Anniversary time

Today was the forty third anniversary of my ordination to the priesthood, so I was pleased to be asked to celebrate the midweek Eucharist at Christchurch Roath Park while Sally their locum priest in charge is taking a holiday break. First I drove Clare to school in Llandaff North, then cut across town to arrive in good time. From there I drove straight to the Motorpoint Arena to attend the monthly Radio Users Group meeting grateful for a loaned parking space, to get me there on time and not get wet in the process. Then I took the car back to school for Clare to use for errands later after her teaching session, and caught the bus back into town for a networking conference at City Hall of voluntary and statutory organisations that have different roles in caring for homeless and vulnerable people in the Borough.

There was an impressive turnout of over thirty different groups, half of them church based or inspired, the rest were a mix of statutory agencies and organisations emerging from black and ethnic minority communities. I had been tasked by the planning meeting with getting some Anglican involvement and had contacted various people with oversight responsibility to ask if they would make sure the conference information got to the right people with social responsibility roles. The responses I had were rather last minute and not committal, so the Church in Wales didn't have a publicity stall at the event. Messages had not been passed on in time. The joint leaders of the Llandaff Diocesan Social Responsibility team did attend however, and were as puzzled as I was about the lack of timely communication regarding such a significant event.

After supper, I ferried Clare and Gail to Dinas Powis for their study group and went on to the first Tai Chi session of the autumn. We did our group warm-up using the Bo a six foot bamboo staff used the practice of martial arts, a new and enlivening experience for me. Its use is very simple and straightforward, but it requires and rewards full attentiveness. I look forward to more of the same in the weeks to come.