Friendship

Having spent the weekend travelling around the country and meeting up with friends I got to thinking about friendship. What is a friend? And how do we maintain our friendships?
The use if the internet has made it possible to make connections with people we havent' seen for many years and with some there is an instant report which makes the intervening years disappear. Those friends are great to be with, you can pick up where you left off and not have to explain yourself. Yet there cane be people you see regularly, who you spend time with but you never get to that level of friendship.
As I move away from Devon I'm conscious that I can only count one person as a really close friend - and I'd met her before I moved here. Its been a difficult two years and yet I think I've learnt some useful lessons about depending on God and my husband rather than church members for friendship and support. As I move to college and on to curacy it will be interesting to see what friendships develop and how much I rely on older friendships rather than new ones.

Have spent the evening with a friend sharing food, life and the goodness of God.
I've spent the last 2 years as a children and family Worker in the Methodist Church- while preparing for a BAP and future training in the Church of England! The two years have taught me much- but I've also felt a failure in the job at times. however I am sure it is where God wanted me and L is one of the reasons for that. We met 2 years ago at a Vocations weekend for a course I had just finished and she was in the middle of. We met in Nottingham- I lived in Derbyshire and she lived in Devon. Forward 4 months and I found myself working in churches in Devon. The first Toddler group I went to help with, in walked L and we picked up our friendship again.
Since then we have supported prayed and encouraged each other through difficult times and fun times. Now I'm about to move away but this is a friendship which will last because I know it was a God grown friendship.
Isn't God good!

reflections on Night Church

Spent last evening in the company of two good friends at Night Church at Exeter Cathedral. Never having been there before I didn't know what to expect. It certainly gave us much to discuss on the way home, but I came away dissatisfied. It semed to have been a very cerebral evening but little spiritual imput. Not sure what Night Church aims to be but last night certainly didn't strike me or those I was with, as being a means of being Church to the unchurched. Will have to read up on what was actually expected and see if I can line it up with what we expereinced. I hope to return before I leave this area and learn something more about this Fresh expression of church. At the moment I am left with the questions- what does this say about me and what does it say about what God wants to do in Exeter?

Here at last

Having received so much pleasure and wisdom from reading other people's blogs I've decided ( been prompted) that I should have one of my own. Knowing that September will find me in Theological College and so needing to reflect regularly, I'm hoping that this will spur me on.
Today I finished a week long marathon of Blog reading. When I felt guilty at the time spent on a computer I reassured myself that it was only the same as reading a book- a diary which I found hard to put down. The Blog took me from the first days of the writer's curacy until her life today as a vicar. the six years she spke about so eloquently taught me so much about what I have to look forward to- and in her writings I recognised a lot of my own weaknesses and joys to come.
Whether my own frail words will help anyone I don't know but pray that somehow this will be a blessing at least to myself.