bryars that I haven’t listened to in years.Jesus’ blood never failed me yet,Never failed me yet,Jesus’s blood never failed me yet.There’s one thing I know,For he loves me so . . . Click the Picture NOW for the music- while you read! https://youtu.be/xMrjhN_iQF8How did this happen? I don’t even have that CD in my music library! What a mystery!* * *Gavin Bryars composed this work in a novel way, at the time. He began with a recording he had made when he happened to hear an old homeless man singing under the arches near the river in south London. The man was singing words from this hymn he’d remembered, maybe from childhood, who knows. He may have been drunk, but his voice is so touching, singing this hymn of comfort with such feeling. Bryars added orchestration that gradually joins in with the voice, reaches a crescendo, and then fades away, leaving just the solitary sound of the old man singing, until that too fades away. The sound continues to haunt you long after the music stops.As I listened to this work, on my…
Carrie Tucker - Our Secretary is Moving!! Carrie is moving house when Covid restrictions allow the details to be sorted out to be closer to family in Plymouth. So as she is leaving the Diocese we will be saying goodbye to her with huge thanks for her amazing work and support of Reader/LLM ministry - without her the admin would look very different. I am interviewing her on ZOOM in the very near future and hope to post it on here next week. In the meantime... here are a couple of links to Carrie articles.Maundy Money arriving by post not pageantry - Truro Diocese : Truro Diocese Kathy Lang - Methodist Local Preacher - RIP Many Readers/LLMs will have known Kathy Lang who was a Methodist Local Preacher in Looe who preached occasionally in St Martins Liskeard. She died last night having discovered a few months ago that her cancer had returned. Even though she knew her time was limited she managed to come to some of our Monday Morning Sessions where she joined in discussions enthusiastically and even came this Monday though she did look poorly. As a serial attendee at any training day many will miss her presence, her sharp mind and often witty responses. I met her properly wen she came down to St Andrews in Redruth to hear me preach before booking me for the choir festival in Looe that summer.... she was a woman who knew exactly what she wanted but her love of the Lord never faltered. Rest in Peace Kathy..... and rise in Glory.Malcolm BowersSo sorry to hear this news. I valued her as a friend. Her faith was at the centre of her life. She had a sharp mind and loved music winning cups at competitions. The Lord will certainly say “well done good and faithful servant”. Jane DarlingtonRest dear Kathy xJacqueline HainesA very special person xxJohn James Kendrick-CrawshawOh my gosh, I'm so saddened to hear this, Kathy has touch so many peoples lives, from her preaching to her 'at home' get togethers. Rest in Glory Kathy Lang xxxRoss IsbellSo very sad to hear this news. Rest in peace dear Kathy. xx A Cartoons I found on Social Media..... tis week! DISCUSS :) Maybe a Monday morning theme? Morning Prayer continues on ZOOM with a growing congregation at 9am each day.There always seems to be much hilarity before we begin, on the day of Mary's hat several of us were wiping tears of mirth from our eyes...but if you want the story you'll have to join us .... before 9 when all goes still and we pray together. The link is in the weekly email! So this week, having discovered that the roof of the shed was no longer completely watertight I bought some special sealant from Screwfix and set about painting it on...... that was at the beginning of the week, it took two attempts over two days and I am still aching having discovered pains in muscled I had forgotten I had. But the sky was blue,…
Reader David Watters found this heartwarming tale on social media Katharine Hepburn, in her own words:“Once when I was a teenager, my father and I were standing in line to buy tickets for the circus.Finally, there was only one other family between us and the ticket counter. This family made a big impression on me.There were eight children, all probably under the age of 12. The way they were dressed, you could tell they didn't have a lot of money, but their clothes were neat and clean.The children were well-behaved, all of them standing in line, two-by-two behind their parents, holding hands. They were excitedly jabbering about the clowns, animals, and all the acts they would be seeing that night. By their excitement you could sense they had never been to the circus before. It would be a highlight of their lives.The father and mother were at the head of the pack standing proud as could be. The mother was holding her husband's hand, looking up at him as if to say, "You're my knight in shining armor." He was smiling and enjoying seeing his family happy.The ticket lady asked the man how many tickets he wanted? He proudly responded, "I'd like to buy eight children's tickets and two adult tickets, so I can take my family to the circus." The ticket lady stated the price.The man's wife let go of his hand, her head dropped, the man's lip began to quiver. Then he leaned a little closer and asked, "How much did you say?" The ticket lady again stated the price.The man didn't have enough money. How was he supposed to turn and tell his eight kids that he didn't have enough money to take them to the circus?Seeing what was going on, my dad reached into his pocket, pulled out a $20 bill, and then dropped it on the ground. (We were not wealthy in any sense of the word!) My father bent down, picked up the $20 bill, tapped the man on the shoulder and said, "Excuse me, sir, this fell out of your pocket."The man understood what was going on. He wasn't begging for a handout but certainly appreciated the help in a desperate, heartbreaking and embarrassing situation.He looked straight into my dad's eyes, took my dad's hand in both of his, squeezed tightly onto the $20 bill, and with his lip quivering and a tear streaming down his cheek, he replied; "Thank you, thank you, sir. This really means a lot to me and my family."My father and I went back to our car and drove home. The $20 that my dad gave away is what we were going to buy our own tickets with.Although we didn't get to see the circus that night, we both felt a joy inside us that was far greater than seeing the circus could ever provide.That day I learned the value to give.The giver is bigger than the receiver. If you want to be large, larger than life, learn…
So I was walking along the mineral tramway the other day chatting to God as one does and the conversation went something like this: (I understand that God might talk to other people completely differently! Please don't take this too literally!) “Good morning God, here I am again…..”“Good morning Jim what’s on your mind?”“I thought you would know what is on my mind already…”“Well of course I do but it will help you if you articulate it”“I thought you may say something like that. Er…… So God…….”“Yes?..”“About healing…. ““You’re going to ask about why some seem to be healed and others not……”“Well…… sort of but more what do I say about it to folks who ask why they have had such bad fortune when others do not.”“Perhaps you have answered your own question,” remarks God.“eh? “ I pause, “what? Bad fortune?”“Bad fortune happens, 'stuff' happens… “says God philosophically.“But what about….”“Miracles?” God cuts across my thought, “I knew you were going to ask that.”“Well, what’s the answer?” I ask.“Giving you the answer would be too easy,” says God (I can almost hear God chuckling), “what is a miracle?”“Well…… “I begin promisingly, ”a miracle is something unusual that does not happen often, something that is unexpected, rare ……."“And…… “says God“– well miraculous!”“So if they happened all the time they would not be miracles. I know what you are going to ask next….”“What?”“Ask me and I will tell you if I was right.”“I know you are always right, because you are God and I am just me trying to work it out… but who decided who is going to get a miracle? I mean it’s a bit of a lottery…… ““yes I knew you were go to ask that one, let’s come back to it,” says God changing the subject….. “what were you going to ask about earthquakes and famine”“oh that… well yes, what do I say to people who ask how ‘You’ as God could let it happen…. ?”“So tell me what I have given you, and by you I mean all humankind….. and then I will answer…”“well , brains, natural resources, a beautiful planet, the ability to evolve…. And solve problems, create vaccines, grow food efficiently and much more….”“Now we are getting somewhere….. “Prompts God….“oh so if we used our talents and resources better, if we shared more and built less missiles, we could find more cures and find ways to help avoid natural disasters.”“I will let you ponder on that one….. “Comments God, “what about miracles?”“well I wondered about the amount of faith, and mustard size faith moving mountains and all that…. But that does not help.”“why?”“well, there are lots of faithful people who have prayed for miracles and not got them!”“you mean the answer to their prayer was not what was expected?”“Well there is some of that, but sometimes really awful stuff happens to people…. And maybe they get blamed for not having enough faith or it’s retribution for past behaviour…”“It doesn’t work like that,” says God sagely, “besides that…