Sunday 9 October 2011

Navigation error

I had a half hour drive to celebrate and preach in the Rhondda parish church of St John Porth Newydd this morning. I arrived early, but at St Paul's, the wrong church. I didn't realise, as the notice board I looked at while waiting for the church to open didn't state the building's dedication, which would have prompted me to realise my error. The church warden greeted me with puzzlement, and assumed the Vicar forgot to tell her. I got ready for the service, then he arrived, and was taken aback to see me there. It was easier for him to go over to St John's than it was to instruct me how to get to an unfamiliar place at the last minute, so with apologies, I stayed. The congregation were good humoured about it. It's the kind of error I rarely make. Maybe the solo drive to and from Kenilworth left me more tired than I realised. Josh, a new student at St Mike's was in the congregation with his wife Rachel, his first placement Sunday. I trust it was instructive for him to see how well the church coped with the unexpected.

I then returned home via St German's for a baptism - two teenage girls and three children under five. Figuring out how best to make the most of the occasion for the two girls, as well as the parents and godparents took me a few minutes, but as several of the godparents were stuck in traffic, I had time to spare. At first the congregation, though attentive were shy about joining in, but with a little encouragement things improved as we went along. I wish I could have spent time on preparation with the teenagers. 

Parish policy has been to accept any young person presenting themselves for baptism (often because they have been asked to be godparents, or are about to get married), without a long course of preparation aimed at leading them through baptism to confirmation. The reason for this acknowledges that for a variety of social and pastoral reasons many families in such a working class area fail to get their children baptised as infants, and not because they have rejected Christianity. Making baptism accessible at an older age allows them to catch up. Hopefully the experience will enable the Holy Spirit to take them further on a journey into faith.

It was two o'clock by the time I sat down to lunch, then after an hour's nap on the sofa, I was back in church for Evensong and Benediction at five. Despite the damp weather there were twice the number present last time. I learned that there's another baptism next Sunday after Mass, but this time only one child.
   

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