What a mixed up day?
I spent a good deal of today in conversation at the church. We have Space2B open from eleven until three on Wednesdays - that is four hours. I had all sorts of plans to stay clear so that I could do chaplaincy hours, and other urgent work, but one conversation led to another, and to another and I got to feel that was where my responsibility lay. Different people and different groups seemed to be needing my contact. During this time I took time out to vacuum my office - I had visitors coming and wanted it reasonably tidy. Being a plumber from long ago, I also took time to fix a tap in the men's toilets at the Church which had been leaking for months. It does feel good to do just some normal physical stuff.
As well as some other work responding to emails and stuff related to Christmas dinner, answering phone enquiries and such, I had been wrestling with Advent readings. I find Advent Sunday so difficult. I believe there are many mythical, cultural and ancient aspects to the traditional readings. This makes it extremely hard to communicate something with integrity in a short time that is meaningful and helpful to modern listeners. I have an Advent Sunday Church Radio Service to record tomorrow afternoon, and even though I have read all sorts of stuff about the set readings, I really don't know where to begin! How do I put this together in time? My daughter usually helps me, but she has gone on holiday.
At three I had an appointment with a couple whose wedding I conduct on Saturday week. We sat and talked wedding plans and made decisions about that. The groom is in one of my chaplaincy work places and his bride-to-be works in the Hospital Emergency Department where my wife does voluntary work. It was a good hour together.
After they left I thought it was too late to do chaplaincy, the newspaper people get too busy, but I decided to ring a man from the there whose mother was dying. He was not home, but later rang back. She was not expected to last long he reported, he had been called out in the early hours of the morning. We talked for well over half an hour on the phone and again I thought it was good useful conversation. Shortly after I got home tonight he rang again and told me she had died. Now I have to fit some kind of funeral and pastoral care for him into my already packed week.
A whole mixture in one day...
Here is just a sample of conversation topics throughout the day...
- We have unemployed people and people with mental health and sometimes intellectual disability call into Space 2B. I talked with them about their life, their living situations, their hassles and listened as they pontificated about various things. There is a group who are opening up to me a bit more every time we share. I had conversations with the group and with individuals.
- A visitor from Australia chatted about NZ and asked questions about Dunedin.
- There is a group of friends who meet regularly at Wednesday Space2B and we catch up with each other on what we have been doing in the week and discuss news topics and such.
- One of my friends, a very supportive elder who has had some health problems called in at Space2B. He talked about recent events, hospital tests and then told me they had told him not to drive for four months. He is an active man I often lean on, who is just "there" if you need him. He is quite devastated by this limitation. We talked about this.
- There is the "Occupy the Octagon" protesters in the Octagon (the centre of town) and the guy we have looking after Space2B had been to talk with them. We conversed about them and their difficulties and message. We discussed whether we as a church could help them in any way. We had no conclusions.
- I discussed wedding plans with the couple, which led along various topics about such things as family, traditions and practicalities of the wedding.
- With the man whose mum died I talked his mum's past life, his health concerns, his plans for the future, his feelings, as well as his thoughts for the funeral.
- I had a brief email exchange about the night shelter.
- I answered several phone call enquiries about our christmas dinner.
- A drop-in centre guy called and showed me his latest DVD/ Blue Ray player purchase.
From the superficial to the deep. From joking together to hearing of sadness and loss. From wedding plans to funeral plans. From big issue community and political concerns to individual challenges. All these and today I did not move from the Church building.
I struggle to fit it all in, but it certainly is never boring! Now what on earth am I going to say on the radio? Oh well it will come.
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