Tuesday to Ascension Day

Sorry everyone – still no new photos.

These have been busy days, but at last +Steve’s Master’s Dissertation has been submitted - he needed help with formatting, checking and various other things. It all got frustrating and frightening at times, as numbering kept changing or disappearing, and on one occasion I thought I had lost half of it! But all’s well that ends well.

I have managed to complete what I need for the training day for Lay Ministers on Saturday. Some preach and do home communions, some do not. They can all lead ‘Divine Worship’, which for most is the Ministry of the Word, though in outstations it may be Morning Prayer. This is the first training they have had, so we are doing three sessions –

1.    What IS a Lay Minister? (not what do they do!). Baptismal vocation.

2.    The Cross and me

3.    Worship and the renewal of commitment to Lay Ministry.

I would really value your prayers for that day. It is in a township near Lichtenburg, just over an hour’s drive from here. I drive there tomorrow, Friday, and stay for two nights. This morning there were 65 coming, which had risen to 75 by the end of the day, and not all the parishes have responded. So goodness knows how many will actually turn up.

Sunday I am presiding and preaching in the township. +Steve just happened to mention in passing that the Archdeacon has moved the swearing-in of Church Council members for several Churches to that service and it could be a large congregation. Oh the joys of African communication!!

Today being Ascension Day I thought we might be going to church tonight, but there is another visitor here, Ngata and Leruo are doing exams and Brenda has not been well. So it was agreed we= would stay at home. The Lectionary does give the option to celebrate it on Sunday. So I was very surprised when +Steve turned up for our normal Morning Prayer time in cassock alb and stole and set up his communion set for a Eucharist. It was the first time we have done that, and very special.

Because I shall be away from home, and very possibly out of Wifi access, there are not likely to be any new posts till Monday. But if there is access I'll try Saturday evening.