More comfortable, more accessible, more flexible. Which is not to deny the good points about pews, but there are some fairly obvious practical points in favour of chairs.
Vicar in Newcastle. PhD student at York St John: feminist ecclesiology and women's vocations. Apparently I'm "surprisingly orthodox"!
1,149 followers 603 following 979 posts
view profile on Bluesky
More comfortable, more accessible, more flexible. Which is not to deny the good points about pews, but there are some fairly obvious practical points in favour of chairs.
An unfortunate moment involving ordering guacamole (pronouncing mole like the animal)in front of my posh new uni friends has lived long in the memory 😳
South East England, specifically the bit of East Kent where you can see France on a clear day. English is my first language. I'd spell it miaow. And purr.
I don't know whether paperwork for candidates in the discernment process still has the incredibly unsubtle "are you a member of the BNP?" screening question,which used to feature on BAP forms under the old framework?!
Clergy can be members of political parties. I am. My boundaries are: I don't say anything party political from the pulpit or equivalent, and I don't do public-facing canvassing. But some clergy do, and some are elected to political roles eg. local councillors. It's open to interpretation!
Don't know about now, but when I was in the FR sector 15 years ago, received wisdom was they're only worth using if your charity has big brand recognition and (at least) one of the 3 big pull factors: kids, pets, and 'it could happen to me' risk of death (cancer, heart disease, etc)
Fine. But then there aren't many places I wouldn't walk on my own at night, so I may not be a very good guide on this!
No apple involved. The variety of mint is apple mint. Pick leaves into mug, add hot water, done!
It really is. Holy chaos abounds, and there's never a dull moment! Wonderful people, devout and straight-talking. I wouldn't swap it for anything.
Less of the 'should'! Witnessing the body of Christ receiving the body of Christ, and being renewed more and more in Christ's image, is a deep and beautiful form of prayer. Keep at it if it sustains you. What a wonderful gift.
Oh, were you at our cathedral? Glad you enjoyed the exhibition, my beloved @wobblygoose.bsky.social is the artist! Small world...
Big, joyful, slightly chaotic mass with 2 baptisms and 3 first communions among our regular children, and lots of their friends and family visiting from far and wide to support them. Then a quiet mass at the other church. Then back to the first church for another baptism. (Then a nap!)
Finishing a busy Sunday with homegrown apple mint tea in the garden. Distance from plant to mug: less than 10 yards. #TinyJoys
Fighting the #Greenbelt fomo with an impromptu day off trip to the Edinburgh Fringe. Not the same! But very fun - stunning acrobatics, bizarre street performance, moving theatre, curry and beer, late night live music. #TinyJoys
Her writing is always alarmingly prescient. I reread 'With Love To The Church' earlier this year, it's now 60 years old and still absolutely relevant and deeply insightful.
If you do decide to have people in your home for ministry purposes, check your house/contents insurance covers it - there's a good reason most clergy are with Ecclesiastical!
There is no obligation to have people in your home at all. I never did in curacy. Here I have people in the study only, which is very much separate from the rest of the vicarage. I'd say starting with not, and then deciding later on that you will, is easier than the other way round.
Yes, that is... astounding! (Other adjectives also spring to mind...)
True! It is one of the perks of the job, I think.
Well. Gosh. There's two phrases you don't expect to encounter much.
Honestly, de-escalation training is probably the more useful investment in terms of regular usage(although no reason not to do both if you can). And if your diocese offers Mental Health First Aid training, definitely go for it if possible.
And there lies the issue (one of them) with much of what the church calls 'strategy'.
All the time you are an ordinand or curate your incumbent should know who you are meeting where and when. (They don't necessarily always need to know the detail of why or what about.) It gets less clear after that, but by then you will have learned some of the skills to help you navigate it.
Where possible, I meet people in a public place the first time. If home visiting, always tell someone where I am and when I'll be finished. If meeting in church and I think it might be tricky, ask someone to be pottering around in the background. Keep list of who I won't meet alone. Trust my gut.
First rule of policy communication: name the impact, not the output. I learned this in my first job out of uni. NB #CofEpeeps, this is why* it's hard to get people enthusiastic about "10,000 new worshipping communities" (or however many it is now). *not the only reason, but it's surely a factor.
It's a classic!
Do you already have a copy of Six Dinner Sid? I love that book because it is *so* Typical Cat.
Yes, I can see how it would be!
How splendid! And such a good book - I read it on holiday last year and loved it.
Today I have been walking a clergy colleague through why "but surely they can just book annual leave if something is important enough?" fails to take account of the reality of many people's working conditions.
Small ways of loving your neighbour: knowing that not everyone will be aware of bus strikes, finding out detailed information for our local routes and sharing it. Yes, this is what church should be doing in this context (very bus-dependent, very offline).
Love serving a parish where 1. somebody hands me a carefully handwritten notice to read out about industrial action on the buses and 2. everyone understands why exploitative labour practices are bad and that strikes are a last resort so 3. we can move straight to on to praying for all involved.
We will know we are making some headway with promoting working class vocations when clergy are as likely to understand how shift work, zero hours and gig economy jobs work, as they are to understand how salaried jobs work. And organise the life of their churches accordingly.
Some people like wearing ties. Each to their own.
Was said clergy either retired or on annual leave? (And with a fairly formal taste in clothes.) In which case, fair enough.
I need that sign for the Vicarage study! 😂
Wow!!! It probably *is* too cold here in the North East, but I am both impressed and envious. Enjoy your watermelon.
Beavers?!? How exciting!!!
Celebrating the Eve of the Feast of the BVM in style! #TinyJoys ✝️⚓🕯️ (And with a congregation in double figures on a weekday, despite some key folks being on holiday, which is pretty good going for us.)
Yes, big 'accountant in the last two weeks of the tax year' vibes there. Not *quite* how the original comes across!
Occasionally I catch myself doing this and have to have a serious word with myself. Recently I wrote "in this season" (and I didn't mean "summer"). Thankfully caught it before it went out. 😳
Excellent kids! Top parenting, well done you.
I hope you have easily removable shoes, to make the most of stone floors at appropriate moments! (One of the few things I miss about being responsible for a historic church.)
Oh we’ve got a fun few months coming up in the @feministtheology.bsky.social Sign up to the mailing list to get links to these events and more! mailchi.mp/a5e743737064... #feminist #womanist #theology #community #christianity
I am unconvinced that the category of "young adult" is at all helpful. See also "young vocations". I am still, at 38, eligible to belong to the Young Priest Theologians Network (under 40s). I guess it's all relative, but I surely don't feel young, and haven't for a very long time!
New people at both churches. Kids at both churches. And, unexpectedly, a dog at one of them! Impeccably behaved, very cute. Sermon was less bad than I feared it was going to be (to be clear, I was the preacher).
Elderberry works best with another fruit, I find. Blackberry and elderberry jam is delicious, as is sloe and elderberry gin. I don't know if that would also be the case for wine.
🔥 OutSkirts is still serving post-Pride heat. A fierce, funny, vital book raising money for #TheProudTrust. You want lit that doesn’t flinch? This is it. 👉 www.amazon.co.uk/dp/... #OutSkirts #QueerLit
This is one of the things I love about parish ministry. It is so obvious that in a lifetime I could only scratch the surface of how miraculously God is present in this one small patch. The sort of local abundance which gives a glimpse of the greater glory.
Oh yes. I have a much younger sister and when we were about 4 and 13 we were in the local burger place when she suddenly loudly declared: "Me and Daddy and John-John have got nipples, but Mummy and Ruthie have got BOOBIES." I can still viscerally remember the acute sense of embarrassment! 😳
Today at 'Come and Craft' we* made a dragon! #TinyJoys (actually not tiny at all, it takes up the whole length of a table) *participants aged 10 months to 90+
Well, thanks for that... 🎶
Eternally grateful to the person on Twitter who, many years ago, give me the tip of putting pegs on the pleats of an alb to avoid/reduce the need to iron it. Here is mine drying today, no ironing needed! #CofEPeeps #Narthex 🕯️✝️⚓
Every year I get to (very briefly!) teach ordinands about Maude Royden. They often want to know more. Looking forward to signposting them to your chapter!
I'm not, sadly. We've got multiple baptisms and first communions here that Sunday, which I'm excited about, but sad to be missing out on GB.
My other PCC has two members (out of 9) who work shifts and often don't get their rotas very far ahead, which makes planning meetings quite a challenge. But we make it work. With small numbers on both PCCs, we plan around people's various commitments as far as possible.
Of the 5 members of the PCC, 4 are retired and one is a teacher, so a weekday in August works well for everyone.
Absolutely! We all have a 'sainted predecessor' to whom we will never measure up (mine is safely back in the 70s, thank goodness) but just *imagine* having a sainted predecessor who was *literally* sainted as the examplar of parish ministry.
PCC away day, here we go! Quick cuppa and final preparations before we gather. Praying for clarity, wisdom and hope for the future. Come Holy Spirit... 🙏
Wonderful! But now I am curious: recently rescinded resolutions? infrequently used high altar? massive coincidence?
A day of small celebrations. Prayed for the children who will make their First Communion later this month. Delightful child with DS gave me a carefully origami'd service sheet at the peace. Woman who started attending church a couple of weeks ago was very delighted to know one of the hymns.
Whereas I am not at all shy - can and do talk to anyone at the drop of a hat (handy in my line of work!) but I need plenty of non-people-ing time in between to recharge, even from people I really like. Which is how I know I am an introvert.
Lovely to have a big, joyful wedding in church today. Impressive congregational singing, embracing the 'primary school bangers' vibe - Glastonbury, eat your heart out! 😍🎶
Yes! I love it so much. Full of here little pencil notes too, and now some of mine as well. Such a precious connection to have.
That is indeed a lot of plums! I was not anticipating any plums this year, so even this (comparatively) small quantity feels like a bonus.
Impressive! It's a few years since I've made jam on any serious scale, but I'm enjoying getting back into it.
What a great find! And that jam is a lovely colour.
Homemade jam, using plums from the vicarage garden! Yum 😋
Jam-making with Granny's cook book and jam spoon. #TinyJoys
That sounds great!
A decent-sized groundsheet is an excellent investment for messy activities in a carpeted church, in my experience.
Yes! Painting for 25 children creates pretty much the same amount of clear-up as painting for 2 children, so it makes a lot of sense to do it as a communal activity. A good time had by all.
😂 There definitely were more paintings than kids! And some grown ups had a go too, which was lovely.
That is so good. And such a testament to the space you have created, that they feel safe enough to ask.
Yup! Lots of "see you next week, and we're going to bring our friends" as they left.
Today we did A New Thing at church: summer holiday craft drop-in. The perennial anxiety, 'will anyone come?' This was the painting drying table at snack time 😍 #TinyJoys
You have to be sober. You have to take it seriously. You have to make sure your friends do not heckle at "if anyone know any reason why they may not marry..." Not even as a joke. These are the things I hammer home to each of my wedding couples. And biodegradable confetti only in the churchyard.
OK, that is... quite a big topic!!! Have you got a structure in mind? (For the essay, not the CofE!)
What's the topic?
The first year of discovering what's lurking in this one (previously very overgrown) is proving a delight.
Fruit of the vicarage garden! Greengages? Yellow plums? (How do you tell the difference?) Anyway, they are delicious. And soon there will be jam. #TinyJoys
My mum used to be forever stopping and chatting to people everywhere - proper, long conversations - and it was 50:50 whether she knew them or just... somehow got talking. I have now become That Person (which is both pretty handy in, and greatly exacerbated by, my line of work).
I cannot imagine this headline being written about a white male bishop. It's got a nasty undertone of 'who does she think she is, anyway?!?'
Exhibition installed! 'Seeking the Disabled Christ' Exhibition Free, @newcastlecathedral.bsky.social 30th July -27th August All Welcome
Whichever item on the to-do list the cat puts her paw on first (with-catnip and without-catnip editions).
I love Shine Jesus Shine for a wedding. I'm doing one next week with Give Me Joy In My Heart and He's Got The Whole World In His Hands. Expecting some decent singing for both of those!
If you are taking a kettle and the means to boil it, also take a hot water bottle, and some hot chocolate. Return to tent at end of day, boil kettle, fill hot water bottle and put it in sleeping bag, make and drink hot chocolate, sleeping bag will by now be nicely warmed... cosy camping bliss!
First fruits of the vicarage garden! A small beginning, but hopeful sign of things to come. #TinyJoys
Or even practice with someone. Like my awesome former churchwarden who asked me to help him practice his godchild's new pronouns, and we spent a whole hour folding service sheets while he told me all about them and I corrected him every time he slipped up. And then he never slipped up with them.
Please do. And please write it in the sort of register/tone/style which means we can all give it to all our church teens too.
Studying Catullus under Section 28 was a wild experience. Our very lovely Latin teacher would give us a hint, pause, and wait for someone to work it out and explain to the rest of the class.
He was very lovely about it and nodded sympathetically in all the right places.
And then - same play - Tom Stoppard himself dropping off an enormous crate of oranges at the stage door and me (Deputy Stage Manager) telling him it wasn't a convenient time to chat because I was about to give the 15 minute call. He took us all to the pub afterwards and was genuinely lovely.
Telling Colin Dexter far more than he could possibly have wanted to know about the trials of wallpapering the set for a Tom Stoppard play. Bloke I vaguely recognised in the green room of the Oxford Playhouse... Just assumed he was someone I knew from the world of backstage theatre.
Finished a super-hectic couple of weeks with the two most important items in my diary: safeguarding training, followed by mass. And now... time for holiday!
Advice is: don't. Hang it on a hanger immediately and put pegs on the pleats to hold them in place while it drys.
Yes, that always happens. And plenty of other members don't go to the Minster for various reasons: visiting churches with which they have a connection, preferring something smaller or a different style, or indeed opting for a much-needed lie-in instead. It's not compulsory.
I don't do much teaching at the moment, but... I teach CofE ordinands about LLF and about the 5 Guiding Principles, and trauma definitely comes up in both those contexts.
Always nice to make new friends at #synod... This fluffy little chap and his many friends and relations were a delight. (And there were some pretty great humans there too.)
