Dear folks,
And now we head into a long season of green! I’m not just thinking about the foliage although it’s wonderful to see the lush green leaves and flowers flourishing. I am also thinking about the liturgical colours, which having fluttered through the whole array over the past couple of months now settle on a long run of green as we enter what the lectionary rather uninspiringly refers to as ‘Ordinary Time’… But I’m not keen on the word ‘ordinary’ because I hear it as meaning things like ‘plain’ or ‘dull’, and if it were not for the fact that it spans the summer months might make this liturgical season as exciting as a rainy Tuesday afternoon in a damp caravan (an experience which I am vainly hoping to avoid repeating again next month). You might understand why I don’t like to think of green as ordinary, not just because of my family name of course, but because the colour green represents life and hope.
I am not sure that for a people committed to serving and following Jesus, who see life, opportunity, and challenges to be risen to all around us, that there even is such a thing as ordinary time. And certainly for St Mary’s, the month of June is promising to be anything but ordinary…
Our eighth Messy Church is on Tuesday 7th June. On the 12th we are back in the church for our first service, on Wednesday the 15th welcome our visitors from India, it’s the Casting the Net Gathering on Saturday 18th, and we are having a church meal after the service on Sunday 19th. Young Church will be having their end of season picnic on Sunday 26th, and last but not least, having thanked Kate Nash for faithfully serving as our Treasurer, we will be appointing her successor at the start of the month.
I’m particularly excited about the visit of our friends from St James’ Kolkata. Priscilla Dawn Kerr is aged 51yrs and is married to Douglas, also Kolkata born and bred. Arun Durairaj is 57yrs old and his facebook page says that he works as a consultant at ABS Sound Solutions. He is born and bred in Kolkata and is married to Priscilla Papiya Durairaj (not the same Priscilla that is coming on the trip!) Their vicar the Revd Shreeraj Mohanty is in his early forties. Shreeraj says, “We are all… young at heart and enjoy the spirit of adventure.”
I am presently working on the itinerary for their visit with a view to giving them as broad an experience of life and ministry here in Dunblane and Scotland as one can reasonably fit in a few days with time to process what they see and enjoy their visit. I am very grateful to the folk who have offered our guests accommodation during their stay. It would be great if one or two more were able to host the group (3 of them) for lunch or dinner during their week with us? Please let me know as soon as possible if you would like that. We will all have an opportunity to dine with them as Vestry have agreed that it would be nice to have a shared meal in the hall after the service on Sunday 19th (at which Shreeraj will preach). It would be lovely if one or two folk would like to help me co-ordinate that? Just drop me a line or call.
So, lots to look forward to and get involved in!
I hope and pray that the season ahead is full of life and hope, anything but ordinary!
God bless,
Nick
