I arrived at work at 9 a.m. and began to check some things for a Night Shelter meeting and for a lunch time meeting. After I a couple of phone calls I headed to the brewery, wandering around there chatting with guys till not long before midday when I went back to my office for a lunch time meeting with the organist. As he left the elders team of the church entered for a half-hour meeting where we catch up on pastoral concerns. I locked up the office and went around to my Newspaper chaplaincy for my last visit there. It was quite a warm and fuzzy one with warm goodbyes and lots of chats. The guys played with a photo that was in the newspaper of me at the Night Shelter and presented it to me as a memento of my time as their chaplain. I scanned them in....
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| The original that was in the local community paper. |
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| The "doctored" one.. what I could look like when I get real old! Cheeky young guy! |
I was back at my office by 4:45p.m. to have a cup of tea and prepare for leading a Night Shelter Trust meeting at 5:30. I did not leave the Night Shelter until after 8 p.m. going to my office to pack up and check emails. We are dreaming big at the Night Shelter Trust. The building we rent is on the market so we are planning on buying our own. We essentially just cater for men, but we want to expand our operation to take into account the needs of women. This of course means we have to raise a big sum of money. So we are dreaming, and planning and working toward this goal. This involves lots of discussion, so our meetings have been extra long lately. This does not make me look good as a chairman. With the previous chairman we were out of the meeting generally well before 7 p.m. In the meetings I have run since taking over we have gone at least till 7:30. We are praying that there will be kind generous people around who will support us.
After 8 p.m. I went back to the office briefly before heading home, buying fish and chips on the way. I ate these, fed the dog, and then made a final selection of hymns and order of service, emailing these to the appropriate people. That email went at nearly 10 p.m.
Now I have a glass of sherry and am winding down. Quite a big day, lots of challenges, but I am relieved to have released myself of one responsibility. I will have four hours of flexible time a week to fill up with Church work in the weeks ahead. It will make things easier for me I hope.
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